CFTC | Crypto

Amir Zaidi’s return signals a strengthening of crypto oversight as the agency prepares for new digital asset laws. The key policy maker who oversaw the launch of regulated Bitcoin futures in the US has returned as the Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s chief of staff after a six-year hiatus.  In a Wednesday announcement, the CFTC welcomed back Amir Zaidi with chairman Michael Selig emphasizing the wealth of experience Zaidi will bring.  “I’m grateful for his willingness to return as chief of staff and for his continued dedication and service to both the CFTC and our stakeholders. Amir was instrumental in the historic launch of CFTC-regulated bitcoin futures contracts during President Trump’s first term,” Selig said. Read more

CFTC acting chair Caroline Pham says Monday was her last day at the regulator, with Michael Selig being officially sworn in to chair the agency. The US commodities watchdog has a new leader. Michael Selig was sworn in as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday as acting chair Caroline Pham departed the agency after nearly a year at the helm. Pham, who had been serving as the CFTC’s acting chair since January and its sole commissioner since August, said on Monday that it would be her last day at the agency. Meanwhile, the CFTC confirmed that Selig was sworn in as the agency’s 16th chairman on Monday after being nominated for the role by President Donald Trump on Oct. 27 and confirmed by the Senate on Thursday. Read more

Following Michael Selig's confirmation, White House official David Sacks said the SEC and CFTC were set to offer "clear regulatory guidelines" for digital assets. 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 wil...

Mike Selig pledged to make crypto a priority when he was picked to lead the CFTC in October, while Travis Hill has spoken out against crypto debanking. The US Senate has confirmed crypto-friendly lawyer Mike Selig as the new chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and has elevated Travis Hill to chair the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The two confirmations were included in a package of nearly 100 other nominees that the Trump administration had selected for various roles across the government, which passed the Senate in a 53-43 vote on Thursday. Selig, who has previous experience at the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission, pledged to make crypto a priority when he was nominated in October after he was picked to take over from the previous nominee, Brian Quintenz. Read more

In a package of confirmations, the U.S. Senate approved Mike Selig to lead the CFTC and Travis Hill to run the FDIC, both with major potential reach into crypto.

The US regulator's green light lets Bitnomial’s clearinghouse support prediction markets linked to crypto and economic events, expanding its regulated product and clearing offerings. Bitnomial Clearinghouse LLC received approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to clear fully collateralized swaps, enabling its parent company, Bitnomial, to launch prediction markets and offer clearing services to other platforms. According to Friday’s announcement, Bitnomial’s prediction market will cover crypto and economic events, alongside its existing Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto derivatives products. The contracts are designed to allow traders to take positions on outcomes, such as token price levels and macroeconomic data. The approval expands the umbrella of the trading products offered by Bitnomial. Based in Chicago, the company’s exchange and clearing arms offer perpetuals, futures, options contracts and leveraged spot trading. The company’s clearinghouse also supports crypto-based margin and settle...

Senators could vote on Michael Selig's nomination to head the CFTC, which, if successful, is expected to lead to the departure of acting Chair Caroline Pham. Update (Dec. 11 at 7:35 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a Thursday policy announcement from Caroline Pham. The top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee said the full chamber could vote on US President Donald Trump’s pick to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission “maybe as soon as this afternoon.” In a prepared statement for a Thursday hearing on CFTC reauthorization, Committee Chair Glenn Thompson said the Senate could vote on Michael Selig’s nomination to chair the agency on Thursday. The potential vote would come just a few weeks after the Agriculture Committee advanced Selig’s nomination to the full chamber, along partisan lines.  Read more

The pilot program allows futures commission merchants to accept Bitcoin, Ether and USDC for margin collateral, provided strict reporting criteria are followed. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued updated guidance for tokenized collateral in derivatives markets, paving the way for a pilot program to test how cryptocurrencies can be used as collateral in derivatives markets. Collateral in derivatives markets serves as a security deposit, acting as a guarantee to ensure that a trader can cover any potential losses.  The digital asset pilot, announced by CFTC acting chairman Caroline Pham on Monday, will allow futures commission merchants (FCM) — a company that facilitates futures trades for clients — to accept Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Circle’s stablecoin USDC (USDC) for margin collateral. Read more

On Dec. 4, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved leveraged spot crypto trading on federally regulated exchanges. For the first time in American history, spot Bitcoin and other crypto assets can trade with margin inside the CFTC framework that already governs futures and options, backed by central clearing and long-tested risk management. […] The post CFTC leverage ruling finally opens the door for $25 trillion giants to enter the crypto market appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham said the move was intended to drive trading activity to US exchanges, rather than offshore ones “that lack basic safeguards.” The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has given approval for spot cryptocurrency products to trade on federally regulated futures exchanges. In a Thursday notice, Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham said the move was in response to policy directives from US President Donald Trump. She added that the approval followed recommendations by the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, engagement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and consultations from the CFTC’s “Crypto Sprint” initiative. “[F]or the first time ever, spot crypto can trade on CFTC-registered exchanges that have been the gold standard for nearly a hundred years, with the customer protections and market integrity that Americans deserve,” said Pham. Read more

Select users in the US will be among the first to access the predictions platform to bet on sports event contracts, following clearance from a financial regulator for a relaunch. Prediction platform Polymarket has begun rolling out its relaunch in the United States, announcing that waitlisted users would be the first to access its US app. In a Wednesday X post, Polymarket said that it would be making its US app available to waitlisted users, beginning with bets on sports event contracts, “followed by markets on everything.” The official launch came about three months after the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a no-action letter to a crypto derivatives exchange and clearinghouse acquired by Polymarket, laying the groundwork for the launch of its US services. Read more

Jeff Park’s pro-CFTC comments come just days after US senators introduced a bill pushing to shift crypto oversight from the SEC to the CFTC. Despite some complexities around the recently proposed crypto market structure bill, a clearer picture is starting to form regarding crypto market oversight, according to ProCap BTC chief investment officer Jeff Park. “The CFTC will own a larger domain over crypto than the SEC,” Park said during an interview with crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano published on YouTube on Friday, while emphasizing that there is still “lots of complexity with different stakeholders.” “I think that is directionally correct in my opinion,” he said. “The CFTC is in the business of financial innovation at large, and it is in the business of managing capital efficiency, and leverage and derivatives products,” he said, explaining that aligns with what the crypto industry is building, a new settlement layer that brings capital efficiency at different speeds. Read more

According to the agencies’ operations plans, staff are expected to return to work the day after the “enactment of appropriations legislation,” which occurred late on Wednesday. Employees who were furloughed during the US government shutdown are expected to return to work at the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission after 43 days away. According to the operations plans with the SEC and CFTC, staff are expected to return on Thursday, following US President Donald Trump’s signing of a funding bill late on Wednesday to resume federal operations. The two agencies’ respective plans require employees to come in on the “next regularly scheduled workday [...] following enactment of appropriations legislation,” which acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham appeared to confirm in a Thursday X post. Read more

The Senate Agriculture Committee has unveiled a market structure draft that has proposed a CFTC-led spot regime and SEC–CFTC joint rulemakings. Former CFTC commissioner Summer Mersinger has said the effort has advanced crypto oversight with bipartisan momentum. The post Boozman–Booker Draft Advances Crypto Market Structure – CFTC, SEC Coordination Looms appeared first on Cryptonews.

CFTC has prepared to allow leveraged spot crypto trading on U.S.-regulated venues, after Caroline Pham has confirmed talks with CME Group, Cboe, ICE, Coinbase Derivatives, Kalshi and Polymarket; products have been expected to focus on BTC and ETH under existing commodities rules. The post CFTC Set to Approve Leveraged Crypto Trading in the U.S. Next Month – Institutions Coming? appeared first on Cryptonews.

Interim CFTC chief Caroline Pham confirmed plans to greenlight leveraged spot crypto trading in the US as early as next month following talks with regulated exchanges. Acting Chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Caroline Pham is in talks with regulated US crypto exchanges to launch leveraged spot crypto products as early as next month. In a Sunday X post, Pham confirmed that she is pushing to allow leveraged spot crypto trading in the US and that she is in talks with regulated US crypto exchanges to launch leveraged crypto spot products next month. Pham also confirmed that she continued meeting with industry representatives despite the government shutdown. The regulator is also currently considering issuing guidance for leveraged spot crypto products. Read more

The Trump administration has appointed Michael Selig, a pro-crypto lawyer and SEC counsel, to head up the CFTC. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may finally get a chairperson as President Donald Trump’s nominee, Michael Selig, begins the vetting process. The CFTC is currently under the leadership of Acting Chair Caroline Pham, who assumed the role in April 2025. She was nominated to the position by President Joe Biden in 2022 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate. The Trump administration initially picked former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, who also sat on the board of gambling platform Kalshi. However, his nomination was withdrawn in September, reportedly at the request of the Winklevoss brothers, who were concerned that he was not sufficiently pro-crypto. Read more

White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks announced Selig as US President Donald Trump's pick after Brian Quintenz's nomination to lead the regulator was withdrawn. US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official Michael Selig announced that President Donald Trump had nominated him to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), citing a focus on crypto policies. The move still requires Senate approval and comes as the agency operates with several open seats. In Saturday X posts, Selig and White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks confirmed reports that Trump would nominate him to chair the CFTC, setting the groundwork for the departure of acting Chair Caroline Pham. Selig, whose nomination did not appear in congressional records nor among official White House announcements at the time of publication, reiterated Trump’s goal of making the US a “crypto capital.” Read more

The rumored nomination of Michael Selig follows the CFTC nomination process hitting a snag in September when Brian Quintenz was withdrawn. US President Donald Trump is planning to nominate Michael Selig as the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), after pulling back the nomination of Brian Quintenz. Bloomberg reported the news on Friday, citing an unnamed Trump administration official. No official announcement has been made at the time of this writing. Selig currently serves as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force chief counsel and senior adviser to SEC Chair Paul Atkins. He has been characterized as “pro-crypto” by some analysts and influencers in the crypto community, who celebrated the potential nomination. Read more

The rumored nomination of Michael Selig follows the CFTC nomination process hitting a snag in September when Brian Quintenz was withdrawn. US President Donald Trump is planning to nominate Michael Selig as the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), after pulling back the nomination of Brian Quintenz. Bloomberg reported the news on Friday, citing an unnamed Trump administration official. No official announcement has been made at the time of this writing. Selig currently serves as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force chief counsel and senior adviser to SEC Chair Paul Atkins. He has been characterized as “pro-crypto” by some analysts and influencers in the crypto community, who celebrated the potential nomination. Read more