Cftc Director Who Made Bitcoin Futures Possible Returns As Chief Of...
Amir Zaidi’s return signals a strengthening of crypto oversight as the agency prepares for new digital asset laws.
The key policy maker who oversaw the launch of regulated Bitcoin futures in the US has returned as the Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s chief of staff after a six-year hiatus.
In a Wednesday announcement, the CFTC welcomed back Amir Zaidi with chairman Michael Selig emphasizing the wealth of experience Zaidi will bring.
“I’m grateful for his willingness to return as chief of staff and for his continued dedication and service to both the CFTC and our stakeholders. Amir was instrumental in the historic launch of CFTC-regulated bitcoin futures contracts during President Trump’s first term,” Selig said.
“With Congress poised to send digital asset market structure legislation to the President’s desk, he will bring tremendous experience and expertise to the CFTC as it develops fit-for-purpose regulations for our rapidly evolving commodity markets,” he added.
Zaidi’s previous stint at the CFTC was between 2010 and 2019 across several different roles. In his last two years, Zaidi served as the director of the CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight, and was responsible for overseeing the policy that helped establish a regulated Bitcoin futures market in the US.
Zaidi has strong experience across the government and financial services industry. Before heading back to the CFTC, Zaidi worked as the head of global compliance at major broker-dealer TP ICAP.
The launching of regulated Bitcoin futures markets on the CBOE in 2017, marked a major step forward to legitimizing Bitcoin at a time when there was significantly greater crypto skepticism and lack of mainstream adoption.
Related: US lawmakers expected to address market structure markup in January
With the CFTC likely to play a key role in crypto regulation and oversight in 2026, Zaidi marks another crypto friendly figure taking up key positions in government agencies.
Source: CoinTelegraph
