The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Clearing and Risk issued no-action letter 26-30 on Thursday. Staff said they will not recommend enforcement against a derivatives clearing organization that uses a trust company for daily settlements with clearing members, as long as the clearinghouse treats that trust company the way it would treat a settlement bank under Regulations 39.14(c) and (d).

The letter answers an Oct. 29 request from Nodal Clear, LLC. Regulation 39.14 defines a "settlement bank," in relevant part, as "a bank." It does not mention trust companies. Elsewhere in CFTC customer-protection rules, customer funds must be held with a "bank or trust company." Nodal asked staff to bridge that wording gap for the daily settlement step.

In the letter, Nodal said state-regulated trust companies face oversight similar to banks, though they generally cannot take consumer deposits or make loans. Nodal also said those firms are among the leading custodians of digital assets, and that letting clearinghouses settle through them would help accept such assets as margin inside existing daily collateral workflows.

Staff's position is limited. It reflects the Division of Clearing and Risk only. It is not binding on the full Commission. It does not rewrite Regulation 39.14. Clearinghouses still have to evaluate and monitor any trust company they use the same way they would a settlement bank. Other Act and regulation requirements still apply.

CoinMarketCap Academy covered the same letter and emphasized those limits: staff will not recommend enforcement when the condition is met; the letter is not a blanket green light for any digital asset as collateral.