The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will integrate Nasdaq’s surveillance system to strengthen oversight of digital asset and derivatives trading.
The agency confirmed the move on Aug. 27, noting that it marks the replacement of its outdated 1990s-era monitoring tools with technology built for today’s 24-hour markets.
Why the CFTC is upgrading
The regulator noted that it supervises various markets, from commodities and currencies to crypto and event contracts.
However, recent growth in these markets and structural changes, such as continuous trading hours, have increased the risk of abuse and manipulation.
Considering this, the CFTC noted that this evolving environment has forced its hand to seek tools capable of handling higher volumes and more complex trading behavior.
As a result, it is integrating the Nasdaq platform to provide a consolidated view across asset classes and generate automated alerts when suspicious patterns emerge. This would allow the agency to drill down to transaction-level detail, monitor order book activity in real time, and scale quickly during periods of volatility.
Notably, the Nasdaq’s technology is already used by more than 50 exchanges and 20 regulators worldwide, making it one of the most established tools in market surveillance.
By adopting this system, the CFTC aims to detect misconduct more efficiently and respond faster to potential threats to market integrity.
Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham described the Nasdaq system as a way to provide staff with “cross-market analytics and automated alerts” that will improve investigations and allow resources to be deployed more strategically.
She added:
“[This is] the latest example of our work in recent months to bring about the transformation and optimization necessary to make the CFTC a 21st century regulator. The CFTC is a leader in derivatives regulation, and Nasdaq’s Market Surveillance platform will be a key component to our success.”
Meanwhile, this shift also aligns with the agency’s ongoing “crypto sprint,” an initiative to apply recommendations from a White House report on digital assets.
These moves illustrate the regulator’s attempt to balance innovation with investor protection by investing in data-driven monitoring of the emerging sector.