The new chief lawyer for the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) freshly created Crypto Task Force is a crypto -empower.
Mike Selig, who was appointed chief lawyer for the Task Force in a Monday message from SEC, was previously a New York-based partner at the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where he was a member of the company’s Crypto practice. Before joining Willkie, Selig was interned for Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
In a Monday X -Post, former CFTC chairman Chris Giancarlo congratulated, lovingly known as “Cryptodad” of many in the industry, samely with his appointment. Giancarlo is also a senior adviser at Wilkie Farr, where he leads the company’s digital works.
“Proud and excited that my protege, former CFTC trainee and Willkie partner Mike was samely named Chief Counsel for the new SEC Crypto Task Force,” Giancarlo wrote.
Last October, Samely wrote an up-ed for Coindesk, who made his proposals on how SEC could move away from the so-called “regulation by enforcement”, which the agency practiced under the former President Gary Gensler and instead creates a regulatory environment that encourages innovation. Several of Selig’s proposals – including dissolution of the controversial staff accounting Bulletin 121 and withdrawn from certain litigation – have already been implemented by the new crypto -tag force.
Selden was one of 14 employees named in the Monday announcement. His colleagues include several natives in the crypto industry-Landon Zinda, former police director of Crypto Think Tank Coin Center, and Veronica Reynolds, a former lawyer at Baker Hostetler LLP focused on NFTS and Metaverse-related legal issues, both of which will serve as senior advisers for Taskforce Zinda’s appointment to the Task Force was announced in February.
“The Crypto Task Force exhibits deep expertise and an enthusiastic obligation to identify – using other talented staff throughout the Commission and interested members of the public – useful solutions to difficult crypto -regulation problems,” said Commissioner Hester Peirce, the head of Taskforce, in a Monday statement.
