Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, CFTC NEWS AND SPEECHES—Commission chair says American financial markets are at pivotal moment, (Jan 20, 2026)

By Suzanne Cosgrove

In an opinion piece published in Tuesday’s Washington Post, Selig said agency’s regulations must adapt to market evolution.

CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said Tuesday that as part of a “Future-Proof” initiative, he has directed the Commission’s staff to undertake a comprehensive review of the agency’s existing rules and regulations, and modernize the requirements to ensure a level playing field for new entrants and incumbents alike.

“We are at a pivotal moment in the evolution of American financial markets,” Selig said. “Advances in technology are enabling the creation of entirely new products, platforms and business models, in turn transforming the financial services landscape as we know it.

“The agency’s regulations must adapt to meet our nation’s builders where they are,” Selig said. “While decades-old rules designed for agricultural futures contracts may still suit those markets today, they do not contemplate nascent products or trading venues,” he said in an opinion piece published Tuesday in The Washington Post.

“Just as American businesses are modernizing legacy financial systems by harnessing new technologies, the CFTC must upgrade its approach to unleash innovation,” while also continuing to protect the public from fraud, scams and market manipulation, he said.

Emerging markets. Selig, who was sworn in as CFTC chairman in December and is currently the agency’s sole commissioner, called for the Commission and other financial regulators to develop clear and fit-for-purpose regulations that allow entrepreneurs “to build new things.”

“As new asset classes emerge and CFTC’s role evolves, the guidelines the agency establishes should not just fit the product, but also serve a tailored regulatory purpose,” Selig continued. He noted the prediction markets have gained popularity as market participants seek to hedge portfolio risks and test their abilities to forecast truth. In addition, the digital asset economy has grown from an experiment in cryptography to a more than $3 trillion market, “with ever greater types of assets being generated on blockchain networks.”

He noted that anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection can access blockchain-native financial markets that are peer-to-peer and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. “Meanwhile, advancements in artificial intelligence are making it possible to uncover methods for hedging risk even the savviest professionals would overlook,” he said. “These technologies are lowering barriers to entry, expanding risk-management tools and allowing market participants to tailor strategies to their individual needs.”

Passing the torch. The CFTC has an important role in developing the rules for this new frontier of finance, the Commission chairman said. The agency was formed to promote orderly operations in markets for the future delivery of agricultural products, but as innovation has enabled capital to reach greater efficiencies, policymakers recognized that an agency with experience regulating everything from pork bellies to credit default swaps is uniquely capable of overseeing novel and emerging markets, he said.

Today, innovators are leveraging technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence -- not just to modernize legacy financial systems, but also to build new ones. “The same spirit that drove American farmers to cultivate the Great Plains inspires today’s entrepreneurs to leave traditional finance behind and conquer new, unexplored territories,” he said.

Congress poised to deliver. Congress is “on the cusp” of enacting the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, Selig said. Should Congress deliver on making America the crypto capital of the world and send digital asset market structure legislation to the president’s desk, the CFTC will have a broad set of new responsibilities, he noted.

“Pass us the torch,” he said, “and we will ensure that these markets flourish at home with tailored regulatory frameworks that keep American markets the best in the world.”

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