The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a potential primary watchdog in the US crypto industry, has had staff issues, with the final sit-in commissioner unveiling its departure plan before the chairman of the agency that President Donald Trump chose to arrive.
Democrat Kristen Johnson joined three other sit-ins on Wednesday to clarify her departure plans, leaving Trump with the option of leading the agency (former committee member Brian Quintz).
If confirmed by the Senate, Quintenz will take over the place currently occupied by Democrat Christi Gold Smith Romero, who said he will be leaving by the end of this month, whether or not Quintenz arrives. Since saying Johnson will leave “late the year,” she may serve the other side of Quintz there for a period of time in a Republican 1-1 democratic showdown.
Johnson, who was recently revoked on a five-member committee, was able to remain at the agency until she was replaced. She did not immediately respond to requests to make the timing of departure more clear.
Two sitting Republicans on the committee are also planning an exit plan, with acting chair Caroline Fam, with the intention of summer Mersinger taking over the Blockchain Association, crypto lobbying group, and Quintenz taking over to return to an unspecified role in the private sector.
That’s the end of the current list of commissioners. That means Quintenz can leave it alone above the regulators of the US derivatives market, unless Trump makes some quick nominations and the Senate responds quickly. So far, lawmakers have been moving Quintenz relatively slowly, in contrast to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the CFTC’s sister agency.
The CFTC has declined to two commissioners in recent years during the previous year’s tenure of Chairman Rostin Behnham, and within a few weeks in 2022 the current four commissioners were sworn in to fill the roster. Under the law, agencies can operate without fully complementing the commissioner, but legal observers have previously argued that one remaining commissioner of one party could face legal challenges when attempting to implement a one-sided agenda.
Derivative regulators could be the leading watchdog of US crypto activity under laws being considered by Congress to establish a national surveillance system. While there may not be a demand for institutions to create encryption rules for some time, confusion and legal uncertainty above the CFTC can be a problem.
Johnson took three years off from Emory University Law School to accommodate the remaining time during her intervention, focusing many of her farewell statements on artificial intelligence work. But she also referred to Crypto.
“The committee encouraged commission staff to launch multi-stakeholder dialogue on the digital asset market that would help prepare committee staff to create regulations to carry out legislative duties, while also encouraging them to provide educational workshops on fundamental issues such as corporate governance, resolution planning and customer protection capabilities of CFTC regulations,” she said.
Read more: Blockchain Association’s CFTC Commissioner Mellsinger becomes CEO
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