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President Donald Trump has appointed Michael Selig, the chief legal advisor for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s cryptocurrency task force, to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Selig’s nomination, initially reported by Bloomberg, represents Trump’s second effort to occupy the CFTC’s highest position, succeeding the stalled nomination of Brian Quintenz, a global policy head at a16z crypto, amid resistance from Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss.
Selig, who acts as an advisor to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, has played a pivotal role in orchestrating regulatory strategies between the SEC and CFTC concerning financial and cryptocurrency market oversight.
The CFTC, which oversees futures, swaps, and predictive markets, is gaining increased significance as Congress deliberates on new legislation for the cryptocurrency market structure.
Prior to joining the SEC, he was a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where he focused on asset management.
Selig’s appointment will necessitate Senate approval.
President Trump’s escalating support for cryptocurrency
President Donald Trump recently offered a complete pardon to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, labeling his prosecution as part of the previous administration’s “war on cryptocurrency.”
This action, verified by the White House, clears Zhao’s record and signifies a major transformation in the government’s stance toward the cryptocurrency sector.
Selig’s appointment arrives as the push for U.S. cryptocurrency legislation gained speed this week after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the industry was “90%” towards achieving the passage of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act.
In spite of a partial government shutdown, legislators from both factions reportedly made significant strides on the long-anticipated market structure bill.
Armstrong convened with senators from both sides, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, Cynthia Lummis, and Tim Scott, remarking that the dialogues were “very fruitful.”
The bill, which passed the House in July with a bipartisan 294–137 vote, aimed to clarify the classification of digital assets regulated by the SEC as opposed to the CFTC, while establishing guidelines for decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, and custodial services.
The ultimate contentious issues revolved around regulating DeFi and whether consumers should be able to receive rewards on stablecoin holdings. Cryptocurrency supporters urged legislators to focus regulation on intermediaries rather than open-source code and cautioned that the banking lobby aimed to restrict yields on stablecoin assets.
Despite procedural holdups from the shutdown, optimism remained elevated. Lummis expressed her expectation that the bill would reach President Trump’s desk before the year concludes, labeling it the most notable bipartisan progress toward U.S. cryptocurrency clarity thus far.
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