Mike Selig, a name that’s been floating around Washington’s crypto circles for years, is now at the center of a regulatory shakeup that could redefine how the United States oversees the rapidly evolving world of digital assets. As of early October 2025, Selig, the chief counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Crypto Task Force, has emerged as the leading candidate to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)—a move that could have sweeping consequences for the crypto industry, according to reporting from Politico and DL News.
The CFTC, traditionally responsible for overseeing commodities like oil and wheat, is poised to gain significant new powers over digital assets thanks to the recently passed CLARITY Act. This legislation, which sailed through the House of Representatives in July 2025, divides digital assets into three categories: commodities (to be regulated by the CFTC), investment contracts (under the SEC), and payment stablecoins (assigned to banks). This shift marks what many observers see as the biggest regulatory shakeup in crypto’s short and tumultuous history.
Selig’s rise comes at a moment of transition and, some might say, turmoil. The CFTC has been short-staffed for months, led single-handedly on an interim basis by acting chair Caroline Pham since September 3, 2025. Pham, a noted crypto ally, has guided the agency through staffing shortages, terminated about a dozen employees, and prioritized formal rulemaking and clear guidance. She’s also allowed offshore exchanges to serve U.S. customers, a stance that’s made waves in both industry and regulatory circles.
But the leadership vacuum at the CFTC isn’t just about internal agency dynamics. The nomination process for a permanent chair has been unusually contentious. Earlier in 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner and current head of policy at Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, to take the helm. Yet, Quintenz’s nomination was abruptly withdrawn in September after a behind-the-scenes campaign by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of the Gemini crypto exchange and influential Trump supporters. According to DL News, the twins objected to Quintenz due to a seven-year CFTC investigation into Gemini that ended with a $5 million consent order earlier this year.
The dispute became public when Quintenz shared screenshots of text messages from the Winklevoss twins. "Our complaint raises serious questions and concerns about the culture of the agency that you are about to chair," Tyler Winklevoss wrote, urging Quintenz to prioritize "cultural reform" and align with President Trump’s mandate to end "lawfare." Quintenz, for his part, insisted, "The texts make it clear what they were after from me, and what I refused to promise." In the end, the Winklevosses made a call, and Quintenz’s nomination was, as one source put it, "completely nuked."
With the White House officially withdrawing Quintenz’s nomination, attention quickly turned to Selig. According to sources cited by DL News, Selig’s nomination is expected "to happen any minute." Crypto attorneys, lobbyists, and industry figures are lining up behind him. Evan Weiss, chief operating officer at Alluvial and a former corporate attorney, wrote, "Now leading the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, he’s delivered the most effective regulatory work we’ve seen out of any major regulator. If we want America to be the crypto capital of the world, Mike is the right choice to chair the CFTC."
Stuart Alderoty, chief legal officer at Ripple, echoed this sentiment, stating, "No one is better suited than Mike Selig to harmonize the CFTC and SEC on crypto and more – reducing duplicative regulation and patching fragmentation." This groundswell of support is notable, especially considering Selig’s history as a vocal critic of the SEC’s previous approach to crypto under Gary Gensler. Selig often decried what he called “regulation by enforcement,” advocating instead for clear, bespoke rules tailored to digital assets.
Selig’s credentials are hard to ignore. Before joining the SEC’s Crypto Task Force in March 2025, where he now leads a 14-person team charged with crafting regulations for digital assets, he was a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, advising clients on cryptocurrency regulation, enforcement, and compliance. He’s also served as Senior Adviser to SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who in July 2025 unveiled "Project Crypto," a deregulatory campaign aiming to bring equities markets onchain—a move Cameron Winklevoss described as "one of the most groundbreaking things I’ve read in a very, very long time." Selig’s earlier career included stints at Perkins Coie and as a law clerk in the office of former CFTC Chair Christopher Giancarlo, another prominent crypto advocate.
Within the SEC, Selig is credited with helping to rescind the controversial Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which had complicated crypto custody rules, and with dropping several lawsuits against crypto companies. He’s been a consistent presence in industry podcasts and publications since at least 2017, steadily building a reputation as a pragmatic, industry-savvy legal mind—qualities that could prove invaluable as the CFTC prepares to take on a far larger role in regulating digital assets.
Of course, Selig isn’t the only name in the running. Other candidates under consideration include Treasury Counselor Tyler Williams, a stablecoin policy expert; former CFTC Market Participants Division Director Josh Sterling; former commissioner Jill Sommers; and acting chair Caroline Pham herself. Still, Selig’s broad support and deep experience appear to set him apart at this pivotal moment.
The broader context for these developments is the years-long standoff between the SEC and CFTC over how to regulate crypto. Under the Biden administration, the SEC leaned on the 1946 Howey test to classify most cryptocurrencies as securities, leading to a wave of enforcement actions and uncertainty for crypto businesses. The CFTC, in contrast, has generally viewed digital assets as commodities. The CLARITY Act, now awaiting Senate passage—Senator Cynthia Lummis predicted in August that it would pass by Thanksgiving and provide a market structure by year’s end—promises to end this turf war by assigning clear regulatory responsibilities.
Yet, the process is far from over. The ongoing government shutdown, now in its fourth day, has already complicated the transition, with the SEC declining to comment or make Selig available for interviews. Whether the shutdown or further political wrangling will delay Selig’s formal nomination remains to be seen.
For now, the crypto industry is watching closely. The selection of the next CFTC chair isn’t just a bureaucratic appointment—it’s a signal about the future of digital asset regulation in the United States. As Weiss put it, "If we want America to be the crypto capital of the world, Mike is the right choice." Time will tell if Washington agrees, but one thing’s clear: the stakes have never been higher for the future of crypto in America.
