CFTC Adopts Nasdaq Tool to Hunt Insider Trading in Crypto

The ￰0￱ Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has unveiled a major upgrade to its market oversight systems, adopting Nasdaq’s advanced Market Surveillance platform to better detect fraud, insider trading, and manipulation across derivatives and digital asset ￰1￱ system went live on August 27, 2025, under the leadership of Acting Chair Caroline D. Pham, and replaces the CFTC’s legacy 1990s-era monitoring ￰2￱ to Become a ‘21st Century Regulator’ With Nasdaq Market Surveillance The upgrade arrives at a pivotal moment for ￰3￱ as Congress weighs the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which could expand the CFTC’s jurisdiction over spot digital asset markets.

I said I’d modernize and transform @CFTC to ensure market integrity over both TradFi and crypto. I’m proud to announce we delivered on this with @Nasdaq ’s advanced market surveillance technology used by over 20 international regulators and 50 exchanges worldwide.… ￰4￱ — Caroline ￰5￱ (@CarolineDPham) August 27, 2025 In announcing the launch, Pham said the technology marks a major step toward turning the CFTC into a “21st century regulator.” “As our markets continue to evolve and integrate new technology, it’s critical that the CFTC stays ahead of the curve,” Pham ￰6￱ added that “Nasdaq Market Surveillance will, for the first time, provide the CFTC with automated alerts and cross-market analytics that will better protect our markets from fraud, manipulation and ￰7￱ will allow our staff to identify unusual or disruptive trading activity more efficiently and take action more quickly.” The move comes as the CFTC faces mounting pressure to strengthen its oversight of the fast-growing digital asset ￰8￱ agency, traditionally responsible for derivatives tied to commodities, currencies, and fixed income, has taken on a larger role in policing crypto markets amid efforts in Washington to close regulatory gaps.

A recent White House report urged Congress to grant the CFTC explicit authority over spot markets for non-security digital assets, underscoring the need for modern surveillance tools. Notaby, Nasdaq Market Surveillance is already deployed by more than 50 exchanges and 20 international regulators, making it the most widely used surveillance technology in global ￰9￱ platform provides regulators with integrated monitoring across asset classes, real-time data analysis, and automated alerts capable of flagging potential insider trading, wash trading, and other market ￰10￱ scalable architecture enables regulators to handle periods of extreme volatility, while access to detailed order book data allows for granular trade-by-trade ￰11￱ Cohen, President at Nasdaq, said the partnership with the CFTC shows the importance of advanced monitoring tools in a rapidly evolving market.

“Today’s financial markets demand surveillance technology that can adapt to rapid regulatory evolution and emerging asset classes,” he said. “We’re proud to partner with the CFTC and support their mission to promote the integrity, resilience, and vibrancy of ￰12￱ markets.” At the same time, concerns over manipulation in crypto markets are mounting. A recent Chainalysis report estimated that wash trading on select blockchain networks accounted for as much as $2.57 billion in volume , with a small number of actors driving the bulk of activity.) are accelerating efforts to build new safeguards for digital assets, as crypto-related crime continues to outpace detection ￰13￱ August 19, the Treasury opened a 60-day public comment period under the recently enacted GENIUS Act, seeking input on tools such as artificial intelligence, blockchain monitoring, digital identity verification, and APIs to help financial institutions combat money ￰14￱ initiative follows a surge in crypto crime, with $3 billion stolen across 119 incidents in the first half of 2025 ￰15￱ Secretary Scott Bessent called the GENIUS Act “essential” to securing ￰16￱ asset leadership and expanding regulated dollar-based stablecoins ￰17￱ data highlights the challenge regulators ￰18￱ to blockchain analytics firm Global Ledger, hackers can move stolen funds in as little as four seconds , roughly 75 times faster than exchange alert systems respond.