Amir Zaidi has been tapped as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the agency announced — a move that takes effect December 31, 2025. Chairman Michael S. Selig made the appointment public, highlighting Zaidi’s long track record inside the regulator and his role in major market milestones.
Zaidi first joined the CFTC in 2010 and held a variety of positions through 2019. From 2017 until his departure, he served as Director of the Division of Market Oversight (DMO). In that capacity he helped shape policies that paved the way for the launch of CFTC-regulated bitcoin futures in the United States during President Trump’s first term — a development widely credited with expanding institutional access to crypto exposure.
After leaving the agency in 2019, Zaidi moved to the private sector. He joined interdealer broker TP ICAP in September 2019 as Global Head of Compliance, where he oversaw a large compliance organization and gained direct operational experience with broker-dealer functions and market structure. TP ICAP materials and CFTC records note that, while at the commission, Zaidi led roughly 90 staff across multiple offices — underscoring a blend of policy-making and hands-on management experience the agency highlighted in announcing his return.
Zaidi’s portfolio at the CFTC has included exchange oversight, swap data governance and market monitoring — core responsibilities for policing derivatives and futures markets. His reappointment comes as Congress and federal agencies turn renewed attention to digital-asset rulemaking. Lawmakers are expected to advance a market-structure bill in early January that could clarify agency roles over crypto trading and derivatives, putting a premium on CFTC leadership choices and inter-agency coordination.
With regulatory priorities likely to be set quickly for 2026, Zaidi’s mix of federal regulatory knowledge and private-sector operational experience positions him to be a key player in how the CFTC responds to incoming legislation and coordinates with other agencies. Market participants and policymakers will be watching how the new chief of staff helps shape the agency’s next moves on crypto market structure and oversight.
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