CFTC’s Michael Passalacqua Reveals Plan B for Crypto Regulation After CLARITY Act Stalls

CoinDesk’s The Policy Protocol hosts Rebecca Rettig and Renato Mariotti open on two hot topics: the CFTC’s interim final rule carving casino-style gambling out of the “swap” definition and the OCC’s “bombshell” report finding that America’s largest banks systematically debanked lawful businesses, based on a review of over 100,000 complaints from 2020–2025.

Then they sit down with Michael Passalacqua, Senior Advisor to CFTC Chair Mike Selig and head of the agency’s Innovation Task Force, who walks through the Reg CM proposal creating a federal opt-in framework for retail crypto exchanges that offer leverage, previews the October 28th Frontier Forum on “super intelligence” and the thorny liability questions around agentic finance. Plus, Passalacqua lays out why he’s most excited about operationalizing the CFTC’s post-CLARITY rulemaking roadmap over the next six to twelve months.

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Learn more about CoinDesk Data & Indices at coindesk.com/institutions.

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Chapters/Timecodes:

00:00 Welcome to The Policy Protocol

01:54 Renato at the Chicago Fed Payments Symposium