Trump Names Michael Selig Chair of CFTC, Indicating Pledge to Promote Cryptocurrencies

U.S. President Donald Trump has named Michael Selig as the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a move that underscores his administration’s deepening commitment to expanding America’s role in the global digital asset and cryptocurrency market.

Selig, who currently serves as Chief Counsel for the CFTC’s Crypto Taskforce, confirmed his appointment on Saturday alongside the White House’s Artificial Intelligence and Crypto Czar, David Sacks. Both announced the decision on social media.

On a post on X, Sacks described Selig as "deeply knowledgeable about financial markets and passionate about modernizing our regulatory approach in order to maintain America’s competitiveness in the digital asset era."

Selig posted that he would "work tirelessly to facilitate Well-Functioning Commodity Markets, promote Freedom, Competition and Innovation, and help the President make the United States the Crypto Capital of the World."

The appointment is another example of the support of crypto-friendly figures within the Trump administration, which has been devoting attention to the regulation of digital assets and currencies through the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act, both championed by the administration, which, supporters say, will give a clearer legal framework for cryptocurrencies.

Trump, who has tied the expansion of digital assets to his broader economic agenda, has promised to make the U.S. the global center of crypto innovation. His family’s business empire has become increasingly intertwined with the industry, with entities such as Trump Media & Technology Group and World Liberty Financial developing crypto ventures and meme coins linked to both the president and first lady, Melania Trump.

The CFTC traditionally operates as a bipartisan body. Still, Selig’s nomination signals that Trump intends to push aggressively toward a deregulatory, pro-crypto agenda that breaks with the cautious stance of prior administrations.

Trump pardons Binance founder

In another dramatic sign of his administration’s pivot toward digital assets, President Trump on Thursday issued a full pardon for Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Zhao, known as ‘CZ’, had pleaded guilty in 2023 to failing to maintain an anti-money laundering program at Binance. He resigned as CEO after the company paid a $4.3 billion settlement and was sentenced to four months in prison. But Trump downplayed the severity of Zhao’s conviction, telling reporters,

“A lot of people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything. It wasn’t even a crime. He was persecuted by the Biden administration, and so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.”

The pardon marks a major victory for Zhao and Binance, which has been barred from operating in the US since the plea deal. The move also fuels scrutiny of Trump’s growing ties to the digital asset sector. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that representatives of the Trump family’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, had discussed taking a stake in Binance’s US operations. 

Zhao has denied that claim, but Binance has maintained close financial links to Trump-affiliated ventures. Earlier this year, the Trump family's digital asset holdings were significantly boosted by a $2 billion deal with an Emirati investment fund, which saw the funds paid in a cryptocurrency developed by World Liberty Financial.