CFTC chairman promises ‘new course’ to pave the way for prediction markets and crypto

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Mike Selig announces a review and modernization of financial market regulation, including embracing prediction markets.

Selig has written an op-ed promising a “new course” for the CFTC, kicking off with the Future-Proof initiative. This will start with a review of the agency’s existing rules and regulations, with a view to modernize those requirements with modern technology and innovations in mind.

The Innovation Advisory Committee will play a major role in Future-Proofing the @CFTC’s regulatory approach by advising the agency as it develops purpose-fit rules for prediction markets, digital assets and other emerging asset classes. /8

— Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) January 20, 2026

Specifically, Selig calls out prediction markets, blockchain, and using AI to hedge risks in investments and trading. He critiques the Biden administration for over-regulating the financial space, and highlights that the future of the CFTC will be focused on delivering “the minimum effective dose of regulation”.

“Arbitrary, cumbersome and opaque rules will not stand the test of time,” Selig wrote. “The CFTC’s approach should be to deliver the minimum effective dose of regulation—nothing more and nothing less. This means an end to policymaking through enforcement. And this means the agency’s policymaking divisions will develop clear rules of the road for market participants that will be codified through notice-and-comment rulemaking to ensure that the regulatory requirements do not change wildly from administration to administration.”

It seems that Selig’s plan is to make permanent changes that are codified into law. The goal appears to be to support new products and developments like cryptocurrencies, prediction markets, and NFTs.

The future of the CFTC has presidential backing

Selig goes on to mention President Donald Trump’s involvement specifically, writing: “To achieve the golden age of American financial markets, as the president might call it, regulators must break with the rigid and restrictive regulatory practices of the past. The CFTC will seize this generational opportunity to modernize and future-proof its approach to regulation and ensure that the great innovations of today and tomorrow are made in America.”

Considering he also refers to the goal of making America the crypto capital of the world, it’s worth noting that President Trump and his family have benefited directly from crypto products, even launching currencies hooked to their personal brands. Donald Trump Jr has both invested in and sits on the advisory board of prediction market Polymaket, while the president’s own social media platform, Truth Social, has also launched its own prediction market, another area that Selig appears to want to support.

Featured image: US Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

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