Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig over whether the agency is equipped to take on a larger role in regulating crypto and prediction markets as Congress advances legislation that would expand its authority.
In a letter sent to Selig on Friday, Warren argued that staffing cuts, declining enforcement activity and growing influence over the agency have left it weakened and stretched too thin to effectively police crypto and prediction market firms simultaneously.
"A CFTC with fewer staff members, reduced enforcement activity, and expanded responsibilities is a recipe for disaster," Warren wrote.
Warren cited reports that the CFTC's workforce has shrunk by around 25% and pointed to a major decline in enforcement actions since President Donald Trump took office. She also criticized how the agency has handled recent cases involving high-profile crypto and prediction market firms.
Among these was the CFTC's decision to join Gemini's request to vacate a judgment from a 2022 case that alleged the exchange made "false or misleading statements" to the CFTC in 2017 about the risk of manipulation in its bitcoin futures contract.
