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U.S. CFTC Chair Behnam Makes Departure Official, Stepping Down on Inauguration Day
Like Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, CFTC chief Rostin Behnam will exit his job on the day that Donald Trump takes the oath of office.
Jan 7, 2025, 3:57 p.m.
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What to know:
- CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam has announced a January 20 departure from his chairman role.
- Once he steps down on the same day as Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, the two top U.S. markets regulator jobs will be open for appointment from the next president.
With a formal departure announcement from U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam, January 20 is now the official last day of both heads of the U.S. markets regulators.
Behnam joins Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler on choosing the very last day of the administration of President Joe Biden as their final day running their respective agencies. As President-elect Donald Trump is again sworn in, his new administration will have fresh vacancies atop those commissions.
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"We have welcomed new opportunities to modernize, build capabilities, and, with the support of the Congress, incorporate the innovations shaping our markets," he said in a Tuesday statement about his exit, first from the chairmanship and later – next month – from the commission itself. Behnam noted that the CFTC under his tenure "responsibly engaged new entrants to support innovation."
He leaves the CFTC on the cusp of what's likely a future ascension to take over regulation of crypto spot markets, including the trading of bitcoin (BTC). In most of the legislative efforts that sought to establish U.S. rules of the road for the crypto sector, the derivatives watchdog takes a leading role. Behnam's Republican replacement will likely steer that new assignment if Congress finally approves a bill.
While Behnam's agency got some credit from the crypto sector for being more reasonable than the SEC, it was also responsible for some of the heaviest enforcement actions against digital assets businesses.
Read More: U.S. CFTC Chair Behnam Says Regulator Will Keep Pursuing Kalshi Case
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CFTC's Selig opens legal dispute against states getting in way of prediction markets
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Mike Selig fired a legal warning shot defending his agency's jurisdiction over the event contract space.
What to know:
- U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Mike Selig directed his agency to file an amicus brief declaring his federal agency has authority over the U.S. prediction markets.
- Though the CFTC once fought a legal resistance against such firms as Polymarket and Kalshi, the agency has embraced them during the administration of President Donald Trump, whose son has worked as a paid adviser for the leading companies.
- As Selig defends his agency's jurisdiction in court, he's also pursuing new prediction markets rules for the U.S.
