CFTC Chair Michael Selig says US financial markets should prepare for “mass tokenization” as regulators adapt existing rules for blockchain, artificial intelligence and onchain trading. Speaking at the US Treasury Market Conference, Selig presented tokenized real-world assets as a possible base layer for a more efficient market structure.
He said moving assets onchain could support near-instant settlement and real-time movement of collateral among clearinghouses, intermediaries and end users. Selig framed the shift as comparable to earlier market modernization, arguing that tokenization could eventually extend across asset classes.
Selig ties tokenization to existing oversight
In his conference remarks, Selig said the CFTC intends to rely on principles-based regulation as tokenization and onchain finance develop. His comments suggest the agency is looking to fit new market structures into current supervisory approaches rather than wait for an entirely new rulebook before acting.
He also pointed to tokenization as a practical market upgrade, not only a crypto-sector issue. According to Selig, the technology could improve how trades settle and how collateral is transferred through the financial system, potentially reducing delays built into traditional market infrastructure.
Congressional setback did not change the CFTC’s direction
Selig’s latest comments follow his statement in August that the CFTC would keep advancing crypto-related rules under its existing authority if Congress failed to pass the CLARITY Act. That legislative path stalled when the Senate did not advance the bill on Sept. 15.
The sequence matters because it shows the agency’s current posture after the bill’s setback. Rather than link progress on digital-asset market structure entirely to congressional action, Selig has indicated the CFTC will continue moving within the powers it already has.
SEC also opens room for tokenized markets
The SEC has separately signaled support for tokenized market infrastructure. In a Bloomberg TV interview, Jamie Selway, director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets, said tokenization and crypto had recently become politicized even though, in his view, they are not inherently political. He said US leadership in building these markets should attract bipartisan backing.
That position was followed by a concrete step on Sept. 17, when the SEC granted a temporary “Innovation Exemption” for tokenized US stock trading. The exemption allows certain platforms to trade digital versions of US-listed stocks under specified conditions.
What comes next
The SEC’s exemption is temporary, and earlier this year SEC Chair Paul Atkins said such relief could help enable onchain stock trading while regulators work on longer-term rules. That means the current opening for tokenized equities is limited and framed as an interim measure rather than a final market structure.
Taken together, the CFTC’s stance and the SEC’s exemption show both agencies exploring how tokenized assets can operate under existing frameworks. The next confirmed step is continued regulatory development under current authority while broader, longer-term rules are still being worked out.
Source: cointelegraph.com