Overview
- The CFTC named 35 members to its Innovation Advisory Committee on February 12, bringing in leaders from Coinbase, Ripple, Uniswap, Robinhood, Nasdaq, CME Group, Cboe, ICE, LSEG and DTCC.
- About 20 appointees are tied to crypto firms, giving digital-asset and prediction‑market voices significant presence alongside traditional market infrastructure executives.
- Chairman Michael S. Selig said the panel will help the agency future‑proof markets and craft clearer rules on blockchain, AI, tokenization and new trading models, replacing and expanding a prior CEO council and the Technology Advisory Committee.
- The move tracks a broader policy shift that included withdrawing a proposed restriction on political and sports event contracts and formal coordination with the SEC under Project Crypto.
- Advocacy groups questioned conflicts of interest and regulatory capture risks, as the committee prepares to inform near‑term rulemaking while Congress continues debating the CLARITY Act and stablecoin treatment.