Republican appointees now lead the SEC and CFTC after holiday shifts

After holiday leadership shifts, the two U.S. markets regulators — the SEC and CFTC — are now run only by pro-crypto Republicans, with Congress still debating how to structure federal oversight of digital assets. The SEC said farewell to its only Democratic commissioner, Caroline Crenshaw, last week, removing a routine source of opposition to the agency’s recent pro-digital-asset moves.

Crenshaw had often cautioned the agency about its shift toward a digital asset embrace, including opposing bitcoin exchange-traded funds as a danger to investors, and in a speech she said, “I think it’s safe to say they’re speculating, reacting to hysteria from promoters, feeding a desire to gamble, wash trading to push up prices, or as one Nobel laureate has posited — betting on the popularity of the politicians who support, or stand to benefit personally from, the success of crypto.” The SEC is now led by Trump nominee Chairman Paul Atkins and commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, who have advanced crypto interests.

At the CFTC, Trump nominee Mike Selig won confirmation late last month and was sworn in as chairman on Dec. 22, after acting chair Caroline Pham left for an industry job at MoonPay, leaving Selig alone on the five-member commission.

Key Topics

Crypto, Sec, Cftc, Paul Atkins, Mike Selig, Caroline Crenshaw