U.S. CFTC Reforms Innovation Committee with Crypto Industry Leaders

According to a ChainCatcher report citing CoinDesk, the newly appointed chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Mike Selig, released a statement on Monday stating that the agency is currently reorganizing its advisory groups and re-establishing the Innovation Committee. The core team of the committee will initially consist of professionals from the cryptocurrency industry. In her final days in office, former acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham quickly assembled a team of chief executives focused on innovative financial technology. Just one month after announcing the formation of the Innovation Committee, Selig has now designated the individuals on that list as the "founding members" of the Innovation Advisory Committee. This means the first members of the committee will include executives from cryptocurrency companies such as Gemini, Kraken, Bitnomial, Crypto.com, and Bullish, as well as executives from traditional firms like Nasdaq, CME Group, Intercontinental Exchange, and Cboe Global Markets. The Innovation Committee will build upon the former Technology Advisory Committee and assist the regulator in developing new rules. The committee will be one of five such external advisory committees aimed at guiding the agency's work in the members' areas of expertise. Expected to become one of the key cryptocurrency regulators in the U.S., the CFTC is now inviting the public to submit additional candidate members and suggested topics for review by the end of January.