Mike Selig, the newly appointed Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, pledged on Saturday to support President Donald Trump’s goal of making the U.S. the world’s “Crypto Capital.”
Crypto Regulator Nominated To Lead CFTC
In an X post, Selig said he was honored to be nominated by Trump for the prestigious role.
“With the President's leadership, a Great Golden Age for America's Financial Markets and a Wealth of New Opportunities stand before us,” said Selig, who currently serves as the Chief Counsel of the SEC Crypto Task Force.
Selig said he would “work tirelessly” to promote well-functioning commodity markets, freedom, competition and innovation. He also voiced his commitment to Trump’s vision of making America the “Crypto Capital” of the world.
Trump’s Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks also confirmed the selection on X, saying Trump made an “excellent choice” by picking Selig for the role.
Selig’s Background
Selig is one of the high-ranking cryptocurrency regulators in the Trump administration, also serving as the Senior Advisor to SEC Chair Paul Atkins. Before joining the agency, Selig was a partner at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
He also brings experience in traditional commodities markets from his tenure at the CFTC under former Chair Chris Giancarlo.
Selig’s Nomination After Quintenz’s Name Withdrawn
Selig’s selection comes nearly a month after the Trump administration withdrew the nomination of Brian Quintenz to head the derivatives markets regulator, possibly due to opposition from some segments of the cryptocurrency industry.
Notably, Quintenz shared his private messages with Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini, on X, revealing their disagreement over the company’s ongoing litigation with the CFTC.
Selig’s nomination comes at a time when the cryptocurrency industry is pushing to get the market structure bill — which proposes to split cryptocurrency oversight between the SEC and the CFTC — passed into law.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
