Trump Set to Nominate Michael Selig as New CFTC Chair After Quintenz’s Withdrawal

￰0￱ Donald Trump is preparing to nominate Michael Selig as the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), following the withdrawal of Brian Quintenz’s ￰1￱ first reported the development, citing an unnamed official within the Trump ￰2￱ official announcement has not yet been made. Selig’s Crypto Background and Role at SEC Michael Selig currently serves as chief counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crypto task force and senior adviser to SEC Chair Paul ￰3￱ has earned a reputation as a “pro-crypto” regulator, a label welcomed by many in the digital asset community. Selig’s potential appointment is being viewed by industry participants as a sign of continuity in Trump’s growing focus on cryptocurrency ￰4￱ believe that his experience bridging financial regulation and crypto innovation could help define the next phase of ￰5￱ asset ￰6￱ Shift After Quintenz Withdrawal The CFTC nomination process has faced delays since ￰7￱ Quintenz, Trump’s initial pick, withdrew his name following reported pressure from the Gemini crypto exchange co-founders, Tyler and Cameron ￰8￱ later confirmed he would return to the private sector, ending speculation about his role in the ￰9￱ has considered transferring greater responsibility for cryptocurrency oversight to the CFTC since early ￰10￱ his administration’s “Working Group on Digital Assets,” the CFTC and SEC are expected to share joint responsibility for regulating various types of crypto ￰11￱ Framework for Digital Assets The Working Group’s July report recommended assigning oversight of spot crypto markets to the CFTC, recognizing most cryptocurrencies as commodities rather than ￰12￱ contrast, digital assets categorized as securities — such as tokenized bonds or stock-like instruments — will remain under SEC ￰13￱ split aims to clarify how different types of tokens are regulated and prevent overlapping ￰14￱ SEC–CFTC Cooperation Intensifies In September, the two agencies issued a joint statement pledging to “harmonize” their crypto regulatory ￰15￱ experts described the move as a major step toward reducing uncertainty and building a more cohesive approach to ￰16￱ ￰17￱ CFTC also launched a “crypto sprint” in August to fast-track policy actions based on the White House Working Group’s ￰18￱ initiatives have fueled speculation that the SEC and CFTC could eventually merge into a single body.

However, SEC Chair Paul Atkins dismissed that notion, clarifying that only Congress or the ￰19￱ has the authority to merge the agencies.