The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has faced substantial workforce contractions that have coincided with a sharp decline in its enforcement activities, particularly regarding cryptocurrency and prediction market oversight. According to U.S. Office of Personnel Management data, the agency’s staffing levels dropped 21% compared to the previous decade’s average by the end of 2025, with a steeper 22% reduction occurring between January 2024 and January 2025. The enforcement action statistics paint an even more dramatic picture, with the CFTC initiating nearly 80% fewer cases in 2025 than the annual average from the preceding decade.
Former CFTC enforcement lawyers and staff members have attributed the personnel departures and enforcement pullback to the Trump administration’s stated pro-cryptocurrency platform. Jeff Le Rich, who worked as an enforcement attorney at the agency until 2025, characterized the staffing losses as intentional, noting that some employees were removed after bringing enforcement actions against major cryptocurrency firms during the Biden administration. Joe Konizeski, a 26-year CFTC enforcement veteran who departed in 2025, described receiving directives to close all cryptocurrency-related cases. Acting Chair Caroline Pham issued this closure order before departing the agency in December of 2025 to assume a position at MoonPay, a cryptocurrency company.
The agency has reversed several enforcement actions against crypto firms including Gemini, Celsius, and FTX since the change in administration. Other cases unrelated to cryptocurrency have also faced dismissal, such as a foreign exchange fraud matter involving WorldWideMarkets Inc. Former and current enforcement staff have warned that reduced investigative capacity creates conditions favorable to fraudulent activity, with particular concerns raised about prediction market platforms’ advertising practices targeting young men.
Senator Elizabeth Warren requested a federal investigation into the CFTC’s staffing and enforcement capabilities in July. The Government Accountability Office, responding to Warren’s request, is now investigating the agency and plans to initiate the probe in December. The CFTC has stated plans to hire approximately 100 employees in mission-critical areas by the end of 2026 and reported a slight staffing uptick during 2026, while maintaining that departures resulted from broader trends affecting federal employment.
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