SEC Clears KPI Binary Options; OCC Accelerates GENIUS Act Rule Amid Debanking Probe
A multi-agency US policy roundup: the SEC approved Cboe's KPI binary options while leaving CFTC jurisdiction open, and the OCC signaled a faster GENIUS Act final rule alongside a debanking report now under CFPB investigation.
A 19 October US crypto policy roundup consolidates four regulator moves. On 13 October the SEC approved Cboe's proposal to list binary options on issuer-reported KPIs, cash-settled and exercisable only at expiration. Chairman Atkins said the order neither addresses nor forecloses CFTC jurisdiction over comparable KPI contracts structured within the CFTC's remit, calling the approval a harmonization step after decades of turf disputes. Speaking on 14 October, Division of Trading and Markets Director Selway termed the 17 September Innovation Exemption - a five-year conditional exemption from the definition of "exchange" for tokenized securities venues using automated market makers - a "responsible step forward," and tied experience trading tokenized NMS stocks to future market-structure recommendations, including a possible move toward 24-hour equity trading. On banking, Comptroller Gould, according to reports of his Milken Institute remarks, said the OCC's GENIUS Act final rule may arrive before end-October rather than November. The OCC's 14 October debanking review of the nine largest national banks found policies restricting services to sectors including digital assets; the CFPB announced a same-day follow-on investigation. Clients care because KPI binaries could import prediction-market manipulation and MNPI risk into listed products, raising disclosure-control expectations, while banks face renewed supervisory and consumer-law exposure. Watch the OCC rule text and SEC-CFTC coordination.