The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is already seeing demand from crypto exchanges planning to opt in to new proposed rules governing digital assets, according to Chairman Michael Selig.
In October, the commodity regulator proposed rules aimed at preventing abuse in the virtual currency market and codifying virtual currency trading rules under the federal rulebook. Selig said in the announcement that the move is an “important step” toward ensuring the United States remains the crypto capital of the world.
Speaking at Kantar Convergence, an annual fintech conference in Miami Beach this week, Selig told CNBC in an exclusive interview that many of the major crypto exchanges offer financial derivatives, including perpetual futures, on their platforms and are already registered with the CFTC so they can add spot trading.
“We’re also seeing interest from new entrants who are lining up to register with us because they’re saying, ‘It’s too much work to register with 50 different state governments. We’d rather come to one regulator and get licensed with the CFTC.'”
After the Clarity Act, a comprehensive market structure bill that would establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, stalled in the Senate in September, the CFTC and SEC moved to leverage existing legal authority to establish a federal framework.
“We need to protect our markets and protect the customers who rely on them, and that’s why we will continue to do just that after the Clarity Act failed to receive the votes it needed to reach the president’s desk this Congress,” Selig said.
“Our legislation provides for authorities’ powers to register exchanges that wish to offer trading in crypto assets and other types of products using margin, leverage, or financing, thereby allowing existing exchanges to begin offering these products under a regulated framework,” he said.
Selig added that this oversight would opt in exchanges that do not currently offer margin leveraged financing, which is not allowed under the existing state system.
But with Democrats expected to take control of the House and Senate after the midterm elections, the CFTC’s new rules could come under new scrutiny and scrutiny in 2027. Selig told CNBC that he hopes the U.S. doesn’t see a wave of software developers moving offshore, as many crypto companies have threatened to do under the Biden administration.
“I really hope we have learned lessons from the past few years in this area,” he said.
Cryptocurrency companies have been at odds with Washington for clear operating rules during the Biden administration, while also facing lawsuits filed by the SEC under former Commissioner Gary Gensler. Things changed after President Donald Trump’s victory in 2024.
“I hope we can work with both sides to protect software developers who want to do the right thing,” Selig said, adding that developers who are trying to commit crimes and fraud should be held accountable.
Asked if he was prepared for increased scrutiny from Congress in 2027, Selig said, “Congress will do its job to investigate the areas that need investigation.”
“I am happy to answer Congressional questions today, just as I have done before several committee hearings in the past,” he said.
Mr. Selig has also come under fire from Democrats over his handling of prediction markets. In February, 23 Democratic senators sent a letter to Selig asking him to rescind the department’s green light for prediction markets.
Selig argues that forecasting platforms are regulated by the federal government, as more states are trying to rein them in. The CFTC is suing several states to defend what it considers exclusive jurisdiction to regulate event contracts classified as swaps.
“If that happens, we will take it all the way to the Supreme Court,” Selig said. “Our position on this law is that we have exclusive jurisdiction over these markets, and I will not allow states to sue our exchanges alleging unlicensed gaming.”
CNBC’s Tanaya Machel contributed to this report.
