No Blockchain, No AI?

No Blockchain, No AI?

What? Surely not.

Yet, the chair of America's top derivatives regulator said something on a podcast last week that I didn't expect.

"You can't have AI without blockchain."

CFTC Chair Michael Selig told The Pomp Podcast that blockchain timestamps and on-chain identifiers may be the verification layer that distinguishes real media from AI-generated content. In a world awash with synthetic content, blockchain could be the authenticity infrastructure.

He also pushed back against over-regulation: "I'm concerned we over-regulate and strangle some of the technology." On AI agents specifically, his view was that enforcement should target people engaging in financial activity, not developers building the tools.

That's a seismic mental shift.

For years, the regulatory dialog in Washington focused on whether crypto was a security, a commodity, or a liability. A key regulator is now saying that blockchain is essential plumbing for the next generation of the internet.

The institutions building AI trading systems, AI compliance tools, and AI-generated research products must eventually solve for content authenticity and auditability. Blockchain is being positioned as one possible answer.

Every thought from a regulator doesn't necessarily become reality. Still, when the head of US derivatives oversight considers blockchain as AI infrastructure, then the investment thesis has certainly gone well beyond crypto token prices.

Interesting times!

Originally published on LinkedIn on April 6, 2026.