Testimony of Chairman Michael S. Selig Before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Craig, and Members of the Committee: thank you for the opportunity to testify here today.

Just over a hundred days ago, I was sworn in as the 16th Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

During my November confirmation hearing, I pledged to work tirelessly as Chairman to maintain the agency's status as a world-class financial markets regulator. I committed to protect and provide regulatory relief to our farmers, ranchers, and producers, roll back outdated rules and regulations, and modernize the agency to keep pace with the rapid speed of innovation.

I'm pleased to report I've made significant progress on these goals since rejoining the agency last December.

One of my first priorities upon taking charge of the agency was identifying regulations that prevent farmers, ranchers, and producers from accessing our derivatives markets. My staff have been working diligently to right-size cumbersome rules so that even our smallest producers can properly manage risk.

I've also revived the agency's annual agriculture convention, known as AgCon, to bring together leaders from government, business, and academia to discuss the most pressing issues in our agricultural markets. Most importantly, I'll be visiting farmers, ranchers, and producers across the country in the coming months to hear from them directly. The agriculture community is the backbone of this country, and it'll always have a seat at the table in this administration.

Another key priority is to lower the compliance burdens and energy costs for small businesses. Many of our rules and regulations discourage firms from servicing and trading with the businesses that are most in need of our markets.

The agency is finalizing regulatory relief for firms that transact with energy, agriculture, and critical minerals producers to provide access to more market intermediaries and contribute to lower commodity prices.

The agency has also taken a leading role in delivering on President Trump's mandate to make America the crypto capital of the world. Importantly, the CFTC joined an SEC interpretation to provide guidance that resolved significant ambiguity in the marketplace as to which types of crypto assets are commodities, and which are securities. We've also worked quickly to provide clarity concerning tokenized collateral, the capital treatment for payment stablecoins, and the obligations of software developers building in the United States.

I applaud the important work of this Committee to deliver bipartisan market structure legislation that will cement clear rules of the road for the millions of Americans who use crypto assets every day. I'm optimistic that Congress will soon send this landmark legislation to the President's desk.

The agency is also working to provide explicit guidelines and further strengthen investor protections for prediction markets, which offer trading in event contract derivatives that are regulated under the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC. Commission staff recently issued a prediction markets advisory and published a notice soliciting public input before considering new regulations for these markets.

Now, I'm sure I'll be getting questions about our enforcement efforts related to crypto, prediction markets, and the commodity derivatives markets more broadly. So, I want to be crystal clear: to anyone who engages in fraud, manipulation, or insider trading in any of our markets: we will find you, and you will face the full force of the law. Nothing is more important than protecting market integrity and that's why I've been diligently working to reinvigorate our enforcement division and upgrade our surveillance tools to meet the challenges of our growing markets.

None of these accomplishments would have been possible in such a short period of time without the agency's talented and experienced civil servants. I have also brought on new senior leadership who bring a wealth of experience to the agency.

As Chairman, I believe it's vital to break from the restrictive regulatory practices of the past and create derivatives markets that work for everyone. Under my leadership, the CFTC will administer fit-for-purpose regulation appropriately tailored to material risks, no more and no less, to ensure that the future of finance is made here, in America.

If the past is prologue, the next hundred days-and the years beyond-will build on this transformative foundation as the CFTC remains the gold standard for smart, effective oversight of our financial markets. Our work here is just getting started.

Thank you again, and I look forward to answering your questions.