Crypto wallets used to mean one thing: self-custody. Users held their keys, owned their assets, and stayed off the radar of traditional finance.

Phantom’s Mar. 17 no-action relief from the CFTC’s Market Participants Division rewrites that definition.

The letter allows Phantom to serve as the consumer interface for regulated derivatives without registering as an introducing broker, provided registered futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, and designated contract markets handle the actual customer relationships, custody, and clearing.

On Jan. 29, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig announced the agency would pursue “clear and unambiguous safe harbors for software developers” and explore onshoring perpetual derivatives.

On Mar. 11,…