Leaders of the U.S. SEC and CFTC to appear together…move to reconcile diverging crypto regulation

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will hold a public joint event to overhaul the regulatory framework for virtual assets (cryptocurrencies).

The SEC said SEC Chair Paul S. Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael S. Selig will co-host the event at the CFTC headquarters in Washington, D.C., at 12:00 a.m. KST on the 28th. The event will be open to the public and livestreamed on the SEC’s official website.

The central theme will be strengthening alignment between the SEC and the CFTC on jurisdiction over virtual-asset regulation. The two agencies have faced criticism that longstanding disputes over jurisdiction—particularly around security tokens and commodity-like digital assets—have added to market confusion.

In a joint statement, SEC Chair Atkins and CFTC Chair Selig said, “For a long time, market participants have had to operate within unclear and structurally misaligned regulatory boundaries based on outdated jurisdictional distinctions,” adding that “this event is an extension of coordination efforts to ensure that innovation can take root within the U.S. legal system—for U.S. investors and consumers and for America’s economic leadership.”

The two leaders in particular made clear that the discussions are a concrete step toward delivering on President Donald Trump’s stated goal of “making the United States the world’s crypto capital.” The agenda begins with opening remarks by Chair Atkins, followed by keynote remarks from Chair Selig, and then a fireside chat featuring both chairs. The conversation will be moderated by Eleanor Terrett, a veteran crypto journalist and co-founder of “Crypto in America.”

Meanwhile, on the 21st (local time), the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry released an amended version of a digital-asset market structure bill centered on granting the CFTC regulatory authority over stablecoins and related areas. However, a final agreement with Democrats has not been reached, leaving political differences unresolved. As a result, there is growing speculation that consideration of the bill could be further delayed until late next month or March.