Crypto exchanges are lining up to register with the CFTC, chair Selig says

Crypto exchanges already registered with the CFTC for derivatives are lining up to add spot trading under the agency's new rulebook, Chairman Michael Selig told CNBC in an exclusive interview at Cantor Convergence, the annual fintech conference in Miami Beach. Many of the majors are already on the CFTC's books because they list perpetual futures and other products, and Selig said that gives them a path to push into spot. New players are calling too, he said — they would rather face one federal regulator than sign up with 50 separate state regimes.

The commission proposed the rules in October, aiming to stamp out market abuse and put crypto transactions under a single federal rulebook. Selig called the move a critical step toward keeping the United States the crypto capital of the world. The framework draws on the agency's existing statutory authority to register exchanges that want to offer margined, leveraged or financed crypto assets, he said, with oversight opt-in for platforms that don't already offer margin and leverage — something not permitted under current state regimes.

The groundwork got laid after the Clarity Act, a broad market structure bill, stalled in the Senate in September without the votes to reach the president's desk this Congress. That pushed the CFTC and the SEC to build federal frameworks themselves. Selig said the agencies still need to protect markets and the customers using them in the wake of that failure.

The new rules could run into a wall of oversight in 2027, with Democrats set to control both the House and Senate after the midterms. Selig said he hopes the U.S. avoids a wave of software developers heading offshore, as many crypto businesses threatened during the Biden administration, and that he wants bipartisan work to shield developers who play it straight while fraudsters get held accountable. Asked about tougher congressional scrutiny, he said Congress will investigate where it needs to and that he is happy to answer its questions.

Prediction markets remain a live fight. In February, 23 Democratic senators wrote to Selig urging him to undo the agency's greenlighting of them. Selig counters that the platforms are federally regulated and the CFTC has sued several states to defend what it calls exclusive jurisdiction over event contracts, which it classifies as swaps. He said he'll take the fight to the Supreme Court if necessary, and won't let states sue the agency's exchanges on claims they're unlicensed gambling.

Crypto firms spent the Biden years fighting Washington, pressing for clear rules while fending off SEC lawsuits under former chair Gary Gensler. Selig's comments land after that dynamic flipped with President Donald Trump's 2024 victory. CNBC's Tanaya Macheel contributed to the report.