SEC and CFTC Sign Historic Memorandum of Understanding and Launch Joint Harmonization Initiative, March 2026

On March 11, 2026, the SEC and the CFTC executed a Memorandum of Understanding committing both agencies to coordinated oversight, data sharing, and joint rulemaking across their respective jurisdictions. Simultaneously, the agencies announced the Joint Harmonization Initiative, a standing coordination mechanism to advance shared regulatory goals in policymaking, examination, and enforcement. The MOU is not a statutory rule and does not require Congressional approval, but it establishes binding inter-agency commitments under each agency's existing statutory authority — the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the CFTC under the Commodity Exchange Act. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig signed the MOU and jointly described it as a roadmap for a new era of regulatory harmonization critical to U.S. leadership in financial innovation.

The MOU and the Joint Harmonization Initiative set out six priority workstreams: (1) clarifying product definitions through joint interpretations and rulemakings; (2) modernizing clearing, margin, and collateral requirements; (3) reducing registration and compliance friction for dually registered exchanges, trading venues, and intermediaries; (4) building a fit-for-purpose regulatory approach for crypto assets and emerging technologies; (5) streamlining regulatory reporting for trade data, funds, and intermediaries; and (6) coordinating cross-market examinations, economic analyses, risk monitoring, surveillance, and enforcement. Robert Teply (SEC) and Meghan Tente (CFTC) serve as co-leaders of the Joint Harmonization Initiative.

Dually registered broker-dealers, futures commission merchants, alternative trading systems, and swap execution facilities operating across SEC and CFTC jurisdictions stand to benefit most directly. Those entities currently maintain duplicative compliance programs to satisfy both agencies' rules on reporting, margin, and registration. The Joint Harmonization Initiative creates a formal channel for those market participants to submit joint applications and seek shared policy relief. Crypto asset firms subject to both agencies' jurisdiction — particularly those trading digital commodities alongside digital securities on unified platforms — are the primary targets of the crypto-specific workstream (priority workstream 4).

The MOU does not preempt any existing rule, nor does it create enforceable rights for market participants. Its implementation depends on subsequent joint rulemakings, interpretive releases, and coordination agreements that each initiative workstream is expected to produce. The agencies stated that public input is welcome through a written input form and meeting requests published on both the SEC and CFTC websites. No deadline for completing any workstream was announced. This MOU follows the January 22, 2026 announcement (SEC Press Release No. 2026-13) of a planned joint SEC-CFTC event on harmonization and U.S. financial leadership in the crypto era.

Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "SEC and CFTC Announce Historic Memorandum of Understanding Between Agencies," Press Release No. 2026-26 (March 11, 2026), https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026-26-sec-cftc-announce-historic-memorandum-understanding-between-agencies. Confirmed March 19, 2026.

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