CFTC Chairman Michael Selig used the US Treasury Market Conference on September 22, 2026 to argue that on-chain finance and continuous trading could drive more structural change in US markets over the next decade than the previous several decades combined — a thesis that crystallizes the agency's effort to move digital-asset collateral and settlement into the regulated perimeter.

What did Selig lay out?

Selig said tokenizing assets — issuing blockchain-native representations of securities, commodities, and collateral — would let firms shift collateral in real time and settle trades near-instantly. He paired that with continuous trading, the structure in which venues operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Crypto and precious metals are prime candidates for the always-on model, Selig said. Agricultural and energy products will need tailored strategies rather than a uniform rollout; the CFTC is building a customized pathway for continuous trading in energy derivatives specifically. Selig framed the agency posture as principles-based: rather than drafting product-specific rules, the CFTC would set broad standards and let firms design compliance programs around them.

What stablecoin groundwork is already in place?

In February 2026, the CFTC expanded its eligible collateral framework to admit certain payment stablecoins issued by national trust banks as backing for positions at CFTC-supervised clearinghouses and exchanges. The change gave a regulated derivatives role to dollar tokens that previously functioned mostly as payment instruments.

The policy reclassification tracks the GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, which created the federal framework for payment stablecoins in the US. Selig's remarks came ahead of new CFTC frequently asked questions on tokenized assets — guidance operators will rely on to classify which instruments fall inside the agency's perimeter.

How does the CLARITY Act stall shape the path?

Selig's blueprint inherits unfinished legislative work. The CLARITY Act, a market-structure bill that would have divided digital-asset oversight between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission, failed to advance in the Senate. With Congress gridlocked, the derivatives regulator has leaned on collateral updates and FAQs to plug the gap.

Selig himself is new to the chair. President Trump nominated him in October 2025, and he was sworn in on December 22, 2025.

What changes for crypto and collateral markets?

For digital assets, a sitting CFTC chairman naming crypto as a natural candidate for continuous trading signals the agency intends to build 24/7 structures around the asset class instead of forcing it into legacy trading windows. The operational consequences run through exchange scheduling, clearinghouse risk models, and intraday margining at derivatives venues.

The collateral shift is the larger near-term change. Accepting trust-bank-issued stablecoins as margin gives dealers and clearing members a regulated on-chain instrument to pledge against derivatives exposures, with knock-on effects for treasury management and intraday liquidity at large intermediaries.

Three markers will gauge how far the framework extends: how the CFTC's tokenized-asset FAQs apply to specific products; whether additional stablecoin categories — including non-bank issuers — become eligible collateral; and the design of the customized continuous-trading plan for energy derivatives.