Nov 19 (Reuters) – U.S. senators pressed Michael Selig, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on Wednesday about his plans to overhaul regulations on cryptocurrencies and election betting, among other hot-button issues.
Selig currently serves as chief counsel to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force and is an advisor to Trump’s Republican SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.
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Appearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Selig argued for “clear and simple guidelines” for cryptocurrency.
“This is a real opportunity to develop a framework that allows software developers to thrive, to enable new exchanges to emerge that will protect investors… and to ensure that we have the right information and requirements that we typically have in our financial markets,” he said.
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The CFTC, which oversees commodity derivatives markets, would take a more active role in overseeing the crypto industry if Congress passes a bill, dubbed the CLARITY Act, that includes proposed changes in crypto market oversight.
Selig, in an article on X after his nomination, said he would “help the president make the United States the crypto capital of the world.” Before joining the SEC, Selig was an associate at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, according to his LinkedIn page.
The CLARITY Act, passed by the House of Representatives in July and currently under consideration in the Senate, would clarify a long-standing debate by defining when a cryptocurrency is considered a commodity or a security. This would give the CFTC the power to oversee crypto spot markets.
Lawmakers asked Selig whether the CFTC would need more funding and resources to adequately manage the potential new authority if Congress passed such a bill. Selig declined to answer and argued that it would be “irresponsible to prejudge this issue.”
“I don’t know why it’s hard to say, ‘We need more staff…we need investment,’” Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján said. “It’s a whole new space that we’re building in the United States of America.”
The CFTC is traditionally run by a bipartisan group of five commissioners appointed by the president. The agency currently has only one commissioner, Republican Caroline Pham, who also serves as interim president. Pham said she plans to leave the agency once Trump’s candidacy for president is confirmed.
“We are pleased to see Mike Selig’s appointment as CFTC Chairman move forward so quickly,” said Cody Carbone, CEO of crypto trading group The Digital Chamber. “It’s a good sign for the industry and the U.S. regulatory system, not only to have a digital asset expert leading the CFTC’s efforts on a number of fronts, but specifically to inform ongoing legislative debates over market structure.”
Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; Editing by Michelle Price, Edmund Klamann, Rod Nickel
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