CFTC's 'Top Cop' Legal Team Eliminated Amid Embrace of Crypto, Prediction Markets: Report
The CFTC’s Chicago enforcement office, once its main hub for complex litigation and high-profile crypto cases, has been reduced from 20 attorneys to zero following the resignation of its last enforcement lawyer. This drastic downsizing coincides with the Trump administration’s push for the understaffed CFTC to oversee both the rapidly growing crypto sector and prediction markets. Agency leadership, notably former acting chair Caroline Pham, cut total CFTC staff by more than 21% in 2024. Former enforcement lawyers believe the Chicago cuts were targeted, as the office previously secured major settlements from crypto companies like FTX and Binance. Experts warn that the CFTC is now ill-equipped to investigate and enforce rules in the burgeoning crypto and prediction market industries. As a result, monetary relief from enforcement plummeted from $17.1 billion in 2024 to just $9.2 million in 2025. Despite bipartisan Senate support for more resources, new CFTC chair Mike Selig declined to endorse increased funding at his confirmation hearing.
