CFTC Chair Selig Says 'It's Go Time' for Crypto Rules

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig said Wednesday the agency is pressing ahead with crypto market-structure rules, even without new legislation from Congress.

Existing authority gives room to act

Selig told CNBC that “it’s go time” for crypto regulation, adding that the administration had planned for the possibility that legislation would stall.

He said:

“The president has said since day one we’re going to have crypto market structure done. That means either legislation or rulemaking, and the agencies have a ton of existing statutory authority.”

The CFTC reviewed those authorities earlier as part of the president’s working group on digital asset markets, and Selig said the agency would “continue to ship rules” to get ready for “the new frontier.”

His remarks come after the CLARITY Act failed to clear the Senate last week, leaving the path to a broader legislative framework unresolved.

Two proposals under White House review

Last week, the CFTC sent two proposals, Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets, to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review.

Bitcoin and the wider crypto market rallied on the news.