Selig, Chosen to Lead CFTC, Informs Senators Crypto a ‘Vital Task’ for the Body
Trump's Choice to Head CFTC, Selig, Informs Senators Digital Assets a 'Pivotal Duty' at Agency
Mike Selig, the appointee to become the next chief of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, testified during his confirmation proceedings in the Senate.
By Jesse Hamilton|Edited by Nikhilesh De Nov 19, 2025, 9:17 p.m.
Key Points:
- Mike Selig encountered a confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee to assess his qualification as President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
- Virtual currencies were a repeated subject during the hearing, and Selig assured the senators that crypto would be a foremost focus of his tenure.
- Selig indicated a necessity to allow software engineers to flourish — a likely argument with individuals who contend that the engineers could be accountable for creating software that fosters unlawful conduct.
U.S. President Donald Trump's designee to direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Mike Selig, informed senators during his Wednesday verification session that he will champion the president's goal to establish a U.S. course for crypto governance.
The Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC that will be a primary U.S. overseer for crypto, considered Selig's selection, and Chairman John Boozman inquired about virtual currency oversight in his initial query.
"The CFTC has a pivotal duty to safeguard these markets," Selig stated. He informed the legislators, "This is a legitimate chance to formulate a structure that can enable software creators to succeed, for novel exchanges to emerge that will protect investors and possess the types of safeguards that you would anticipate in an exchange and ensure that we possess the appropriate disclosure stipulations that we typically have in our monetary markets."
The agency has been managed by Acting Chairman Caroline Pham since the year began, when Trump assigned her to the interim position. She has established an ambitious agenda for crypto, speaking as recently as this week on the quantity of digital asset projects at the agency. However, Pham has been anticipating her departure for several months, awaiting a long-term replacement but being hindered in her exit when Trump's prior preference — former Commissioner Brian Quintenz — was rescinded.
Selig could assume control of the CFTC imminently, as the committee has already scheduled a deliberation of his ratification for Thursday afternoon, which could forward him to the entire Senate for a conclusive vote. If he is ratified, he will become the singular member of what is intended to be a five-member, bipartisan commission. That will bring efficiency, as he will be the only commissioner who requires to approve actions in crypto policy, but certain agency observers question whether the absent commissioners will render the agency's actions susceptible to legal challenge.
Currently, Selig has been a leading official operating on the Securities and Exchange Commission's Crypto Task Force, so he is well-acquainted with the continuing policy requirements for the industry. At the hearing, he was questioned about decentralized finance (DeFi), a contentious subject in the continuous negotiations in Congress concerning a U.S. crypto market structure bill.
"Blockchain facilitates such an expansive scope of new forms of products, services, applications, and thus it may not be sensible in numerous instances to apply financial regulation, for instance, to a video game application that operates on a blockchain," Selig remarked. "Therefore, I believe when we are considering DeFi, it is somewhat of a catchphrase, but in reality we should be observing onchain marketplaces and onchain applications, and contemplating the attributes of these applications, as well as where there is a tangible intermediary involved."
As legislators noted during the session, the agency is as much as 20% decreased in personnel recently as the Trump administration has diminished the federal workforce, and it is accepting new obligations — including oversight of crypto activity. However, Selig would not commit to augmenting the personnel levels at the agency, stating he would have to examine it once he arrives. Individuals familiar with the CFTC's internal strategizing have indicated that the agency is placing some concentration on the enforcement division, attempting to elevate that personnel again and establish a specialty trial unit though the recruitment of seasoned government prosecutors.
When questioned about bitcoin mining, Selig termed it "fundamentally significant infrastructure."
"We should have them constructed in the United States," Selig declared. "We should assure that we are protecting our miners and infrastructure."
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