CFTC launches innovation task force to shape US crypto, AI and prediction markets rules

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has launched an Innovation Task Force aimed at building clearer rules for firms developing products tied to crypto, blockchain, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, prediction markets, and event contracts in US derivatives markets.

The task force will work alongside the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee and coordinate with other federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and its Crypto Task Force.

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the goal is to create a regulatory framework that keeps American innovators onshore rather than pushing them to less-regulated venues abroad. Michael J. Passalacqua, a senior advisor to Selig, will lead the new task force.

The move adds another piece to Selig’s broader effort to make the CFTC more central to the next phase of digital asset oversight in Washington. Selig was sworn in as the CFTC’s 16th chairman on Dec. 22, 2025, after previously serving as chief counsel to the SEC’s Crypto Task Force and senior advisor to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, roles that put him at the center of efforts to align the two agencies on digital asset policy.

The new task force also follows several recent CFTC actions that suggest the agency is trying to build a more formal innovation architecture. Selig launched the Innovation Advisory Committee in January, replacing the former Technology Advisory Committee, and the CFTC named its committee members in February. The committee is designed to advise the agency on issues where technology, market structure, and regulation increasingly overlap.

Earlier this month, the CFTC and SEC announced a memorandum of understanding and have continued promoting a joint harmonization effort around crypto market oversight. That coordination matters because firms building tokenized products, blockchain-based market infrastructure, and hybrid trading systems have long faced uncertainty over where SEC jurisdiction ends and CFTC authority begins.

Prediction markets are likely to be one of the first pressure points. The CFTC has been moving more aggressively on that front, issuing a prediction markets advisory in February and advancing rulemaking in March as the sector draws scrutiny over insider trading, sports-related contracts, and the line between regulated event contracts and gambling.

Selig has also made crypto a priority since taking office. In remarks at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 17, he framed decentralization and digital assets as part of a broader effort to rebuild trust in financial systems, while a joint SEC CFTC event in January highlighted the agencies’ shared push to modernize oversight for crypto markets.