President Donald Trump has selected Michael Selig, chief advisor of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Virtual Currency Task Force, to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Selig’s nomination, first reported by Bloomberg, is Trump’s second attempt to fill the CFTC’s top post, following the stalling of the nomination of a16z cryptocurrency global policy chief Brian Quintenz over opposition from Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss.
Mr. Selig is an assistant to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and has been instrumental in coordinating the regulatory approaches between the SEC and CFTC regarding oversight of financial and virtual currency markets.
The CFTC, which regulates futures, swaps and prediction markets, is increasing its presence as Congress considers new crypto market structure legislation.
Prior to joining the SEC, he was a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, specializing in asset management.
Selig’s appointment requires Senate confirmation.
President Trump’s support for virtual currencies grows
President Donald Trump also recently granted a full pardon to Binance founder Chao Changpeng, calling his prosecution part of the previous administration’s “crypto war.”
The move, confirmed by the White House, erases Mr. Zhao’s record and reflects a major shift in the government’s approach to the crypto industry.
Selig’s appointment comes as momentum for U.S. crypto legislation gathers momentum, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong saying this week that the industry is “90%” toward securing passage of the Digital Asset Market Transparency Act (CLARITY Act).
Despite the partial government shutdown, lawmakers from both parties have reportedly made significant progress on the long-awaited market structure bill.
Armstrong met with senators from both parties, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Cynthia Lummis and Tim Scott, and said the discussions were “very productive.”
The bill, which passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 294-137 in July, aims to set rules for decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins and custody services, as well as clarify which digital assets are subject to the SEC and CFTC.
The final debate centered on how DeFi should be regulated and whether consumers could earn rewards in stablecoins. Cryptocurrency advocates have urged lawmakers to target regulation of intermediaries rather than open source code, warning that banking lobbies are seeking to limit yields on stablecoin holdings.
Despite procedural delays caused by the shutdown, optimism remains high. Lummis said he expects the bill to reach President Trump’s desk by the end of the year, calling it the most important bipartisan step toward cryptocurrency transparency in the United States to date.
Source: https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/trump-picks-crypto-counsel-michael-selig
