Crypto-friendly Mike Selig and Travis Hill to lead CFTC and FDIC

US President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly picks Mike Selig and Travis Hill will lead two top financial regulators after receiving Senate confirmation yesterday.

The Senate approved Selig and Hill as part of a broader set of nominees in a 53-43 vote, clearing the way for Selig to take over as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and for Hill to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Selig will succeed Caroline Pham, interim chair of the CFTC

Once sworn in, Selig will succeed current Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham, who played a key role in shaping U.S. crypto policy this year. and is set to join crypto payments company MoonPay once Selig is sworn in.

Selig worked on digital asset policy at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

I look forward to a successful confirmation of Mike Selig as @CFTCand a smooth transition once he takes the oath of office. The future is bright. Onwards and upwards 🚀

– Caroline D. Pham (@CarolineDPham) December 17, 2025

Selig will become the CFTC’s sole commissioner after the agency’s five-member commission is reduced to one, eliminating friction that prevents him from guiding the regulator’s policy decisions while raising potential uncertainty over due process.

Hill is no longer acting chairman of the FDIC

Hill, meanwhile, will take the helm of the FDIC after serving as acting chairman. It regulates stablecoin issuers and plays a key role in determining how crypto companies access the US banking system, making Hill’s confirmation closely watched by the industry.

He stressed that banks face “no prohibition” from serving crypto companies as long as security and robustness risks are properly managed, and that aThe Dec. 2 hearing before the House Financial Services Committee told lawmakers the agency “has reversed policy of recent years.”

This refers to the anti-crypto policy pursued by the Joe Biden administration, which many in the digital assets industry believe has made it difficult for crypto companies to operate. One of the key themes of the Biden administration was the “debanking” of crypto companies, often referred to as Operation Chokepoint 2.0.

“Banks are expected to manage safety and soundness risks, but they are otherwise not prohibited from serving those sectors,” Hill said at the hearing. He also played a leading role in handling complaints about bank withdrawals.

Trump says Chris Waller is ‘great’ and will announce Fed chair pick in weeks

Selig and Hill’s Senate confirmations come after Trump installed new leaders at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Bureau of the Currency and the U.S. Treasury.

He also intends to replace Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve with a leader more responsive to his desire for lower interest rates. Asset interviewed Christopher Waller on Wednesday and said: “I think he’s great. I mean, he’s a guy who’s been around a long time.”

Contract asking who Trump will choose as the next Fed chairman (Source: Polymarket)

Waller currently has the third highest odds on decentralized prediction markets platform Polymarket, with traders seeing a 14% chance of him being picked. Cryptocurrency-friendly White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett leads with a 53% probability, while former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh comes in second with a 26% probability.

Trump said the list of possible candidates had been narrowed down to three or four people, adding that “any one of them would be a good choice.”

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