CFTC Chairman: AI May Drive Financial Markets Toward Autonomous Trading; Developer Registration and Liability Attribution Issues Remain Unresolved

TechFlow reported on October 29 that, according to CoinDesk, Mike Selig, Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated on October 28 local time at an AI forum hosted by the CFTC that the convergence of superintelligence (SI), cryptocurrency technologies, and modern financial infrastructure could reshape financial markets and drive the evolution of trading systems toward greater autonomy.

Selig also raised several regulatory questions: whether developers of autonomous trading agents must register, who should bear responsibility if an agent becomes uncontrolled, and how regulators can identify the actual users behind the agents. He proposed that a “Know Your Agent (KYA)” mechanism may need to be established. Selig noted that the CFTC has already addressed whether software developers and user interfaces trigger regulatory requirements in the crypto asset market, providing relevant precedents. The agency is currently also leveraging AI to enhance oversight of its derivatives markets.