CFTC Appoints Crypto Leaders to New Innovation Advisory Panel

The newly constituted Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC) reads like a who’s who of the digital asset and traditional finance worlds. Of the 35 panel members, 20 are directly tied to cryptocurrency companies, underscoring the CFTC’s intent to incorporate industry expertise directly into its regulatory process. The roster includes some of the most influential names in crypto: Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, Ripple chief Brad Garlinghouse, and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

The committee’s composition extends beyond pure cryptocurrency exchanges to include key infrastructure and investment firms. Anchorage Digital’s Nathan McCauley, Grayscale’s Peter Mintzberg, and Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev bring perspectives from digital asset custody, investment products, and retail trading platforms. Representatives from prediction markets, such as Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket’s Shayne Coplan, were also appointed, highlighting the CFTC’s focus on novel market structures. This diverse group is balanced by executives from traditional finance giants including Cboe, CME, Nasdaq, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), ensuring a comprehensive view of the evolving financial landscape.

The IAC, launched in January, replaces the CFTC’s previous Technology Advisory Committee (TAC). Its mandate is explicitly forward-looking: to serve as a resource on developments in derivatives and commodity markets and to help the Commission assess how innovations like artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology are reshaping financial systems. Chair Michael S. Selig stated that the committee’s main aim is to ‘ensure America remains the home to the most transparent and well-regulated financial markets in the world.’

‘By bringing together participants from every corner of the marketplace, the IAC will be a major asset for the Commission as we work to modernize our rules and regulations for the innovations of today and tomorrow,’ Selig added in a press release. This initiative reflects a clear administrative shift under Selig toward a more permissive and adaptive regulatory stance. Rather than reacting to technological change, the CFTC is proactively seeking guidance to develop frameworks that can accommodate rapid innovation while maintaining market integrity and consumer protection.

The formation of the IAC coincides with another critical regulatory development: increased coordination between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The two agencies have launched a joint initiative known as ‘Project Crypto,’ aimed at harmonizing their regulatory approaches to digital asset markets. This effort seeks to reduce jurisdictional overlap—a long-standing point of confusion for companies like Coinbase (COIN) and Ripple—and provide clearer, more predictable rules for the industry.

This collaborative push, combined with the inclusive makeup of the IAC, suggests a concerted effort by U.S. regulators to move from a stance of enforcement and ambiguity to one of engagement and clarity. For crypto firms and tokens like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and XRP, which operate in a complex regulatory environment, these developments could signal the beginning of a more structured and supportive framework. The involvement of traditional finance entities like the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) and Nasdaq further bridges the gap between legacy systems and digital asset innovation, potentially paving the way for greater institutional adoption.