US CFTC establishes new "Cryptocurrency and AI" Advisory Committee, with several crypto company founders and traditional institution executives becoming founding members

On January 13, the Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, announced the establishment of a new Innovation Advisory Committee on Monday, aimed at providing guidance for the regulation of emerging technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence. Behnam stated that the Innovation Advisory Committee will replace the existing Technology Advisory Committee, focusing on engaging top opinion leaders in the crypto industry to participate in the CFTC’s regulatory process in order to develop pragmatic and forward-looking market regulation policies. The new committee will advise the CFTC on aspects such as “business operations, economic benefits, and practical considerations of emerging financial products, platforms, and business models,” thereby “crafting clear development rules for the golden age of the U.S. financial markets.” Behnam will serve as the initiator of the new committee and plans to nominate 12 CEO members of the Innovation Council as founding members. Selected individuals include several leading figures in the crypto space: Tyler Winklevoss, Co-founder of CEX; Shayne Coplan, Founder of Polymarket; Tarek Mansour, Founder of prediction market platform Kalshi; Kris Marszalek, CEO of CEX; and Arjun Sethi, Co-founder of CEX. Executives from traditional financial institutions were also selected: Jeff Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE); David Howson, CEO of Cboe Global Markets; and Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq.