This Commission That Regulates Crypto Could Be Just One Guy: An Industry Lawyer |
Republicans in the Senate are racing to confirm a lawyer with a long list of crypto industry clients as the next Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair, a position that will hold wide sway over the industry.
CFTC nominee Mike Selig has served dozens of crypto clients ranging from venture capital firms to a bear-themed blockchain company based in the Cayman Islands, according to ethics records obtained by The Intercept.
Those records show the breadth of potential conflicts of interest for Selig, who, if confirmed, will serve on the CFTC alone due to an exodus of other commissioners.
With a Bitcoin crash wiping out a trillion dollars of value in the past few weeks, the industry is counting on friendly regulators in Washington to give it a boost.
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Senate Agriculture Committee members voted 12-11 on party lines in favor of Selig on November 20, setting up a vote in the full Senate. The committee vote came a day after a hearing in which Selig dodged straightforward questions about whether CFTC staffing should be expanded as it takes on a role overseeing digital assets, and whether Donald Trump was right to pardon Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
One thing Selig was committal on, however, was the danger of over-enforcement — leading the consumer group Better Markets to criticize him as the “wrong choice” to lead the CFTC.
“The CFTC is facing unprecedented strain as crypto and prediction market oversight has been layered into its traditional derivatives market oversight responsibilities,” said Benjamin Schiffrin, the nonprofit group’s director of securities policy. “During his hearing, Mr. Selig showed little interest in regulation on either count and was unable to answer the simplest of questions.”
Friendly to Crypto
Selig has drawn widespread backing from........