Making America the Crypto Capital of the World | New CFTC Chairman Michael Selig
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I'm hoping that we have both the crypto capital of the world today, which I I do believe the president has made The United States crypto capital of the world. I I don't think there's any question that this is the best place to build right now and and that we're seeing so much innovation in the space, But I wanna see that for for years to come. I wanna make sure that if we do get the next Gary Gensler, the rules and the statues are very clear, and they keep this stuff here for the long term.
Mike Selig, welcome back to Bankless.
Glad to be here.
Mike, I feel like your entire career prepared you for what you are doing now. So you clerked under crypto dad at the CFTC many years ago. You spent a decade representing crypto firms as a lawyer. You recently joined the SEC's crypto task force. That was in March 2025. And then in December, you were sworn in as the sixteenth CFTC chair. I feel in some ways like you are our dream candidate for this position. I don't know if you feel the the weight of our hopes and expectations on your shoulders, but can you tell us in your words, why are you at the CFTC? Like, what did you go there to go do?
I spent many years in private practice working with firms innovating on the edge of crypto, AI, prediction markets, and even the traditional firms that were really trying to test the boundaries. And around 2021, 2022, it seemed like every day we were getting a Wells notice or a subpoena or voluntary information request, quote unquote, voluntary. But, you know, it really was a a slog over the years representing clients in this space, trying to do the right thing, make sure that these clients had a place here in The United States, and they were really being pushed out. So when the twenty twenty
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Well, let's dig into all of that. I I wanna set the context for for folks. So I read your some of your remarks from a January speech that you gave, which I think maybe charted the path for how you intend to run things at the CFTC. And as we broaden things and look at the the the scope here, I it seems to me like the tone and and tenure the tenor of of what you're saying is that you see a shift that's happening in commodities markets. You said that commodities markets are undergoing a rapid transformation, and you compared it to the electronic transformation in the nineteen eighties. It seems l
Well, do believe that we're in the midst of a technological revolution globally, but but importantly in this country where we have three really important technologies. We've got blockchain and crypto assets, prediction markets, and artificial intelligence. And these are rapidly transforming the way that we consume information, the way that we transact, and the way that we work every day. And that's right. The prior administration really had a concerted effort to drive these new technologies and and innovators offshore. There was the assault on crypto, which, of course, Gary Gensler was one of
When you think about what a commodity actually is, so th
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