The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is already seeing demand from crypto exchanges planning to opt in to its newly proposed rules governing digital assets, according to Chairman Michael Selig.

The commodities regulator in October proposed rules aimed at preventing abuse in crypto markets and codifying crypto transaction rules under a federal rulebook. In the announcement, Selig said the move was a “critical step” in ensuring the United States remains the crypto capital of the world.

Speaking this week at Cantor Convergence, an annual FinTech conference held in Miami Beach, Selig told CNBC in an exclusive interview that many of the major crypto exchanges are already registered with the CFTC because they offer financial derivatives,…