Making America the Crypto Capital of the World | New CFTC Chairman Michael Selig

Bankless

Technology, Tech News, News

4.7 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A conversation with new CFTC Chairman Mike Selig on the policy shift behind America’s push to become the crypto capital of the world. We cover the CFTC’s evolving role in crypto, prediction markets, and perpetuals, the end of regulation by enforcement, how the agency is thinking about DeFi and software developers, and why market structure legislation like the Clarity Act could reshape the future of U.S. crypto. ------ 🎬 DEBRIEF | RYAN & DAVID UNPACKING THE EPISODE https://www.bankless.com/podcast/debrief-making-america-the-crypto-capital-of-the-world ------ 🔮POLYMARKET | #1 PREDICTION MARKET https://bankless.cc/polymarket-podcast 🪐GALAXY | INSTITUTIONAL DIGITAL FINANCE https://bankless.cc/galaxy-podcast 🏅BITGET TRADFI | TRADE GOLD WITH USDT https://bankless.cc/bitget 🎯THE DEFI REPORT | ONCHAIN INSIGHTS https://thedefireport.io/bankless 🌍 WORLD | FULLY ONCHAIN EXCHANGE https://bankless.cc/world ------ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:33 Mike’s Background 4:25 Commodity Markets Transformation 7:31 Commodity Definition 10:56 The Role of the CFTC 11:56 Prediction Markets 17:48 Navigating New Markets 20:34 Are Prediction Markets CFTC Territory? 24:45 Insider Trading vs Information Advantage 28:25 Trump’s Conflict of Interests 29:21 Clarity Act 36:58 Project Crypto 39:37 Defining Intermediary 43:32 Exchanges vs L2s 45:50 No More Wells Notices 50:17 The New CFTC & SEC 54:51 Making America the Crypto Capital of the World 57:08 Best of the Clarity Act 59:04 Closing & Disclaimers ------ RESOURCES Mike Selig https://x.com/ChairmanSelig CFTC https://www.cftc.gov/ ------ Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures⁠

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm hoping that we have both the crypto capital of the world today, which I do believe the president has made the United States crypto capital of the world.
0:07.3	I don't think there's any question that this is the best place to build right now and that we're seeing so much innovation in the space.
0:14.0	But I want to see that for years to come.
0:16.6	I want to make sure that if we do get the next Gary Gensler, the rules and the statues are very clear and they keep this stuff here for the long term.
0:28.9	Mike Seleague, welcome back to Bankless.
0:31.8	Glad to be here.
0:33.1	Mike, I feel like your entire career prepared you for what you are doing now.
0:36.8	So you clerked under
0:38.4	crypto dad at the CFTC many years ago. You spent a decade representing crypto firms as a lawyer.
0:45.0	You recently joined the SEC's Crypto Task Force that was in March 2025. And then in December,
0:51.1	you were sworn in as the 16th CFTC chair.
0:56.3	I feel in some ways like you are our dream candidate for this position.
1:01.3	I don't know if you feel the weight of our hopes and expectations on your shoulders,
1:05.5	but can you tell us, in your words, why are you at the CFTC?
1:09.9	Like, what did you go there to go do?
1:12.6	I spent many years in private practice working with firms innovating on the edge of
1:18.0	crypto, AI, prediction markets, and even the traditional firms that were really trying to
1:23.9	test the boundaries.
1:24.9	And around 2021, 2022, it seemed like every day we were getting a
1:30.2	wells notice or a subpoena, our voluntary information request, quote unquote, voluntary. But, no,
1:38.4	it really was a slog over the years representing clients in this space, trying to do the right thing, make sure that
1:45.7	these clients had a place here in the United States, and they were really being pushed out.
	...

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