US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Mike Selig issued a statement on Tuesday outlining an aggressive push to modernize US financial regulation, pledging to move away from what he called years of “regulation by enforcement” and towards clear, tailored rules for digital assets, prediction markets and other new technologies.
In a policy statement and accompanying statement, Selig framed the effort as a defining moment for U.S. financial markets, arguing that advances in blockchain and artificial intelligence are enabling entirely new products, platforms and business models that legacy rules were never designed to oversee.
“Technological advances are transforming the financial services landscape as we know it,” Selig said, adding that Congress is now “on the verge” of passing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which will establish a formal market structure for crypto in the United States.
If passed, the legislation would expand the CFTC’s authority over digital asset markets, positioning the agency as a primary regulator for large segments of the crypto-economy.
Selig said the CFTC is prepared to take on that role and ensure that innovation stays onshore rather than being driven overseas by regulatory uncertainty.
CFTC’s ‘Future-Proof’ Initiative
The chairman announced the launch of a new “Future-Proof” initiative, under which agency staff will conduct a comprehensive review of existing CFTC rules – many of which were originally written for agricultural futures markets – to determine which ones need to be updated or replaced to better accommodate new asset classes and trading venues.
“Decades-old rules designed for pork bellies and wheat futures do not consider blockchain-native markets that trade 24/7,” Selig said. “The CFTC must meet innovators where they are.”
Selig drew a stark contrast to the Biden administration’s approach, criticizing previous regulators for applying older rules to new products such as digital assets and perpetual futures through enforcement actions rather than formal rulemaking.
This strategy, he argued, pushed startups offshore and limited access for US market participants.
Under the new approach, Selig said the agency will focus on “the least effective dose of regulation” — rules that protect against fraud, manipulation and abuse without stifling experimentation. Future policy, he added, should be established through notice-and-comment rules to provide durability across administrations.
The chairman also highlighted rapid growth in areas such as prediction markets and digital assets, noting that crypto has expanded from a niche experiment to a market exceeding $3 trillion in value. These developments, he said, require regulatory frameworks that are purpose-built rather than retrofitted.
“Anyone with a smartphone and an Internet connection can now access peer-to-peer markets that operate around the clock,” Selig said, pointing to both blockchain-based platforms and the increasing use of artificial intelligence in risk management and trading strategies.
Selig credited President Donald Trump’s broader regulatory agenda with creating the conditions for what he described as a potential “golden age” of U.S. financial markets. He said coordination between financial regulators will be essential as new legislation reshapes oversight of digital assets.
“If Congress passes the market structure legislation and passes us the torch, we will ensure that these markets flourish at home,” Selig said. “The great innovations of today and tomorrow should be made in America.”