The US Senate has confirmed crypto-friendly leaders to head the CFTC and FDIC
The US Senate confirmed crypto-friendly advocate Mike Selig as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and named Travis Hill as chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The two confirmations were included in a package of nearly 100 other nominees the Trump administration has chosen for various roles in government, which passed the Senate on Thursday in a 53-43 vote.
Selig, who has previous experience at the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission, pledged to make crypto a priority when elected in October after being tapped to take over from front-runner Brian Kuntenz.
Meanwhile, Hill has already been running the FDIC as its acting chairman and has also shown a crypto-friendly stance.
He has spoken in congressional hearings about banning companies from banks because of crypto ties.
The CFTC may soon adopt more limited crypto jurisdiction, with measures similar to the bipartisan Senate bill passed in November that seeks to transfer major crypto market oversight to the CFTC.
The FDIC is poised to regulate stablecoin issuers and will have a hand in how the crypto industry is bankrolled.
Selig will serve until 2029, Hill until 2030.
Selig's term expires in April 2029. Once sworn in, he will take over from CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham, who plans to step down and join crypto infrastructure provider MoonPay when a new chair is confirmed.
Selig remains the sole commissioner of the normally five-member commission after Pham resigned in a series of resignations earlier in the year.
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Hill will lead the agency for the next five years. Former Senate-confirmed FDIC Chairman Martin Grunberg resigned in January as part of former President Joe Biden's interim administration.
Positive industry about crypto future regulation
The news of crypto-friendly leaders, led by two major regulators, has received positive sentiment in the industry.
Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer of crypto exchange Coinbase, told XPost that Selig's “experience in crypto and as a federal regulator ensures that he will lead the U.S. crypto market with fairness, transparency and a strong commitment to the rule of law.”
Cody Carbone, CEO of crypto industry advocacy group Digital Chamber, said Selig's US Senate confirmation is an “exciting new chapter in his membership and advocacy history of digging into the complex and technical issues around digital assets.”
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