Multiple CFTC officials who questioned prediction market platforms were suspended and marginalized

Odaily Odaily reported that several senior officials of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), who had raised compliance concerns about prediction market platforms, were subsequently suspended, subjected to internal investigations, and ultimately forced to resign. Reports indicate that these officials had expressed concerns regarding the following companies: Polymarket lacking sufficient anti-fraud mechanisms; Crypto.com not treating small-stake users fairly; and a Gemini affiliate not having completed necessary regulatory reviews.

The investigation noted that these companies are all believed to have business ties to the Trump family. Sources said that the then-acting CFTC Chairman Caroline Pham and her senior advisor intervened to help these companies obtain regulatory approvals.

As of the end of 2025, two officials who raised questions were placed on administrative leave and subjected to internal investigations, while three other officials responsible for crypto enforcement faced the same treatment, none of whom were informed of the specific reasons. The report stated that this has created a "do not make trouble for the relevant industry" signal within the CFTC.

The CFTC significantly scaled back its crypto enforcement efforts during the Trump era: the agency launched over 80 crypto enforcement actions during the Biden administration, whereas under Trump, it initiated only two, both targeting individual operators rather than large enterprises. Furthermore, Caroline Pham left the CFTC to join MoonPay, which has a partnership with Polymarket; her former senior advisor, Brigitte Weyls, joined Gemini Titan as General Counsel. The current CFTC Chairman, Michael Selig, previously served as corporate counsel for several crypto companies. (Cointelegraph)