CFTC Taps SEC Crypto Adviser for Data Role Amid Regulatory Battle

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission appointed Donald Battle as its new chief data innovation officer on Monday, pulling a veteran blockchain investigator from the SEC’s crypto task force as lawmakers in Washington haggle over which agency gets to write digital-asset rules.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig announced the hire, pointing to Battle’s background in data science, blockchain forensics, and artificial intelligence. Battle most recently advised the SEC’s crypto task force after joining in January 2025. He previously held roles at the CFTC and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

The appointment lands in the middle of a broader jurisdictional fight. Congress is working on the CLARITY Act, legislation that would redraw the lines between the SEC and the CFTC over digital assets. While that debate plays out, the CFTC has pressed ahead with enforcement and rulemaking in two areas it already oversees: crypto markets and prediction platforms.

One test case involves Kalshi, a federally regulated event-contract exchange. The CFTC sued New Mexico after state officials tried to apply local gaming laws to Kalshi’s contracts. The complaint, cited by the commission, names Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Attorney General Raúl Torrez. The CFTC argues that event contracts approved under its authority cannot be subject to state gambling rules. New Mexico authorities had alleged Kalshi was operating without a required license and allowing users below the state’s legal gaming age of 21.