The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission rescheduled their joint cryptocurrency oversight event from January 27 to January 29.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig will hold the public session at CFTC headquarters from 2 to 3 PM ET.
The event centers on harmonizing regulatory approaches between the agencies. Eleanor Terrett from Crypto in America will moderate a fireside chat between the chairmen following opening remarks.
Both agencies described current cryptocurrency regulations as "unclear in application and misaligned in design, based solely on legacy jurisdictional silos."
The joint statement directly references President Trump's stated goal of making the United States "the crypto capital of the world."
What Happened
The CFTC and SEC announced the schedule change in separate releases on January 26. The one-hour event will be webcast live on the SEC's website with doors opening at 1:30 PM for in-person attendees.
The session follows a September 29, 2025 roundtable where regulators first discussed harmonization priorities.
That earlier meeting focused on information-sharing agreements and joint examinations to reduce duplicative requirements.
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Why It Matters
Years of jurisdictional disputes between the SEC and CFTC created what industry participants called "regulation by enforcement." The SEC typically classifies most digital assets as securities while the CFTC considers many cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as commodities.
This fragmentation pushed cryptocurrency firms to navigate contradictory rules from both agencies. High-profile enforcement actions against exchanges like Coinbase and Binance proceeded without clear regulatory guidance on classification standards.
The House passed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in July 2025 with bipartisan support. The legislation would grant the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over digital commodity spot markets while maintaining SEC authority over securities.
The Senate Agriculture and Banking Committees are currently revising the bill to reconcile jurisdictional conflicts. Implementation remains uncertain as congressional committees debate competing definitions of digital assets.
Regulatory Shift
Both agencies shifted away from enforcement-focused approaches under new leadership in 2025.
The CFTC eliminated specialized task forces and reorganized enforcement divisions while the SEC established a crypto task force.
The Department of Justice issued guidance in April 2025 directing prosecutors to prioritize fraud and sanctions evasion over regulatory classification disputes. This marked a departure from previous administration policies that relied on litigation to define cryptocurrency rules.
International competition factors into harmonization efforts as Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation provides firms with clear licensing pathways. Hong Kong and Singapore have implemented frameworks designed to attract institutional capital.
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