CFTC hires SEC crypto adviser as digital asset debate heats up

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has appointed SEC crypto task force adviser Donald Battle as chief data innovation officer as lawmakers continue debating the future of U.S. digital asset regulation.

According to a Monday announcement from CFTC Chair Michael Selig, Donald Battle will serve as the agency’s new chief data innovation officer.

Battle most recently advised the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force and previously held roles at the CFTC and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

In the announcement, Selig pointed to Battle’s background in data science, blockchain forensics, application programming interfaces, and artificial intelligence as factors behind the appointment.

Battle joined the SEC crypto task force in January 2025 after the Trump administration took office and has worked on cryptocurrency-related investigations and analytics across multiple federal agencies.

The hire comes as lawmakers in Washington continue work on the CLARITY Act, legislation that would redefine the responsibilities of the SEC and CFTC in overseeing digital assets. While Congress debates those jurisdictional boundaries, the CFTC has remained deeply involved in both crypto-related enforcement and prediction market regulation.

CFTC expands focus on digital asset oversight

Responsibility for many of the agency’s digital asset activities currently rests with the CFTC, which, under Selig, has taken an active role in disputes involving federally regulated event contracts and prediction markets.

Court filings cited by the commission show the agency recently sued New Mexico after state officials attempted to apply local gaming laws to contracts listed on prediction market platform Kalshi. The lawsuit names Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Raúl Torrez, and other state officials.

According to the complaint, the CFTC argues that federally regulated event contracts fall under its authority and cannot be governed by state gambling rules.

The case followed allegations from New Mexico authorities that Kalshi was operating without a required license and allowing participation by users younger than the state’s legal gaming age of 21.

Federal regulators have made similar arguments in other disputes involving prediction markets, maintaining that contracts listed on platforms operating under CFTC oversight should be regulated at the federal level.

Sports contract proposal enters public review

At the same time, the commission has opened a public consultation process on a proposed framework covering sports event contracts.

According to the CFTC, the draft rule seeks to distinguish sports event contracts offered by platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket from what the agency described as games of random chance.

The proposal could play a key role in determining how federal regulators treat sports-related prediction markets and how those markets interact with state gaming laws.

The commission said the public will have 45 days to submit comments on the proposal before regulators consider next steps.

Battle’s arrival places a veteran blockchain investigator inside the agency’s data leadership team as the commission navigates overlapping debates involving crypto markets, prediction platforms, and the future division of authority between federal regulators.

With Congress still considering market structure legislation, the CFTC continues to play a central role in several of the industry’s most closely watched regulatory battles.