The leaders of the CFTC and SEC participated in a collaborative agency gathering on Thursday to examine a synchronized strategy for cryptocurrency oversight, through which a “Project Crypto” partnership was announced.
Michael Selig, the head of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), declared that the agency would participate in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Project Crypto initiative, ensuring that a coordinated regulatory framework is advanced by the two bodies.
In notes prepared for a cross-agency dialogue regarding the coordination of digital asset oversight, Selig remarked that the CFTC would collaborate with the SEC on Project Crypto, a program introduced in July to define the regulatory standards by which virtual assets are governed.
The CFTC chief stated that the collaborative effort intends to “promote a distinct virtual asset classification, define legal boundaries, eliminate redundant oversight obligations, and diminish regulatory inconsistency,” ensuring that a more unified approach is fostered between the agencies.
“Disjointed supervision creates genuine financial burdens—elevating access hurdles, stifling rivalry, inflating adherence costs, and incentivizing jurisdictional maneuvering instead of constructive funding,” Selig remarked. “Acknowledging this, I plan for the CFTC to cooperate intimately with the SEC to pinpoint chances where a tighter integration of governing standards is achieved across various exchanges.”
As stated by Selig, the organization’s goal “is not to obscure legal demarcations, but to minimize redundant overlap that fails to enhance exchange transparency,” ensuring that a more streamlined oversight system is maintained without sacrificing safety.
Selig’s observations followed a vote by the Senate Agriculture Committee along partisan lines on Thursday to move forward with the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (DCIA), through which the specific oversight responsibilities of the SEC and CFTC are expected to be clarified.
Selig’s commentary succeeded a party-line decision by the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday to progress the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act (DCIA), a legislative measure by which the distinct supervisory roles of the SEC and CFTC are intended to be defined.
“The turf wars of years gone by must give way to a new era of cooperation,”
said SEC Chair Paul Atkins, speaking before Selig at the event.
CFTC Turns Focus to Prediction Markets
Selig noted that, since beginning his term in December, he instructed CFTC personnel to retract a 2024 regulation banning “political and sports-linked event agreements” as well as a 2025 notice through which registrants were cautioned against providing entry to sports-related contracts amid active legal disputes.
“For too long, the CFTC’s existing framework has proven difficult to apply and has failed our market participants,” said Selig. “That is something I intend to fix by establishing clear standards for event contracts that provide certainty to market participants.”
The CFTC leader’s remarks occurred as several US state regulators initiated enforcement actions against forecasting venues by asserting that a gambling permit is required to provide sports-based betting.
CFTC Leadership Faces Scrutiny in Market Structure Debate
On Thursday, legislators within the Senate Agriculture Committee approved the progression of the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, a proposal designed to construct a foundational architecture for virtual asset exchanges. While lawmakers noted that a merger of their initiatives with the Senate Banking Committee’s work would be necessary prior to a plenary session, the administrative direction of the CFTC was questioned during the deliberation of legislative adjustments.
Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced a modification necessitating that the CFTC be equipped with a minimum of four commissioners—the standard count being five—prior to the activation of the market structure legislation, should it receive presidential approval. The proposal was defeated 12 to 11 along partisan lines, as the Republican majority rejected the revision through which a delay to the mandate was sought.
“We can’t give this CFTC this broad new authority when it only has one member, one Republican member,”
said Klobuchar at the Thursday markup before the vote.
Selig assumed leadership following the exit of then-interim CFTC Head Caroline Pham and several additional departures in 2025, a sequence of events by which the organization was left understaffed. As of Thursday, President Donald Trump had not publicized any appointments or strategies to select further commissioners to fill the remaining vacancies.
