CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said crypto markets need federal safeguards that protect customer funds, citing FTX's 2022 collapse as a warning. Speaking at the Fordham Law Blockchain Regulatory Symposium on Oct. 5, 2026, Selig said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission wants the customer protections used in federally regulated futures markets extended to crypto spot trading.

The proposal targets leveraged and margined retail crypto trading and pairs registration with customer protections for retail traders.

Selig Points to FTX Customer Losses

Selig said FTX demonstrated the damage that can occur when markets operate without such protections. He said operators stole more than $8 billion in customer funds during the exchange's November 2022 collapse.

Selig nonetheless pointed to FTX's CFTC-registered subsidiary as a different case, noting that customer funds there remained safe because the assets were segregated. He said that experience forms part of the argument for federal oversight. The safeguard he described — customer funds held segregated from a platform's own assets — is a core feature of the new proposals, giving the FTX record a central place in the case for registration.

Selig said the CFTC has broad authority over crypto exchanges offering margin, leverage or financing, and that those exchanges would have to register with the agency. He described the framework as an opt-in system for exchanges.

CFTC Targets Leveraged Crypto Trading

Many crypto exchanges currently operate under state licensing systems. Selig said some states treat exchanges like money transmitters — a category that includes companies such as Western Union and PayPal — and argued that those rules do not fit platforms that handle financial positions and order books. The federal framework would apply market-based protections to registered exchanges.

The CFTC issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on Oct. 5, outlining Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM for a federal registration category covering crypto asset markets. The proposals focus on leveraged and margined retail trading and include segregated customer funds, proof-of-reserves requirements and anti-manipulation controls. As an advance notice, the Oct. 5 action is an early stage of U.S. rulemaking that invites public input before the agency drafts formal proposed rules.

The frameworks would also involve futures commission merchants in retail trades. Futures commission merchants are registered intermediaries that hold customer funds in futures markets, the same markets whose protections Selig wants extended to crypto. In addition, they would exempt certain transactions that deliver assets to non-custodial wallets within 28 days.

New Rules Follow Selig's Regulatory Path

Selig has criticized regulation by enforcement and said the Commodity Exchange Act covers certain digital assets. Bitcoin became a CFTC commodity in 2014 under then-Chairman Timothy Massad.

President Trump nominated Selig on Oct. 27, 2025, and the Senate confirmed him on Dec. 18. He took office on Dec. 22, 2025, and, following Caroline Pham's departure, became the agency's sole commissioner. The proposals arrive less than a year into his tenure, and their path forward now runs through the public comment period and any subsequent rulemaking steps.