SEC and CFTC Signal United Front on Crypto Oversight as Jurisdiction Lines Take Shape

Leaders of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) appeared together on Thursday to signal a coordinated approach to digital asset oversight as legislative progress in Congress remains slow. The joint appearance underscored a shared commitment to clarifying regulatory boundaries for crypto markets through agency action rather than waiting on statutory reform.

CFTC Chair Mike Selig, confirmed by the Senate last month, used the event to outline an agenda that places crypto regulation among the agency’s immediate priorities. Selig said the CFTC is advancing work to define digital assets and to develop a regulatory framework for prediction markets, marking one of his first public policy statements as chair.

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Project Crypto Targets Regulatory Fragmentation

Central to that effort is the CFTC’s decision to partner with the SEC on “Project Crypto,” a joint initiative designed to harmonise definitions and oversight across agencies. Selig said he has directed staff to collaborate with the SEC on jointly codifying a proposed crypto asset taxonomy as an interim step while Congress continues its legislative process.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the initiative reflects the reality that modern financial markets no longer fit neatly into legacy regulatory silos. Atkins added that fragmented oversight creates confusion rather than protection for market participants operating across integrated platforms.

Both agencies framed Project Crypto as a response to on-chain market structures that combine trading, clearing, settlement and custody into unified systems. The initiative aims to align definitions, coordinate supervision and reduce duplicative requirements that regulators say hinder innovation and risk management.

Selig also confirmed that the CFTC will pursue new rulemaking for event contracts, signalling a shift in the agency’s long-standing approach to prediction markets. He said existing frameworks have failed to provide clarity and that new standards are intended to deliver certainty for market participants.

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