Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael S. Selig has directed agency staff to begin developing crypto market structure rules that would be used if the Clarity Act fails to pass Congress, according to remarks delivered Thursday at the inaugural meeting of the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee.
Selig made clear that passing bipartisan market structure legislation remains his preferred path, describing the Clarity Act as “the most important step towards future-proofing this industry.” The bill would establish a federal framework for digital assets and clarify the roles of the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission in overseeing crypto markets. Selig said legislation would also make the rules harder for a future administration to reverse.
“Passing Clarity is the surest way that we can prevent another Gary Gensler from running a rogue campaign of lawfare against the individuals and companies in this room today,” Selig said, referring to the former SEC chair.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Congress to pass a “fair version” of the Clarity Act. If the bill remains stalled, however, Selig said the CFTC is prepared to move ahead using its existing authority. “If Clarity continues to stall because of Democrat obstruction, the CFTC will utilize its existing authorities to begin establishing a regime for crypto asset markets,” he said.
Under the contingency framework, current CFTC registrants and currently unregistered crypto exchanges could come under CFTC oversight and offer leveraged or margined crypto trading under rules tailored to digital asset markets. Selig also said he has directed staff to engage with developers of on-chain finance protocols to establish legal and compliant ways for those protocols to operate in the United States.
Selig added that the agency will give Congress more time to pass the Clarity Act before moving forward on its own. “Rest assured, I will direct CFTC staff to move swiftly to propose these rules for the industry,” he said. The directive is conditional: whether the CFTC formally proposes a framework depends on how the legislative timeline resolves.
The remarks follow other coordinated moves by U.S. regulators, including a joint CFTC and SEC consultation on crypto derivatives rules. During a Wednesday press conference with crypto executives, Trump also said Selig is working to bring decentralized perpetual futures exchange Hyperliquid into the United States, highlighting the regulator’s expanding focus on digital-asset market structure.
