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. - This episode is brought to you by Grayscale, the world's largest digital asset-focused investment platform. Grayscale's mission is to make digital asset investing simple and open to every investor. Learn more at grayscale.com. - Digital asset vaults are growing rapidly, but understanding the risks behind them requires more than on-chain data. S&P Global Ratings' Vault Risk Assessment (VRA) delivers independent, forward-looking insight into vault credit quality, governance, and risk management, helping bring institutional-grade risk transparency to digital asset markets. Learn more at https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/products/vault-risk-assessments. - Learn more about CoinDesk Data & Indices at coindesk.com/institutions. - Chapters/Timecodes: 00:00 Welcome to The Policy Protocol 01:54 Renato at the Chicago Fed Payments Symposium 02:19 Hot Topic: CFTC Says Sportsbook Bets Aren't Swaps 03:51 Hot Topic: The OCC Debanking 'Bombshell' Report 06:02 Michael Passalacqua of the CFTC Joins 06:44 Reg CM: A Federal Path for Crypto Exchanges 10:24 Inside the CFTC Innovation Task Force 10:56 Super Intelligence and the Frontier Forum 12:04 The Phantom No-Action Letter and Industry-Wide IB Relief 14:47 Agentic Finance and Autonomous Trading 16:20 Defining 'Onchain Finance' 16:45 The Post-CLARITY Rulemaking Roadmap