Bitcoin Futures Trailblazer Returns to CFTC as Chief Employee
Crypto reporter
Shalini Nagarajan
Crypto reporter
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As Amir Zadi returns as chief of staff to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ahead of what Washington calls a critical year for crypto rules, the U.S. derivatives watcher is bringing back a familiar face from bitcoin's first leap into regulated markets.
The CFTC said on Dec. 31 that Chairman Michael S. Selig appointed Zadidy to the position after he spent nearly a decade at the agency before leaving for the private sector.
“Amir brings to this role deep experience in both the commission and the financial services world,” he said, linking ZD's history with the agency's push to shape new rules for digital asset markets.
From Market Control Chief to Bitcoin Futures Architect
Zaidi worked at the CFTC from 2010 to 2019, and most recently headed the Market Regulation Division, where the agency oversaw the certification and deployment of the first federally regulated crypto product, Bitcoin Futures.
That moment came in late 2017, when the CFTC CME and Cboe Futures Exchange announced self-certifying new Bitcoin futures contracts, paving the way for US-listed trading days later.
After leaving the government, Zadi served as head of global compliance at broker-dealer TP ICAP, a role he announced in 2019 after a stint at the CFTC.
A new chief of staff came as a change in policy direction
“I am delighted to return to the CFTC and am grateful to Chairman Selig for appointing me to this important role,” said Zaidi, who said he plans to help implement the chairman's pro-innovation agenda as resource markets evolve.
Zadie's return comes days after Selig was sworn in as the 16th CFTC chairman, following Trump's nomination in October and his confirmation by the Senate on December 18.
Selig framed the period as a transition from enforcement to transparent rules, and the agency is already deep into the crypto pipeline, including steps that have moved U.S.-controlled areas closer to style crypto trading.
For crypto markets, the CFTC's labor movement in 2016 It's another sign that he expects to be at the center of US market structure talks in 2026, with Selig heading to President Trump's desk for digital asset legislation and a big push to keep crypto activity at bay.
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