CFTC unveils innovation task force members in crypto clarity push

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has unveiled the first members of its new innovation task force as the agency continues its push to provide greater clarity for the crypto market.

The Innovation Task Force was initially launched by CFTC Chairman Mike Selig on March 24, who appointed Michael Passalacqua as the leader of the group. Passalacqua is currently the senior advisor to Selig at the CFTC.

In an announcement Friday, the CFTC said that Passalacqua will be joined by a list of five initial members including Hank Balaban, a former Latham & Watkins crypto lawyer; Sam Canavos, an ex-Patomak crypto and prediction markets advisor; Mark Fajfar, a CFTC legal veteran; Eugene Gonzalez IV, an ex-Sidley blockchain lawyer; and Dina Moussa, a CFTC Market Participants Division special counsel.

"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 move is part of a broader push from both the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission to provide regulatory clarity for the digital asset sector under the direction of the Donald Trump administration.

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Source: Michael Passalacqua

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On Friday, Selig also announced the CFTC's "innovation tracker," which highlights all the work done under Selig to help "advance regulatory clarity, market integrity, and responsible technological progress."

The website lists three key innovation areas the agency is focused on, including crypto and blockchain, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and contracts and prediction markets.

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The CFTC in particular could be set to be the main overseer of the industry, with the SEC proposing in mid-March that the agency doesn't see most crypto assets falling under its jurisdiction as securities.

However, the certainty of both agencies' roles is still largely dependent on whether the Clarity Act passes through the upper levels of government and becomes enshrined as law — something SEC Chair Paul Atkins called for via X on Thursday.

The SEC and CFTC are "ready to implement the CLARITY Act," he said, adding: "It's time for Congress to future-proof against rogue regulators and advance comprehensive market structure legislation to President Trump's desk."

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