Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig said he will not wait to appoint additional commissioners to head the regulatory agency before moving forward with creating rules potentially related to digital assets and prediction markets.
During a Thursday hearing before the House Agriculture Committee, Selig he replied to questions from Ranking Member Angie Craig, who noted the lack of leadership at the CFTC, which typically consists of a bipartisan panel of five commissioners. Minnesota’s representative asked the chairman to commit not to finalize the legislation while he is the sole commissioner.
“In the meantime, we cannot, for the sake of the American people, slow down in the lawmaking process,” Selig said. “It is very important that we receive protection for investors, consumers and guarantees for our markets. Therefore, unfortunately, I cannot commit that I will not do the job that I was appointed to do by the president.”
Selig, who has served as the CFTC’s sole commissioner and chairman since December, has come under fire from many lawmakers for unilaterally steering the agency on rules favoring crypto and prediction markets without a bipartisan group of commissioners. As of Thursday, President Donald Trump had not publicly announced any staff appointments to the agency or signaled he intended to do so.
“We’re going to do more through rulemaking,” Selig said in response to a question from Rep. Don Davis about the CFTC’s leadership. “We can’t let staff decide what the rules are.”
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The CFTC chairman proposed legislation in March that could amend or issue fresh regulations governing event contracts in prediction markets. Selig openly stated that the agency has “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets as the companies behind some platforms face state-level lawsuits related to sports betting regulations and proposed regulations aimed at combating insider trading.
The CFTC’s legal fight over the forecasting market continues
Gaming authorities in several U.S. states have filed lawsuits against prediction market companies such as Kalshi and Polymarket, alleging that sports betting platforms are violating state law.
New Mexico Rep. Gabe Vasquez questioned Selig during Thursday’s hearing, showing a visual aid that shows event contract betting and state-level gaming betting “don’t make much of a difference, and yet they’re regulated very differently.” He accused the CFTC of exploiting “loopholes” to circumvent state laws and requirements for prediction markets, causing some jurisdictions to lose revenue.
“The CFTC was not created or intended to regulate sports gambling,” Vasquez said, adding:
“Are we regulating real economic risk, or are we allowing prediction markets to steal billions of dollars in an unregulated, free system, with no consumer protections, while Congress and the CFTC turn a blind eye?”
Companies like Kalshi argued that they were subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC. That argument led the company to court victories in Arizona and New Jersey, where judges this month blocked state officials from taking action against Kalshi.
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