According to a statement released by the CFTC on December 22, 2025, Michael Selig Sworn officially took the oath of office on that day, becoming the 16th chairman in the agency's history.
Author and source: KarenZ, Foresight News.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) officially welcomes a new leader.
According to a statement released by the CFTC on December 22, 2025, Michael Selig Sworn officially took the oath of office on that day, becoming the 16th chairman in the agency's history.
Background of the appointment.
Michael Selig Sworn was nominated by President Trump on October 27, 2025, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 18. This appointment marks a realignment of the Trump administration's financial regulatory framework, particularly in establishing regulations for the emerging digital asset market.
However, the nomination process has not been smooth sailing. Trump initially nominated former CFTC commissioner and a16z crypto department former policy head Brian Quintenz, but ultimately withdrew the nomination due to pushback from the cryptocurrency industry. One reason was the dispute between Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss from Gemini and Brian Quintenz. Additionally, a source told The Block that some concerns were focused on a16z's lobbying activities, leading to Brian Quintenz's exclusion.
Subsequently, Michael Selig Sworn emerged as the top candidate for the new appointment as the Chief Legal Advisor for the SEC's Crypto Task Force. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced his nomination through party-line voting, and he was ultimately confirmed by the full Senate.
Michael Selig Sworn's appointment comes after a lengthy period of interim leadership at the CFTC, during which former acting chairman Caroline D. Pham announced her departure on the same day and will subsequently join MoonPay as Chief Legal Officer and Executive Director.
Who is Michael Selig Sworn?
Before taking office as the new chairman of the CFTC, Michael Selig Sworn accumulated substantial experience in both the public and private sectors.
According to the official statement, he has served as the Chief Legal Advisor for the SEC's Crypto Assets Task Force since March 2025, and is also a senior advisor to SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins.
In this role, Michael Selig Sworn assisted in developing a clear regulatory framework for the digital asset securities market, coordinating the rule systems of the SEC and CFTC, promoting the modernization of institutional rules to adapt to emerging technologies, and ended the practice of regulating through enforcement. Additionally, he participated in the Presidential Digital Asset Market Working Group and contributed to the report (Strengthening U.S. Leadership in Digital Financial Technology).
It is worth mentioning that the report (Strengthening U.S. Leadership in Digital Financial Technology) was issued by the White House on January 23, 2025, as a presidential executive order. This executive action aims to advance U.S. leadership in digital assets and financial technology while protecting economic freedom. The core content includes supporting the responsible development and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all economic sectors; banning CBDCs; protecting dollar sovereignty, and supporting dollar-backed stablecoins. Additionally, this executive order also established the Presidential Digital Asset Market Working Group to provide clear policy guidance and strong legal support for the development of the U.S. digital asset industry.
From September 2015 to March 2025, Michael Selig Sworn served as an Associate at three law firms, before becoming a legal advisor and partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in 2022. According to CFTC's official documents, Michael Selig Sworn primarily engaged in derivatives and securities regulatory affairs. During his private practice, he represented numerous clients regulated by the CFTC, including commercial end-users, futures commission merchants, commodity trading advisors, swap dealers, designated contract markets, derivatives clearing organizations, and digital asset companies. Selig provided consulting on compliance with the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC rules, covering various aspects such as registration applications and obligations, enforcement matters, and complex transactions.
It is worth noting that Michael Selig Sworn began his career in 2014 as a legal assistant to then-CFTC commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo before transitioning to a career in law firms.
Academically, Michael Selig Sworn holds a law degree from George Washington University Law School and has served as an article editor for The George Washington Law Review. He also holds an undergraduate degree from Florida State University.
The regulatory vision of the new CFTC chairman: centered on 'Made in America' innovation, consolidating crypto leadership.
In his inauguration statement, Michael Selig Sworn expressed gratitude to Trump for the nomination and elaborated on his understanding of the future direction of the CFTC, revealing his emphasis on balancing innovation and regulation.
He pointed out that this is a critical time for the CFTC, with numerous new technologies, products, and platforms emerging, and retail investor participation in the commodity markets reaching an all-time high. Selig particularly emphasized the importance of the digital asset market structure bill that Congress is about to submit to the president, stating it will consolidate America's position as the "world's crypto capital." He also stated, "The CFTC will conquer these important areas, ensuring that future innovations are 'Made in America.'"
Regarding the role of the CFTC, Michael Selig Sworn provided a clear positioning: "In the new markets of America's financial golden age, no agency is better suited than the CFTC to set rules that are consistent with common sense."
Meanwhile, former acting chairman Caroline D. Pham welcomed Michael Selig Sworn's appointment in her departure statement, calling him pragmatic and results-oriented, capable of balancing innovation and market integrity. Additionally, Caroline D. Pham mentioned that in 2025, the CFTC had listed "promoting responsible innovation and fair competition" as a core task, especially in expanding the regulatory scope in emerging areas such as digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and prediction markets, which will lay the groundwork for Michael Selig Sworn's subsequent work.
Potential impacts: regulatory shifts, accelerated coordination, and coexisting challenges.
How will Michael Selig Sworn's appointment reshape the U.S. financial regulatory landscape, especially in the area of digital assets? From his statements during the hearings, past experiences, and industry trends, the direction of influence is gradually becoming clear.
Regulatory logic shift: from 'strict enforcement' to 'emphasis on rules,' reducing the burden of 'technical compliance.'
Michael Selig Sworn previously emphasized during the hearings that the CFTC is the appropriate regulator for spot digital commodity trading and supports Congress's swift advancement of digital asset market structure legislation. This is highly consistent with the Trump administration's goal of making America the crypto capital.
During the Senate confirmation hearings, Selig repeatedly emphasized the need to be vigilant against "overregulation" and "law enforcement generalization." He candidly stated that he has witnessed regulatory agencies ignore the actual impacts of their actions, become obsessed with enforcement instead of regulation, ultimately pushing businesses overseas and burdening entrepreneurs with red tape. To support this view, he shared a personal experience: he once assisted an agricultural company in dealing with a large-scale CFTC investigation, which was initiated due to a "harmless error in swap data reporting," but the company was forced to divert a significant amount of time and resources from its core business to respond, severely impacting its normal operations.
This direction is highly consistent with the adjustment of enforcement focus promoted during Pham's tenure, avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens.
Will quickly advance the implementation of legislation related to the structure of the digital asset market.
Michael Selig Sworn made it clear that the CFTC will quickly advance the implementation of legislation related to the structure of the digital asset market, keeping pace with market developments.
Coordinate SEC and CFTC to promote a unified framework.
From a broader perspective, Michael Selig Sworn's SEC background helps coordinate the differences between the two major regulatory agencies (SEC and CFTC), reduce duplication of regulation, and promote a unified framework. This could accelerate the normalization of the spot cryptocurrency market.
According to the previous 166-page report (Strengthening U.S. Leadership in Digital Financial Technology) from the 'Presidential Digital Asset Market Working Group,' the SEC and CFTC should work in concert to ensure an efficient rule-making process and solicit public input on rule-making proposals. At the same time, the report points out that the CFTC should clearly obtain regulatory authority over the non-securities digital asset spot market. SEC and CFTC registered entities can conduct diverse business under an efficient licensing framework to avoid regulatory arbitrage. SEC registered entities should be able to provide digital asset securities trading and be able to engage in non-securities digital asset trading under the licensing structure defined by Congress. CFTC registered entities should be able to provide trading of digital commodity derivatives, retail digital commodity trading, and other CFTC jurisdiction products, as well as non-securities digital assets as designated by Congress.
What challenges does he face?
Michael Selig Sworn also faces tangible challenges, such as resource and staffing gaps, and an imbalanced committee composition.
Several senators have raised concerns about the CFTC's resources and staffing. Since the beginning of Trump's second term, the number of CFTC employees has decreased by about 20%, with around 600 employees currently. If Congress grants the CFTC more regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies, additional funding and staffing support will be required. Unfortunately, Selig was vague in his commitments regarding specific resource needs during the hearings.
Another issue worth noting is the composition of the CFTC committee members. According to information on the official website, the CFTC committee consists of five members who are appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, serving five-year staggered terms. However, after the acting chairman stepped down, the newly appointed Michael Selig Sworn found himself in a unique "one-man control" situation. Currently, Michael Selig Sworn is the only commissioner at the CFTC, breaking the conventional checks and balances and significantly enhancing the Trump administration's policy dominance over the CFTC. This "single commissioner dominance" has also sparked discussions about regulatory neutrality.
When asked whether the vacant seats set a bad precedent, Michael Selig Sworn declined to comment, stating that the nomination decision should be made by the president. This evasive response somewhat reflects the sensitivity of this unusual situation. When asked whether the vacant seats set a bad precedent, Selig declined to comment, stating that the nomination decision should be made by the president. This evasive response somewhat reflects the sensitivity of this unusual situation.
A key question is whether Michael Selig Sworn will continue the reform momentum initiated by Caroline D. Pham. Based on the comments made by the two during the transition of power, this seems highly likely. Caroline D. Pham's assessment of Michael Selig Sworn indicates that the two leaders have considerable consistency in regulatory logic, both emphasizing the balance between innovation and market integrity.
Additionally, Michael Selig Sworn's focus on digital assets and emerging market structures, as well as his role in developing a coordination framework between the SEC and CFTC, suggests that he may push for further coordination between these two key financial regulatory agencies.
How Michael Selig Sworn will balance encouraging innovation with risk prevention, and how he will advance broader regulatory responsibilities with limited resources, will become key points of interest in the U.S. financial market in 2026.
