Crypto exchanges are actively queuing to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission under its proposed digital asset rules, Chairman Michael Selig told CNBC in an exclusive interview this week. Selig spoke at Cantor Convergence, a fintech conference held in Miami Beach, and framed the agency's move as the direct product of existing statutory authority rather than new legislation.

The interest comes from two directions. The CFTC already counts many large crypto exchanges as registrants because they list derivatives such as perpetual futures (contracts with no expiry date that track an underlying asset's price). The proposed rules would open the door to spot trading — direct purchases and sales of tokens — on those same venues.

"We're also getting interest from new entrants who say, 'Look, signing up with 50 different state regimes is tough. We'd rather come to one regulator and get a license at the CFTC,' so those new entrants are lining up to come register with us as well," Selig said.

What do the new rules actually cover?

The regulatory design rests on a distinction between leveraged and unleveraged trading. Exchanges that do not offer margined, leveraged or financed trading — products that current state regimes do not permit — can choose whether to come under CFTC oversight. Platforms offering basic spot crypto transactions would not be required to register and could remain under state supervision.

"Our statute does provide for authority of the agencies to register exchanges that want to offer margined, leveraged, or financed crypto assets or other types of commodity trading, so we're utilizing that authority to allow our existing exchanges to begin offering these products under a regulated framework," Selig said, according to CNBC.

In October, the CFTC published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking — an early-stage consultation document preceding a formal rule draft — that would create a registration category called a crypto asset market. That category would apply to platforms offering leveraged, margined or financed trading to retail customers.

Why did the CFTC act without Congress?

The agency moved after the Senate blocked the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in a 50-to-49 procedural vote in September. With the legislation stalled, the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission turned to the powers they already hold to begin constructing federal rulebooks of their own.

"We need to protect our markets and protect our customers using those markets, so we'll continue to do exactly that in the wake of the Clarity Act failing to get the votes it needed to get to the president's desk during the current Congress," Selig said, according to CNBC.

The rules could face fresh scrutiny in 2027, when Democrats take control of both the House and Senate after winning the midterms. Pressed on how prepared he is for greater oversight from lawmakers, Selig said: "Congress will do its job investigating where it needs to investigate."

Will developers stay in the United States?

Selig also addressed the industry's long-running threat of relocation. He said he is hopeful the United States avoids an exodus of software developers heading overseas — something numerous crypto companies warned they would do while Joe Biden was in the White House.

"I really hope that we learned lessons from the last several years in this space," he said, according to CNBC.

The registration pipeline now forming around the CFTC suggests the federal-first model has commercial traction. If new entrants continue to prefer one federal license over 50 state regimes, the agency's proposed crypto asset market category could become the default venue for leveraged retail crypto trading in the United States — well before Congress passes anything.