Mike Selig Says CFTC Will 'Move Swiftly' to Propose Rules if Democrats Continue to Stall CLARITY Act: 'We

Mike Selig, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, stated on Thursday that the U.S. has crossed a threshold into new financial frontiers driven by blockchain, AI and prediction markets.

Selig Wants America to Take the Lead

In his remarks at the CFTC’s first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting, Selig emphasized that these innovations are inevitable and that the real question is whether America leads in writing the rules or allows other countries to take the lead.

“We’ve crossed the Rubicon and are standing at a new frontier of finance,” he added. “We can be optimistic about the future or we can fear it.”

CFTC Will Move Swiftly if Democrats Obstruct CLARITY Act

Selig also said that the CFTC would use its existing authorities to establish a regulatory regime for cryptocurrency markets if the CLARITY Act stalls due to Democratic obstruction.

He said that if the Democrats cannot support a bipartisan bill, which represents compromises from both sides of the aisel, then he will direct CFTC staff to “move swiftly” to propose new rules for the industry.

“We will heed President Trump’s call to codify a future-proof digital asset market structure that cannot be undone by crypto haters,” he said.