A big decision in Washington is finally done, and it’s about who will lead one of the most important market regulators in the U.S.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Michael Selig as the new chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, also known as the CFTC. He becomes the agency’s 15th chairman, ending almost a year where the role was filled on an interim basis.
Selig isn’t new to this job or this world.
He actually started his career at the CFTC back in 2014, working as a law clerk for Christopher Giancarlo, who later became chairman himself. After that, Selig moved into private practice, where he advised trading firms, exchanges, and crypto companies on how to stay compliant with U.S. market laws.
Earlier this year, he returned to government as chief counsel to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force. In that role, he worked closely with SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and was right in the middle of discussions about how crypto markets should be regulated.
Selig will take over from Caroline Pham, who served as acting chair for most of 2025 and, for a time, was the only Senate-confirmed commissioner at the agency.
When it comes to enforcement, Selig has made his views clear.
During his confirmation hearing, he said regulators shouldn’t waste time chasing small technical mistakes that don’t actually hurt anyone. He warned that overdoing enforcement on minor issues can push real businesses out of the U.S. without making markets safer.
That said, he also stressed that the CFTC still needs to be tough where it matters. Fraud, manipulation, and abuse are still fair game. As he put it, the agency should stay “a cop on the beat” when real harm is involved.
This lines up closely with the approach taken under Pham. Over the past year, the CFTC shifted its focus away from paperwork violations and toward serious fraud and retail investor harm. It also changed some of its investigation rules to give companies more clarity and time during enforcement cases.
On crypto, Selig is expected to keep pushing for clearer rules and more activity staying inside the U.S. The CFTC has already launched pilot programs around tokenized collateral and regulated spot crypto products. Selig has long supported better coordination between the CFTC, the SEC, the Treasury, and banking regulators.
His timing matters.
Congress is currently debating new laws that could give the CFTC direct authority over spot crypto markets. If those bills pass, the agency’s role in crypto would grow fast — right as the rules of the game are still being written.
Now, Selig steps into the job with a packed agenda and very little time to ease in. Both Wall Street and the crypto world will be watching closely to see how quickly words turn into action.
