The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has named the first members of its new Innovation Task Force as the agency seeks greater regulatory clarity for the crypto market.
Launched by CFTC Chairman Mike Selig on March 24, the task force is led by Michael Passalacqua, the chairman’s senior advisor. In a Friday announcement, the CFTC named five initial members to join Passalacqua: Hank Balaban, a former Latham & Watkins crypto attorney; Sam Canavos, previously an advisor on crypto and prediction markets at Patomak; Mark Fajfar, a CFTC legal veteran; Eugene Gonzalez IV, formerly a blockchain lawyer at Sidley; and Dina Moussa, special counsel in the CFTC’s Market Participants Division.
“The Innovation Task Force brings together a leading team that exhibits deep expertise and an enthusiastic commitment to deliver clear rules of the road for American innovators,” Selig said.
The step is part of a broader effort by the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide regulatory certainty for digital assets under the Trump administration. Selig also unveiled the CFTC’s “innovation tracker,” a website cataloging the agency’s work to advance regulatory clarity, market integrity, and responsible technological progress. The tracker highlights three primary focus areas: crypto and blockchain, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and contracts and prediction markets.
Recent SEC guidance proposed in mid-March suggested most crypto assets may not fall under the SEC’s securities jurisdiction, potentially positioning the CFTC as the principal overseer of parts of the industry. However, the definitive division of responsibilities between the agencies awaits congressional action on the CLARITY Act. SEC Chair Paul Atkins has urged Congress to pass the bill, saying both agencies are “ready to implement the CLARITY Act” and calling for legislation to “future-proof against rogue regulators and advance comprehensive market structure legislation.”
Source: Michael Passalacqua
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