Michael Selig, currently chief adviser to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's crypto task force, can be questioned in a hearing by senators next week to contemplate his nomination to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee updated its calendar to incorporate Selig's nomination hearing on Nov. 19. The announcement got here about two weeks after the SEC official confirmed on social media that he was President Donald Trump's next nominee to guide the agency following the ouster of Brian Quintenz.
The hearings for Quintenz, whom Trump nominated in February, were placed on hold in July amid reports that Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss were pushing for an additional nominee. Quintenz later released private text messages between himself and the Winklevoss twins by which he signaled that the Gemini co-founders desired to seek certain assurances regarding enforcement motion from the CFTC.
Since September, incumbent CFTC Chairwoman Caroline Pham has been the only real commissioner of the financial agency, which is predicted to have five members. Pham said earlier this 12 months that she planned to go away the CFTC after the Senate voted on a brand new chairman, suggesting that if confirmed, Selig may very well be the only real leadership voice at considered one of the nation's most distinguished financial agencies.
US Senate committee releases draft market structure bill
Regardless of whether Selig is confirmed or not, the CFTC is predicted to face significant regulatory changes regarding digital assets following the possible passage of a market structure law.
In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the CLARITY Act. The bill, which seeks to ascertain clear roles and responsibilities for the SEC and CFTC regarding cryptocurrencies, is awaiting consideration within the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Banking Committee before potentially moving to a floor vote.
On Monday, Republicans on the Senate Agriculture Committee released a discussion draft of the market structure bill, advancing the laws for the primary time in weeks amid a government shutdown and a congressional recess.
The Agriculture Committee oversees laws affecting commodities and their regulatory agencies, comparable to the CFTC, while the Banking Committee oversees securities and oversees the SEC.
