Both the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will have significant reach into supervising the U.S. crypto sector, and President Donald Trump’s nominees to be their chairman have been crawling through a Senate confirmation process that’s close to its end — though the Senate likely remains days away from actually holding the final vote.
After a Thursday approval 52-47 of the resolution that sets up the final vote, Mike Selig is one step away from taking over the CFTC, and Travis Hill’s ascent to chairman at the FDIC will also soon be decided. A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso posted on social media site X that the final vote is likely “early next week.”
The Republicans in the Senate have leaned into an unusual approach of confirming dozens of Trump’s nominees at a time. In this case, there are 97 confirmation questions being voted on, with Selig and Hill just two among them.
Selig, a senior official working on crypto matters at the Securities and Exchange Commission, would replace Acting Chairman Caroline Pham, who has been leading the CFTC through a number of pro-crypto policy initiatives. The CFTC is expected to take a leading role on crypto oversight in the U.S., especially if Congress eventually passes a market structure bill that cements the agency’s authority.
Even before any legislation makes its way through the Senate, the CFTC has gone on an aggressive blitz, forming a CEO council to weigh in on policy issues, allowing Bitcoin BTC$91,111.66, Ether ETH$3,204.36 and USDC (among other payment stablecoins) to be used as collateral and allowing registered firms provide spot crypto trading services.
Hill has already been leading the FDIC as an interim chief, so his confirmation would make that role official for him. He’s also pursued an agenda that favors friendly crypto banking policies.
Read More: Trump’s CFTC Pick, Mike Selig, Clears Hurdle on Way Toward Confirmation Vote
