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Commodity Pool Operators Commodity Trading Advisors Futures Commission Merchants Mutual Funds and Investment Advisers

Part 1: The Margin Adequacy Requirement under CFTC Rule 1.44 Generally

Andrew P. Cross —

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This is the second of a multi-part series on a February 20 rule proposal by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) to:

(1) require every futures commission merchant (“FCM”) to ensure that a customer does not withdraw funds from its account with the FCM if the post-withdrawal balance of that account would be insufficient to meet the initial margin requirements applicable to that customer (a “Margin Adequacy Requirement”); and

(2) permit an FCM to treat the separate accounts of a single customer as accounts of separate entities, subject to the satisfaction of risk-mitigation conditions.

    To implement the Margin Adequacy Requirement in the separate account context, the CFTC has proposed the promulgation of new CFTC Regulation §1.44 (the “Proposed Rule”) and related amendments to various other existing CFTC regulations.

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    Commodity Pool Operators Commodity Trading Advisors Futures Commission Merchants Mutual Funds and Investment Advisers

    Introduction: CFTC Proposes Regulations to Address Margin Adequacy and to Account for the Treatment of Separate Accounts by Futures Commission Merchants

    Andrew P. Cross —

    On February 20, 2024, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) proposed regulations under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) that will be of particular interest to futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) and their customers, including institutional investors and their investment managers.

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    Bitcoin Blockchain and Digital Currencies Environmental Commodities Policy and Research

    Crypto and Carbon and Governance…Oh My! (Was There Ever Really a Kansas for Digital Assets and Environmental Commodities?)

    Andrew P. Cross —

    Reflections on CFTC Commissioner Johnson’s Speech at the Atlanta Economics Club

    On November 13, 2023, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Commissioner Kristin Johnson delivered a keynote address to the Atlanta Economics Club titled “Policing the (Token) Economy: Introducing Corporate Governance and Market Structure Reforms in Crypto and Environmental Commodities Markets.”

    The speech is an excellent resource for any market participant looking for a survey of both the historical context and potential future regulatory and enforcement landscape of the markets for digital assets and environmental commodities.

    To the casual observer of the derivatives markets (should such an observer exist), the two asset classes may seem to be unrelated. However, they share several common attributes.

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