The SEC and CFTC will hold a joint public event on January 27 to unveil their coordinated crypto oversight blueprint and end years of agency turf wars.
The Joint Event: What’s Happening
SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Mike Selig will headline the rare joint event at CFTC headquarters in Washington, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday.
The event will be open to the public and livestreamed on the SEC website.
Atkins said the two agencies will discuss their harmonization efforts and how they’re working to deliver on Trump’s promise to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world.
Selig said the joint event will showcase how the SEC and CFTC are working together to execute Trump’s vision, and that they’ll share their blueprint for U.S. financial leadership in the crypto era.
Both chairs made clear that the agencies have ended their regulatory turf wars and are now aligned on a coordinated approach to crypto oversight.
Why This Matters: The Turf War Is Over
The SEC and CFTC have fought for years over which agency controls crypto oversight. The SEC claimed most digital assets are securities, while the CFTC argued many are commodities.
That jurisdictional battle created regulatory chaos—companies didn’t know which rules applied, and enforcement actions often contradicted each other.
In a joint statement Thursday, Atkins and Selig said legacy jurisdictional divisions have created unclear regulatory boundaries.
They said those divisions have left market participants navigating misaligned rules.
Mike Selig joined the CFTC as permanent chairman last month after serving as a senior SEC official working on crypto policy under Atkins.
That direct connection between the two agencies eliminates the coordination problems that plagued previous administrations.
Selig already announced a new “future-proof” crypto initiative this week at the CFTC, signaling the agency is moving fast on Trump’s directives.
What Clearer Rules Mean For Markets
Harmonized oversight between the SEC and CFTC could lower compliance costs for crypto companies, making it cheaper and less risky to operate in the U.S.
That matters for institutional adoption. Banks and asset managers have stayed cautious on crypto partly because unclear rules create legal and regulatory risk.
If both agencies agree on a framework, institutions can build crypto products without fear of conflicting enforcement actions.
The event also signals that crypto innovation will stay onshore instead of moving to jurisdictions with clearer rules.
What Happens Next
The January 27 event will provide the clearest picture yet of how the Trump administration plans to regulate crypto.
Traders should watch for specific commitments on timelines, rule proposals, and which assets fall under which agency’s jurisdiction.
If the blueprint provides real clarity, it removes a major regulatory overhang that’s kept crypto markets range-bound.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) could rally on confirmation that U.S. regulatory uncertainty is ending.
Image: Shutterstock
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