US Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Michael Selig has appointed a crypto lawyer as a senior adviser as the agency prepares for an expanded regulatory role.
Selig said Michael Passalacqua, formerly of law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, will join the CFTC with a focus on crypto assets and blockchain technologies.
“Earlier in his career, [Passalacqua] served as assistant general counsel at a crypto asset capital markets firm where he advised on a range of crypto asset regulatory and transactional matters,”
Michael Selig said.
Passalacqua previously helped author a legal letter that led the US Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a no-action letter on crypto custodians.
The SEC said in September it would not recommend enforcement action against advisers using state-chartered trust companies as crypto custodians.
Selig also appointed former Treasury Department official Cal Mitchell as a senior adviser.
The appointments come as the CFTC works to future-proof its regulatory framework amid proposed US Senate legislation on digital asset markets.
Selig said the legislation could grant the CFTC a broad set of new responsibilities over crypto regulation.
The chair currently remains the CFTC’s sole commissioner following leadership departures in 2025.