Crypto companies are moving deeper into financial services traditionally dominated by banks, seeking a role in US derivatives settlements, where billions of dollars change hands daily.
The push comes as regulators expand the services trust companies can provide, even as traditional banking groups challenge parts of the regulatory framework governing crypto firms' expansion into banklike activities.
A Nov. 5 decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) illustrates the shift, allowing derivatives clearinghouses to use trust companies for daily settlements with clearing members, a function previously restricted to banks under the agency's regulations.
The relief could create new business opportunities for regulated crypto custodians, but its revocable nature and changes in the US political landscape raise questions about the durability of the regulatory opening.
Crypto firms eye billions in daily derivatives settlements
The scale of the derivatives settlement business offers some perspective on the opportunity.
CME Group, one of the world's largest derivatives market operators, transferred an average of $8.7 billion per business day through its clearing systems during the first half of 2026, up from $6.7 billion a day in 2025, according to regulatory filings.
Those figures represent funds transferred between clearing firms to settle gains and losses, rather than fees earned by settlement banks. They nevertheless illustrate the scale of financial flows supported by the infrastructure that trust companies could increasingly help provide.
The CFTC's Division of Clearing and Risk issued no-action relief on Nov. 5 following an Oct. 29 request from derivatives clearinghouse Nodal Clear, allowing clearinghouses to use trust companies for daily settlements if they meet the same evaluation and monitoring requirements applied to traditional settlement banks.
The decision addresses an inconsistency between federal commodities law, which permits customer funds to be held at banks or trust companies, and CFTC Regulation 39.14, which defines settlement banks only as banks.
Nodal Clear partnered with Coinbase in 2025 to integrate USDC into US futures trading. Coinbase Custody Trust was already expected to provide daily settlement services under the arrangement, Cointelegraph has learned.
Related: CFTC expands regulatory relief for passive trading software providers
Other crypto firms have also expanded their institutional financial services. On Nov. 4, BitGo launched its Global Markets division, combining derivatives trading, financing, collateral management and settlement capabilities.
Coinbase's national trust bank charter also took effect on Nov. 6, allowing Coinbase National Trust Company, a separate entity from Coinbase Custody Trust, to provide federally supervised digital asset custody services.
Several major crypto firms have also secured US national trust bank approvals over the past months, including Circle, Ripple, Crypto.com and Stripe-owned Bridge. The charters, granted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), reflect the industry's expansion into federally regulated financial services.
Traditional banks contest crypto firms' expanding role
The expansion of specialized trust companies has prompted objections from traditional banking groups.
In October, the Independent Community Bankers of America sued the OCC, arguing that its national trust bank charter rules could allow crypto firms to conduct certain banklike activities without meeting all the requirements imposed on conventional banks.
The lawsuit reflects a broader disagreement over how specialized financial institutions should be regulated as they expand into services also provided by banks.
Cody Carbone, CEO of The Digital Chamber, told Cointelegraph that the CFTC's relief does not put trust companies in a better or worse position than traditional banks.
Trust companies and banks already compete for services permitted under their respective charters, Carbone said, adding that the decision gives clearinghouses more options without preventing banks from retaining their business. "A trust company charter is not a regulatory shortcut," he said.
Revocable relief faces a changing regulatory landscape
Despite the potential opportunities, the CFTC's decision leaves questions about how securely trust companies can establish a long-term role in derivatives settlement.
The agency issued a no-action letter rather than formally amending its regulations. The letter states that CFTC staff will not recommend enforcement action against clearinghouses using trust companies for daily settlements if specified conditions are met.
Unlike a formal rule amendment, which generally requires a public notice-and-comment process, staff no-action relief does not change the underlying regulation and can be withdrawn.
"A change in Commission leadership could withdraw the CFTC Letter. More formal Commission action, such as amending the regulation, would be necessary to avoid this potential risk," Jordan Yeagley, a shareholder at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, told Cointelegraph.
The uncertainty comes at a politically significant moment for the agency. CFTC Chair Michael Selig remains the regulator's sole commissioner, despite a statutory structure providing for five commissioners. Selig has led the agency since December 2025, leaving four seats vacant as the regulator expands its work on digital asset markets.
The political environment is also changing following the Nov. 3 US midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress.
The incoming Congress, which takes office in January, will have greater power to scrutinize the CFTC's regulatory agenda. The Senate also has a role in confirming nominees to fill the agency's vacant commissioner seats, while the House and Senate Agriculture Committees oversee the regulator.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, who won Ohio's Senate race on Nov. 3 despite more than $60 million in opposition spending from crypto-backed political action committees, could take on a prominent role on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
