The Senate Agriculture Committee indicated Wednesday that Michael Selig, the new nominee to be the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, would advance quickly as the panel eyes granting the CFTC authority over the cryptocurrency market.

The panel scheduled a vote on Selig for Thursday. He would replace CFTC acting Chairman Caroline Pham.

Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., turned his attention at the top of Selig’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday to legislation aimed at regulating spot digital commodity trading for assets like bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin.

“The CFTC — and only the CFTC — should regulate the trading of digital commodities. This is because only the CFTC understands the unique characteristics of commodities and commodity-based contracts,” Boozman said.

Booz

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