Trump’s Crypto Regulator Pick Heads to Senate Floor for Crucial Vote
Michael Selig, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is set to face a full Senate affirmation vote as early as “this afternoon” following a 12-11 party-line committee approval final month.
The vote comes at a pivotal second for U.S. crypto regulation, with the CFTC poised to assume sweeping new authority over digital asset markets whereas working underneath extreme management constraints which have left just one commissioner seated since September.
Selig’s affirmation listening to in November drew sharp scrutiny over staffing levels, with senators questioning whether or not the company’s 543 workers can deal with expanded crypto oversight tasks that Congress is making ready to assign by way of pending laws, together with the CLARITY Act.
The nominee, at the moment chief counsel for the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, has pledged to assist make America “the Crypto Capital of the World” whereas constructing regulatory buildings that help developer innovation and implement conventional market safeguards on new exchanges.
CFTC Clears Regulatory Deck With Major Policy Overhaul
Acting Chair Caroline Pham announced yesterday that the company is withdrawing its 2020 “precise supply” steerage for digital currencies, eliminating compliance obstacles that penalized crypto companies with overly complicated guidelines constructed round a 28-day asset possession normal.
The outdated framework, designed when regulators have been nonetheless unsure in regards to the crypto market’s growth, labeled digital property as a separate regulatory class from conventional commodities, regardless of years of market maturation and improved custody practices.
“Eliminating outdated and overly complicated steerage that penalizes the crypto trade and stifles innovation is strictly what the Administration has set out to do that 12 months,” Pham stated in a press release.
The withdrawal permits Bitcoin, Ethereum, and different digital property to fall underneath the CFTC’s basic technology-neutral framework, lowering compliance burdens for exchanges searching for to listing new merchandise whereas normalizing crypto alongside conventional commodities.
The change arrives days after the agency authorized spot crypto trading on federally regulated futures exchanges for the primary time, bringing direct shopping for and promoting of digital property onto platforms which have operated underneath federal requirements for almost a century.
Tokenized Assets Gain Ground Through New Pilot Program
Beyond spot buying and selling approval, the CFTC is urgent ahead with its Crypto Sprint initiative by way of a December 8 pilot program authorizing Bitcoin, Ether, and USDC as collateral in derivatives markets.
The three-month program requires futures fee retailers to submit weekly studies on holdings, giving regulators real-time visibility into the efficiency of tokenized property underneath supervised situations whereas establishing guardrails to shield prospects.
The company concurrently issued steerage confirming that tokenized real-world property, corresponding to U.S. Treasuries and cash market funds, may be evaluated inside current regulatory frameworks.
It additionally granted no-action reduction for companies searching for to settle for sure non-securities digital property as buyer margin, addressing custody, segregation, valuation haircuts, and operational dangers which have saved establishments on the sidelines.
The US @CFTC has launched a pilot permitting Bitcoin, Ether and USDC to function collateral in derivatives markets, marking a significant step towards regulated crypto integration.#CFTC #Tokenization https://t.co/XrmdLTamP7
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) December 9, 2025
Leadership Vacuum Deepens as Confirmation Vote Approaches
Selig’s nomination follows months of uncertainty after Trump withdrew his initial pick, former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, whose candidacy collapsed in September amid opposition from Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
The White House had reportedly vetted several alternatives, together with former CFTC official Josh Sterling and Treasury counselor Tyler Williams, earlier than deciding on Selig, who beforehand suggested blockchain purchasers in personal follow and labored on digital asset coverage underneath former CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo.
The company has operated in disaster mode since January, when Chair Rostin Behnam resigned after overseeing main enforcement actions, together with the $4.3 billion Binance settlement.
Commissioner Kristin Johnson departed in September, whereas Caroline Pham announced plans to join MoonPay as soon as a successor is confirmed, leaving the five-seat fee barely useful and slowing coverage coordination with Congress on laws that may grant the CFTC major oversight of spot crypto markets underneath frameworks outlined within the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets report.
Notably, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson told lawmakers he appears to be like ahead to the Senate’s affirmation vote and plans to invite Selig early subsequent 12 months to talk about his agenda for the company’s first reauthorization in over a decade.
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