★ Government Action
Trump's two top market regulators launch joint 'Project Crypto'
DeregulationPrediction Markets
Filed January 2026
★ The Brief
What happened
On January 29, 2026, the heads of the two federal agencies that oversee U.S. markets — SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig — announced they would jointly pursue "Project Crypto," an SEC initiative to build a single, coordinated regulatory framework for the digital-asset industry. The joint effort signals that both market regulators intend to write crypto rules cooperatively under the Trump administration.
Who enabled it
Who benefits
Deal or steal?
The two officials who will write the digital-asset rulebook — SEC Chair Paul Atkins and the commodities regulator's Michael Selig — are both Trump appointees, giving the president direct sway over the framework's shape. And the Trump family is no bystander to that industry: it has launched its own crypto platform and a $TRUMP memecoin, and a UAE state fund routed a $2 billion deal through the family's stablecoin — handing the venture a revenue stream analysts valued at tens of millions of dollars a year.
During a joint public discussion on January 29, 2026, CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and SEC Chair Paul Atkins announced that the two agencies would jointly pursue 'Project Crypto,' an SEC initiative to develop a coordinated regulatory framework for the digital assets industry. The announcement signals inter-agency cooperation on crypto regulation under the Trump administration.
Actors
Who pushed it · 4Who initiated, paid, or pushed the action.
Michael SeligCFTC Chairman who jointly announced the 'Project Crypto' initiative alongside SEC Chair Paul Atkins, committing the CFTC to the collaborative regulatory effort.
Paul AtkinsSEC Chair who co-announced 'Project Crypto,' an SEC initiative now broadened into a joint effort with the CFTC to develop digital asset regulations.
Commodity Futures Trading CommissionAgency directed by Chairman Selig to participate jointly in 'Project Crypto' to develop digital asset regulations alongside the SEC.
Securities and Exchange CommissionAgency directed by Chair Atkins to expand its existing 'Project Crypto' initiative into a joint regulatory effort with the CFTC.
Sector-wide beneficiaries
- Cryptocurrency
A coordinated CFTC/SEC framework for digital assets gives the crypto industry the regulatory clarity it has lobbied for, lowering legal risk for exchanges, custodians, and token issuers across the board.
Sector-aligned organizations that have paid into Trump’s orbit:
Further reading
- ★ Government ActionJanuary 2026Trump's commodities regulator scraps its proposed ban on betting contracts
- ★ Government ActionAugust 2025Trump orders Labor Department to allow alternative assets in 401(k)s
- ★ Government ActionJanuary 2025Trump's SEC crypto enforcement falls 60% in first year
- ★ Government ActionAugust 2025Trump's SEC ends Biden-era Ripple Labs crypto enforcement case
- ★ Government ActionApril 2025Trump's SEC pauses Gemini Trust enforcement lawsuit
- ★ Government ActionFebruary 2026Trump's EPA eliminates climate endangerment finding and emission rules