On 19 August 2026, CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig delivered remarks at a White House innovation meeting.1 The event was hosted by President Trump with technology and crypto industry leaders. Selig recited the administration's digital asset record. He cited the GENIUS Act, a strategic bitcoin reserve and the first US crypto perpetual contract. He described a line drawn between crypto securities and commodities. He announced work with Commerce Secretary Lutnick to make America "the compute capital of the world".1 He addressed state litigation against federally regulated prediction markets. He named New York Attorney General Letitia James in that context. He confirmed the CFTC stands ready to implement the CLARITY Act once signed. He previewed a regulatory roadmap at the Innovation Advisory Committee's inaugural meeting the next day. The remarks map the CFTC's agenda across crypto, compute and prediction markets, and its collision with state gambling regulators.
The Administration's Record As Selig Presents It
CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig stated that "the era of political lawfare, de-banking, and regulation by enforcement is over" and that "the new frontier of finance is being built right here on American soil".1 He credited the administration with having "codified the GENIUS Act, established a strategic bitcoin reserve, drawn a clear line in the sand between crypto securities and commodities, launched the first U.S. crypto perpetual, and protected the rights of software developers".1 In more pointed terms, he stated the administration had "exiled Gary Gensler, defeated the anti-crypto army, and made America the crypto capital of the world".1
Compute as "Digital Oil"
CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig further confirmed he is working with Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce "to make America the compute capital of the world", describing compute as possibly "the most important commodity of our time" and noting that "some are even calling it digital oil".1 The remarks came the same day the US CFTC issued its request for comment on the listing of compute derivatives contracts, examined in this publication separately.2
The Prediction Markets Confrontation
CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig stated that the administration has "protected federally regulated prediction markets from rogue state attorneys general like Letitia James who seek to nullify federal law and push these financial markets offshore – to unregulated and foreign venues".1
The context requires balance the remarks do not supply. In July 2026, the New York Attorney General sued Kalshi, a CFTC designated contract market, on the grounds that it operates as an illegal gambling operator without a New York State Gaming Commission licence.3 On 11 August 2026, the CFTC responded by issuing an emergency order directing Kalshi to continue providing its event contracts in the state.3 A prediction market operator, Novig, has separately filed pre-emptive suits against New York and three other states.3 The dispute in the above is a live federal preemption contest: whether the Commodity Exchange Act's exclusive jurisdiction over designated contract markets displaces state gambling law as applied to event contracts. The characterisation of the state position as nullification is the Chairman's; the New York Attorney General's position is that state gaming licensing law applies to conduct within the state. The question will be resolved by courts, not speeches, and its outcome will determine whether event contracts can be offered nationally on federal registration alone.
The Clarity Act and The Roadmap
CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig advocated for Congress advancing the CLARITY Act "towards the finish line, we stand ready to implement the bill once it's been signed by the President", adding that the US CFTC will "use every tool available to move the President's pro-innovation agenda forward in the meantime".1 He previewed that the inaugural meeting of the Innovation Advisory Committee the following day would set out "our regulatory roadmap for the new frontier of finance".1 At that meeting, held on 20 August 2026, the Chairman presented a three part roadmap for prediction markets and the committee, whose more than thirty members include senior executives of Robinhood, Nasdaq and CME, discussed crypto, artificial intelligence and prediction market regulation.4
Footnotes
- Chairman Michael S. Selig, "Remarks at White House Innovation Meeting", 19 August 2026, available at www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opaselig9.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission, "Request for Comment on the Listing of Compute Derivatives Contracts", 91 FR 54259, 21 August 2026, RIN 3038-AF77.
- Contemporaneous reporting, July and August 2026, on People of the State of New York v. Kalshi and related matters, the CFTC's emergency order of 11 August 2026, and pre-emptive litigation by Novig against New York and three other states.
- Contemporaneous reporting on the inaugural meeting of the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee, 20 August 2026.
