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U.S. Enforcement Chief Behind CFTC Crypto Cases Exits Before Trump Arrives
Ian McGinley, the enforcement director at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is stepping down days before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
Jan 10, 2025, 9:41 p.m.
What to know:
- CFTC Enforcement Director Ian McGinley is leaving the agency
- He led enforcement actions against Binance, KuCoin, Falcon Labs and others
- McGinley's exit opens a path for Republicans to redirect the agency's agenda
Enforcement Director Ian McGinley is leaving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in a week, ending a relatively short tenure that saw some high-profile crypto cases.
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He arrived at the agency in February 2023, a month before the CFTC sued Binance and then-CEO Changpeng Zhao for violating U.S. commodities laws. During his tenure, he also oversaw the conclusion of the enforcement work against collapsed global platform FTX, which he characterized as the largest recovery of dollars for victims in CFTC history. The agency has since pursued actions against KuCoin and Falcon Labs, among other projects. In a 2023 speech, McGinley addressed the agency's special focus on digital assets, saying, "The CFTC has risen to the challenge in a remarkable fashion."
In the statement announcing his January 17 departure, "establishing the CFTC as a premier law enforcement agency for digital asset enforcement" was listed first among the priorities of his tenure. The CFTC's cousin agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, usually gets more attention (and industry criticism) for its crypto enforcement work, though both have pursued dozens of major cases.McGinley's departure opens a path for Republicans to redirect the agency's enforcement work when a Trump appointee takes over the chairmanship. Trump's transition crew has reportedly eyed a long list of potential CFTC chiefs but hasn't pulled the trigger as quickly as it did on the marquee opening atop of the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, if crypto legislation makes headway in 2025, the CFTC could overtake the SEC' as the dominant agency overseeing U.S. digital assets markets.
Sitting Republican commissioners, Caroline Pham and Summer Mersinger, have been touted as potential candidates for the almost-open chairmanship, alongside former Commissioner Brian Quintenz, currently Head of Policy at a16z crypto.
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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U.S. SEC Gives Implicit Nod for Tokenized Stocks
Clearing and settlement company the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. said a subsidiary had received a no-action letter to offer tokenized real-world assets.
What to know:
- The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. said on Thursday that a subsidiary received a no-action letter from the U.S. SEC on offerings of tokenized real-world assets.
- The letter implicitly grants approval for the offering of certain tokenized stocks on approved blockchains for three years.
- The authorization applies to the constituents of the Russell 1000 index and exchange-traded funds tracking major indexes and U.S. Treasuries.
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