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Michael Selig, the current Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), recently talked about what he described as a “Future-Proof” initiative, which focuses on modernizing the CFTC’s regulatory approach to emerging markets, with a strong emphasis on digital assets and other innovative areas like prediction markets.
Selig says that under his leadership, the CFTC is charting a new course. He highlighted the previous administration’s mistakes, which drove many businesses offshore, and claimed that despite all those missteps, America remains home to some of the greatest innovators.
What did Selig promise would happen under his leadership
Selig wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece that the CFTC and other financial regulators have a responsibility to develop clear and fit-for-purpose regulations that allow entrepreneurs to build, while continuing to protect the public from fraud, scams, and market manipulation.
According to him, the CFTC needs to be future-proof for tomorrow’s innovations, and for that to happen, the agency’s regulations must adapt to meet the nation’s builders where they are.
“That is why I have launched the “Future-Proof” initiative,” he wrote, adding that the CFTC must upgrade its approach to encourage innovation.
What’s Selig’s future-proof initiative about?
The initiative will see the CFTC’s staff undertake a comprehensive review of the agency’s existing rules and regulations, then modernize those requirements to ensure a level playing field for new entrants and incumbents alike.
“As new asset classes emerge and the CFTC’s role evolves, guidelines we establish should not just fit the product, but also serve a tailored regulatory purpose,” Selig continued.
He says that if Congress is able to deliver on making America the crypto capital of the world and get a digital asset market structure legislation to the president’s desk, the CFTC will have a broad set of new responsibilities.
Selig urged those in charge to pass the CFTC the torch, and the agency will ensure that those markets flourish at home with tailored regulatory frameworks that maintain the reputation of American markets as the best in the world.
He believes that the CFTC’s approach should be to deliver nothing but the minimum effective dose of regulation that will be codified via notice-and-comment rulemaking to prevent them from changing wildly from administration to administration.
He ended his piece by urging regulators to end the rigid and restrictive regulatory practices of the past and promised that the CFTC would make the best of this generational opportunity to modernize and future-proof its approach to regulation.
The CFTC still has vacant positions to fill
Despite his vision for the future, the CFTC is currently operating in a lopsided manner. It is structured in such a way that it needs a five-member bipartisan body, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, for permanent rulemaking.
However, as things stand, Selig is the only commissioner serving, and he is a Republican. He was nominated by Trump in October 2025 and confirmed by the Senate on December 18, 2025, then sworn in on December 22, 2025.
The other four seats remain vacant, and there has been no announcement of new commissioner confirmations.
Some have questioned this lack of commissioners and highlighted the importance of bipartisan input, especially where digital assets are concerned. As recently as January 8, 2026, there were reports that claimed the White House was weighing a bipartisan mix of potential candidates; however, there have been no confirmations.
Selig continues to operate solely, which gives him significant influence over the decisions and priorities of the agency. But the current structure continues to draw criticism about a lack bipartisan perspective.
While the commissioner seats remain vacant, Selig has made other staffing decisions to help make his work easier at the agency.
He brought in Amir Zaidi as Chief of Staff of the CFTC in December 2025 and has appointed two other senior staff members in his office this year. One is Michael Passalacqua, while the other is Cal Mitchell, and they have both joined the agency as senior advisors to Selig. They are both not commissioners, so the four seats will remain empty until the POTUS sees it fit to move forward with nominations.
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