Trump names Michael Selig to chair CFTC; Selig cites crypto capital goal

U.S. President Donald Trump has picked Michael Selig arsenic the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's chair, an medication authoritative and Selig himself said connected Saturday.

Selig is main counsel for the CFTC's crypto task unit and has worked with Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins.

Both Selig and David Sacks, the White House artificial quality and crypto czar, confirmed the enactment successful abstracted posts connected X.

Sacks praised Selig arsenic "deeply knowledgeable astir fiscal markets and passionate astir modernizing our regulatory attack successful bid to support America's competitiveness successful the integer plus era."

Selig, successful his X post, said helium would "work tirelessly to facilitate Well-Functioning Commodity Markets, beforehand Freedom, Competition and Innovation, and assistance the President marque the United States the Crypto Capital of the World."

The CFTC did not respond instantly to a petition for comment. The prime of Selig for CFTC seat was archetypal reported by Bloomberg News.

The prime comes arsenic the integer assets industry, which had been facing regulatory pressures, takes halfway signifier nether the Trump medication with caller legislation.

The GENIUS Act, passed earlier successful the year, and the CLARITY Act — which aims to found a regulatory model for integer assets — person been received good by investors successful the sector.

Trump has been vocal astir his enactment for cryptocurrency, and had promised successful his campaigns to marque America the crypto superior of the satellite if helium was elected.

Cryptocurrency has go a recurring taxable successful the Trump family's concern empire, including Truth Social proprietor Trump Media & Technology Group; DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity tied to the Trump household that holds astir 38% of equity successful the institution that controls crypto task World Liberty Financial; and meme coins launched by some the president and archetypal woman Melania Trump.

Trump had primitively named Brian Quintenz to beryllium the CFTC chair, but his information was stalled pursuing absorption by Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of precocious listed cryptocurrency speech Gemini.

Quintenz, a Republican who antecedently was a commissioner astatine the agency, had accused Winklevoss of lobbying the White House to stall his nomination.

The CFTC is typically led by a bipartisan radical of 5 commissioners. The president has historically nominated commissioners from some parties to serve.

Selig has been with the CFTC since March 2025. He was antecedently a spouse astatine planetary instrumentality steadfast Willkie Farr & Gallagher.