US President Donald Trump’s AI and crypto czar has signaled that the White House may have all the pieces in place for digital asset regulation following the confirmation of Michael Selig to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In a Monday X post, David Sacks said the US was at a “critical juncture” for crypto regulation, and that Selig and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins made up a “dream team to define clear regulatory guidelines.” Sacks’ comments were in response to Selig saying that the US Congress was preparing to complete work on a crypto market structure bill.
“We are at a unique moment as a wide range of novel technologies, products, and platforms are emerging, retail participation in the commodity markets is at an all-time high, and Congress is poised to send digital asset market structure legislation that will cement the US as the Crypto Capital of the World to the president’s desk,” said Selig on X.
The market structure bill, called the Responsible Financial Innovation Act in the Senate and building upon the CLARITY Act passed by the House of Representatives in July, is under consideration by the chamber but has been put on hold during the congressional break for the holiday season. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to hold a markup on the legislation in early January before a potential floor vote.
Related: Crypto CLARITY Act set for Senate markup in January, Sacks says
The Senate confirmed Selig last week in a 53 to 43 vote as part of a package of nominees. It’s unclear when he will take over for acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham, who is expected to leave the commission and join crypto company MoonPay following Selig’s confirmation. Cointelegraph reached out to the CFTC and MoonPay for details on Pham’s departure but had not received a response at the time of publication.
What will the market structure bill mean for the SEC and CFTC?
Although the final text of the Senate’s market structure bill had yet to be finalized for a floor vote, drafts to date suggested that the legislation would give the CFTC more authority to regulate digital assets, a role that previously went through the SEC. Though some Republican leaders said they were moving forward with the bill, other senators have pushed back with concerns over DeFi, potentially slowing progress.
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