SEC’s Crypto Task Force Adds Former Big-Law Crypto Attorney

Mike Selig, the newly appointed chief counsel for the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, previously served as a partner at the New York-based law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

Key Points:

• Mike Selig, a former big-law crypto attorney, has been appointed chief counsel of the SEC’s new Crypto Task Force.
• Before his role at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Selig interned at the CFTC.
• The task force also includes other crypto experts, such as former NFT lawyer Veronica Reynolds and ex-Coin Center policy director Landon Zinda.

The newly appointed chief counsel of the SEC’s recently established Crypto Task Force has a background in crypto law.

Mike Selig was appointed chief counsel of the SEC's Crypto Task Force, as announced on Monday. Previously, he was a New York-based partner at the prestigious law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where he was part of its crypto practice. Before that, he interned at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo, known in the industry as "CryptoDad," congratulated Selig in a post on X. Giancarlo, who now serves as senior counsel at Willkie Farr leading the firm’s Digital Works practice, expressed his pride and excitement for his former protégé.

In an October op-ed for CoinDesk, Mike Selig proposed ways for the SEC to shift away from its “regulation by enforcement” approach under former Chair Gary Gensler and instead foster a regulatory framework that promotes innovation. Notably, several of his recommendations—such as rescinding the controversial Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 and withdrawing from certain lawsuits—have already been adopted by the new Crypto Task Force.

Selig is one of 14 staff members named in Monday’s announcement. His colleagues include crypto industry veterans like Landon Zinda, former policy director at Coin Center, and Veronica Reynolds, a former attorney at Baker Hostetler LLP specializing in NFTs and the metaverse. Both will serve as senior advisors alongside career SEC staff. Zinda’s appointment was first announced in February.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the task force, emphasized the team’s expertise and commitment to finding practical solutions for crypto regulation.

The task force will hold its first roundtable discussion on March 21, titled "How We Got Here and How We Get Out – Defining Security Status," as part of an upcoming series on crypto regulation.