CFTC Chair Selig Calls for Market Readiness for Tokenization and 24/7 Trading

ChainCatcher report: CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that regulators must prepare for "mass tokenization" and adapt existing markets to new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. Speaking at a U.S. Treasury market conference hosted by the New York Fed on Tuesday, Selig noted that over the next decade, financial markets could undergo more change than they have in the past several decades, driven by developments such as tokenization, on-chain finance, and 24/7 trading. Selig added that the entire Trump administration has laid the foundation for maintaining the U.S. market’s global leadership by embracing innovation, fostering competition, and implementing sensible regulation. The CFTC will also seek additional ways to encourage market participants, exchanges, and clearinghouses to adopt stablecoins responsibly. Over the past year, the agency has issued guidance and sought public comment on 24/7 trading in energy derivatives markets; in February, it added a stablecoin issued by a national trust bank to its list of eligible collateral. Meanwhile, the CFTC’s sister agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), last week released its long-anticipated "innovation exemption," creating space for on-chain trading of tokenized equities. Following legislative efforts to regulate the broader crypto industry stalling in the Senate, both agencies are advancing their respective agendas independently.