US CFTC and SEC push joint collaboration on crypto regulation

Michael Selig, chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), announced that the agency would join the efforts of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Project Crypto.

In remarks prepared for an SEC-CFTC discussion on harmonizing the agencies’ approach to digital assets, Selig said that the CFTC would be partnering with the SEC on its Project Crypto, an initiative launched in July to establish clarity on regulations for digital assets. 

According to the CFTC chair, the joint collaboration aims to “advance a clear crypto asset taxonomy, clarify jurisdictional lines, remove duplicative compliance requirements, and reduce regulatory fragmentation.” 

“Fragmented oversight imposes real economic costs—raising barriers to entry, reducing competition, increasing compliance expenses, and encouraging regulatory arbitrage rather than productive investment,” said Selig. “Recognizing this, I intend for the CFTC to work closely with the SEC to identify opportunities to better align regulatory requirements across markets.”

According to Selig, the agency’s objective “is not to blur statutory boundaries, but to reduce unnecessary duplication that does not improve market integrity.”

Selig’s remarks followed the Senate Agriculture Committee voting along party lines on Thursday to advance a digital asset market structure bill, expected to clarify the roles the SEC and CFTC would have in overseeing crypto regulation.

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Selig said that both agencies would work to “modernize and harmonize their approach to regulation to future-proof [US] markets for the innovations of tomorrow” amid Congress’ work on the bill.

“The turf wars of years gone by must give way to a new era of cooperation,” said SEC Chair Paul Atkins, speaking before Selig at the event.

CFTC leadership under scrutiny in market structure legislation

On Thursday, lawmakers in the Senate Agriculture Committee voted to advance the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, a bill to establish a digital asset market structure framework. Although lawmakers said they would need to combine their efforts with those in the Senate Banking Committee before a full chamber vote, leadership at the CFTC under Selig came into question when considering amendments to the bill.

Senator Amy Klobuchar proposed an amendment requiring that the CFTC be staffed with at least four commissioners — there are normally five — before the market structure bill, if signed into law, could be implemented. The amendment failed 12 to 11 along party lines, with the Republican majority opposing the change to the bill.

“We can’t give this CFTC this broad new authority when it only has one member, one Republican member,” said Klobuchar at the Thursday markup before the vote.