Warren: CFTC staff cuts leave agency ill-equipped for crypto

Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig on whether the agency can take on a larger role regulating crypto and prediction markets as Congress considers legislation to expand the CFTC’s authority.

In a letter sent Friday, Warren cited reports that the CFTC workforce has fallen by about 25% and that enforcement actions have declined since President Donald Trump took office. She wrote that those staffing and enforcement trends, combined with growing industry influence, have left the agency weakened and stretched thin. “A CFTC with fewer staff members, reduced enforcement activity, and expanded responsibilities is a recipe for disaster,” she wrote.

Warren criticized recent agency decisions. She noted the CFTC joined Gemini’s request to vacate a 2022 judgment that alleged the exchange made “false or misleading statements” in 2017 about manipulation risks in its bitcoin futures contract. Last month the agency concluded the complaint “should not have been filed” and said it would not meet current enforcement standards.

The senator also referenced reports that officials who raised concerns about firms including Polymarket and Crypto.com were reassigned or left the agency. Warren asked Selig to provide records related to staff reassignments, communications between the CFTC and prediction market firms, and contacts with crypto industry participants concerning the Clarity Act.

Selig has maintained that prediction markets and event contracts fall under the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction. Several states have argued some platforms violate state gambling laws, and the disputes have led the CFTC to sue multiple states that attempted to block prediction market platforms from operating.

Warren requested the documents to determine whether the agency has the resources and capacity to take on broader responsibilities for volatile crypto markets while continuing to police prediction-market activity. The letter frames staffing and enforcement trends as a governance concern as lawmakers move to change the agency’s remit.