CFTC Chair Selig says agency will pursue crypto rules, AI compute oversight and prediction market updates at first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting. CME Group among participants.
The CFTC convened its first Innovation Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C., with Chairman Michael Selig laying out a regulatory push across crypto, AI compute markets and prediction contracts. The panel, chaired by Walt Lukken, drew executives from Ripple, Coinbase, Uniswap and CME Group. For traders, the key signal is that the agency intends to use existing authority to write rules for digital asset exchanges offering leveraged trading–even if Congress stalls on the CLARITY Act. "If CLARITY continues to stall, the CFTC will use its existing powers to build rules for crypto markets," Selig said. He has directed CFTC staff to explore a framework that would let crypto exchanges register as digital asset markets and offer margined trading under CFTC oversight. Selig also said the agency is working with developers of onchain finance protocols to help them operate legally in the U.S. That would put more crypto activity under the CFTC's remit, which Selig noted already covers roughly half of the world's $1.2 quadrillion derivatives market. On the AI side, the CFTC recently requested public comment on markets for computing power needed to run AI systems. The agency plans to coordinate with the Commerce Department on regulatory treatment. For prediction markets, Selig said the CFTC will update rules for event contracts, including stronger consumer protections and clearer listing standards. The agency has already proposed changes to Rule 40.11 and expects further proposals covering trading platforms. The Innovation Advisory Committee itself is a signal that the CFTC wants to stay ahead of product development–especially as tokenized equities and crypto derivatives grow. CME Group, a committee participant, already offers bitcoin and ether futures. Traders should watch for rulemaking on leveraged crypto trading and compute markets, which would directly affect CME's product lineup and broader derivatives access. "We've crossed the Rubicon and are standing at a new frontier of finance," Selig said. He added that the question is no longer whether blockchain, AI and prediction markets will change finance, but "where this innovation will take place and who will write the rules."
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