Almost a year into the second term of US President Donald Trump, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) still doesn’t have a permanent head.
Former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz was Trump’s top choice for the role. A confirmation vote was expected by the end of July but was stalled at the request of the White House. Reportedly, the Winklevoss brothers didn’t want Quintenz as chair because he wouldn’t sufficiently protect the cryptocurrency industry.
So, who will it be? In recent weeks, several different names have appeared as possible candidates, including former commissioners and policy experts. The White House has not confirmed its choice, but some names have been floated by insiders.
The crypto industry is playing close attention — especially since the market infrastructure bill making its way through Congress would give the CFTC significant regulatory oversight.
Michael Selig
In a Sept. 19 report citing White House insiders, Bloomberg reported that Michael Selig was under consideration to head the CFTC.
Current role: Selig is chief counsel to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force.
Past experience: Selig was a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where he worked in its crypto and digital assets practice. He was also counsel at Perkins Coie and an associate at Reed Smith.
Thoughts on crypto: Immediately following Trump’s election, Selig said that the next head of the SEC must take a “do no harm” approach to crypto. He also called for an end to “regulation by enforcement” by the SEC.
Tyler Williams
White House sources speaking to Bloomberg also tipped Tyler Williams as a candidate under consideration to lead the CFTC.
Current role: Williams is currently a counselor to the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, advising on digital assets and blockchain technology policy.
Past experience: Williams served as Galaxy Digital’s global head of policy, prior to which he operated his own financial services consulting firm in Washington, D.C. He was also a senior advisor at FS Vector and a senior policy advisor for Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s campaign.
Thoughts on crypto: Williams was one of the lead authors of the White House’s crypto report. In an interview with TRM Labs, Williams stressed the need to give certainty to the crypto industry and provide a “durable framework.”
Jill Sommers
Crypto in America journalist Eleanor Terrett reported on Sept. 25 that former CFTC commissioner Jill Sommers was under consideration to lead the agency.
Current role: According to LinkedIn, Sommers is currently a financial services consultant in the Washington, D.C. area.
Past experience: From 2007 to 2013, Sommers served as a commissioner at the CFTC at the nomination of President Barack Obama. At the CFTC, she was chairman of the Global Markets Advisory Committee and was the commission designee to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission.
After leaving the CFTC, she became chair of the derivatives practice group at Potomak Global Partners and joined the FTX.US board of directors in 2022.
Thoughts on crypto: Sommers has not said much publicly on crypto. When she joined FTX.US, she emphasized working closely with regulators to better form regulations for crypto derivatives.
Kyle Hauptman
Terrett also tipped that Kyle Hauptman is on the White House’s short list for CFTC chair.
Current role: Hauptman is currently the chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), nominated by Trump. The NCUA insures credit unions and provides deposit insurance.
Past experience: Prior to serving at the NCUA, Hauptman was a counselor on economic and financial policy to Senator Tom Cotton and was staff director for the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy. He was also an advisory committee member at the SEC.
Thoughts on crypto: Hauptman hasn’t made public comments regarding crypto specifically. However, he has prioritized avoiding stifling regulation and adopting new technology at the NCUA, suggesting he is at least open to novel concepts like crypto and blockchain.
Josh Stirling
On Sept. 24, Semafor reported that lawyer Josh Stirling was under consideration to run the CFTC, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Current role: Currently, Stirling is a partner at Milbank and a member of its white collar and investigations and derivatives/alternative financial products practices. He also represents the prediction market Kalshi.
Past experience: Stirling previously served as co-chair of the derivatives subcommittee of corporation, finance and law community at the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. He was also a member of the capital markets strategic litigation advisory committee at the US Chamber of Commerce.
Thoughts on crypto: While at the CFTC, Stirling gave a statement on “Supporting Innovation in Digital Asset Products.” He has noted customer protection concerns regarding digital assets and said, “The CFTC itself feel that they have a valuable and constructive role, maybe even a primary role in regulating the digital assets, marketplace, and ecosystem.”
Combining the SEC and CFTC?
One unorthodox proposal has been to combine the CFTC and SEC. According to crypto lawyer Aaron Brogan, some high-level sources are considering consolidating the two agencies, essentially making Paul Atkins, the current SEC chief, head of the CFTC.
Brogan said that the only problems are how it would work or whether it’s legal. The Trump administration has appointed one person to head up multiple agencies, although these aren’t quite the same as the CFTC.
Anne Joseph O’Connell, a law professor and administrative law researcher at Stanford Law School, said, “It is not clear whether he could be both a confirmed member of the Securities Exchange Commission and a confirmed member at the CFTC because there is this [SEC statute] that says no SEC Commissioner can engage in other employment.”
There are also ethical issues. Professor Nick Bednar at the University of Minnesota Law School said, “As a policy matter, the Trump administration’s efforts to consolidate power over multiple agencies in a handful of officials is worrying.”
After all, a person only has so much time in a day, and being spread across multiple agencies “makes it harder to ensure proper management within a given agency. The centralization of control comes with a significant cost to administrative capacity and good governance.”
Regardless of who the White House eventually nominates, they also need to pass the sometimes lengthy nomination process in the Senate. A pro-crypto CFTC chair could still be a long way off.
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