CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig: Town Hall Remarks, Washington, D.C.

Prepared Remarks for Delivery

Good morning, everyone.

Thank you for being here today.

I want to start by saying how truly honored and eager I am to be working with all of you.

Many years ago, I served at the CFTC as a law clerk for Chairman Giancarlo, so there are a number of faces here that I still recognize.

What I learned then is what I know now: this Commission is full of incredibly talented, dedicated people.

It was a great place to work then, and I'm committed to making it an even better place to work now, because we have some great challenges in front of us in the next several months.

As many of you know, the CFTC began its long-overdue harmonization effort with the SEC.[1] This is a big lift for a lot of people, but worth the time, because it will pay dividends for the agency well into the future.[2]

I also gave a speech earlier this month in Florida where I talked about my priorities as Chairman, such as reevaluating some of the Dodd-Frank Act rulemakings and subsequent no-action letters to ensure our policies are not over-regulating intermediaries and market participants.

Farmers, ranchers, energy producers, and small businesses all depend on intermediaries and market participants for risk-management. They use these third-parties to share market risk, which helps them survive floods, droughts or other threats that can destroy their livelihoods.

We can't allow unnecessary regulations to increase their costs and undermine their futures.

While I am a firm believer in regulation, it's critically important that we not suffocate the real-world economy. I believe in the minimum effective dose of regulation. No more and no less.

This is important because the job we do as regulators is vital to our nation's economic health, and history has shown that we can deliver when challenges arise.

We've handled everything from the transition to electronic trading, to the shock of the Global Financial Crisis, to handling challenges associated with Covid.

Today, we're seeing new areas of responsibility, such as AI, crypto, and prediction markets. These areas are growing every day.

With new opportunities comes new responsibilities. The CFTC has a mandate to lead and set the global standard for how transparent, efficient, and resilient markets can be in the 21st century.

Everyone, from market participants to policymakers to the public, is watching what we do. And that's exciting.

It means our work matters more than ever. People are eager to understand the role we play in protecting markets while unleashing responsible innovation.

This is a sign that we're relevant, impactful, and, in my opinion, right where we need to be.

There has never been a better time to be at the CFTC. We're in the spotlight like never before.

And while there will always be challenges, this is our time to shine. This is our chance to combine original thinking with steady execution and leave a real mark.

Personally, I'm thrilled to be here with you.

Let's make this the most monumental chapter yet in the CFTC story.

And let's do it together.

Thank you!

[1] The CFTC-SEC Harmonization Initiative is a collaboration between the CFTC and SEC to focus on strengthening the regulatory framework of U.S. financial markets by coordinating seamlessly, reducing duplicative regulation, and providing markets with the clarity they deserve. See https://www.cftc.gov/harmonization. On March 11, 2026, the CFTC and SEC announced a historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) to achieve the goals of closer harmonization in areas of common regulatory interest. The MOU reflects both agencies' commitment to provide fair notice to market participants, respect individual liberty, and foster lawful innovation with the minimum effective dose of regulation to enhance U.S. competitiveness in finance. See CFTC Press Release No. 9192-26, CFTC and SEC Announce Historic Memorandum of Understanding Between Agencies (Mar. 11, 2026), available at https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9192-26.

[2] Michael S. Selig, Chairman: FIA Global Cleared Markets Conference (Mar. 9, 2026), available at https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opaselig2.