The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced the creation of a new Innovation Task Force aimed at modernizing its regulatory approach to emerging technologies. The initiative, revealed in a Tuesday notice, will work alongside the regulator’s Innovation Advisory Committee. Its scope covers crypto, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and prediction markets.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig outlined the task force’s purpose while speaking at the Digital Asset Summit in New York City on Tuesday. He described it as a venue where developers and innovators can engage directly with agency staff. Selig emphasized that the effort spans three key areas: crypto, prediction markets, and AI, which he called important verticals for the regulator’s focus.
The task force will be led by Michael Passalacqua, who joined the CFTC as a senior adviser in January. Before taking that role, Passalacqua worked on crypto and blockchain matters at international law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. His background is expected to inform the practical development of the new regulatory framework.
The CFTC’s move follows a similar initiative by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which launched its own crypto-focused task force more than a year ago. That effort began one day after President Donald Trump took office, when Commissioner Mark Uyeda assumed the acting chair role from former Commissioner Gary Gensler. The SEC task force is headed by Commissioner Hester Peirce, and Selig himself served as its chief counsel before being nominated by Trump to lead the CFTC.
The CFTC announcement also follows an interpretative notice issued by the SEC last week, in which the agency proposed that most crypto assets would not be classified as securities under federal law. SEC Chair Paul Atkins described the measure as a regulatory bridge intended to provide clarity in the absence of comprehensive Congressional legislation on digital assets.
Progress on that legislation has been slow. A market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act passed the House of Representatives in July 2025 but has since stalled in the Senate. Debates over issues including stablecoin yield, ethics, tokenized equities, and other matters have complicated its path forward. As of Tuesday, it remained uncertain whether or when the bill would advance to a full Senate floor vote, despite some proponents suggesting that lawmakers were moving closer to an agreement.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
