The main potential potential guard dog of the crypto industry industry, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has an endowment problem at the top, the last of its in -office commissioners announcing its departure plans before the arrival of the president of the agency chosen by President Donald Trump.
Democrat Kristen Johnson has now joined the three other in -office commissioners to make her starting plans clear on Wednesday, leaving Trump’s choice to lead the agency – former commissioner Brian Quintenz – Potentially directing an empty commission.
If it is confirmed by the Senate, Quintenz takes control of Christy Goldsmith Romero, a democrat who said that she planned to leave by the end of this month, whether Quintenz arrives or not. Since Johnson said that she would leave “later this year”, she could serve in front of Quintenz for a period of time in a republican-democratic confrontation from one to one.
Johnson, who was installed at the Commission of five members in a partial term which recently expired, had the possibility of staying at the agency until its replacement. She did not immediately respond to a request of more clarity on the timing of her departure.
The two Republicans in office of the Commission also have exit plans, Summer Mersinger taking over the Blockchain Association, a crypto lobbying group and the acting president Caroline Pham intention to return to an unrecognized role in the private sector once Quintenz takes over.
This is the end of the list of current commissioners, which means that Quintenz could be left alone at the top of the American derivative market regulator unless Trump has made rapid appointments and that the Senate responds quickly. Until now, legislators have moved relatively slowly on Quintenz in contrast to the CFTC sister agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which already takes place under the direction of the choice of Trump Paul Atkins.
The CFTC had fallen to two commissioners in recent years during the mandate of the previous president Rostin Behnam, and the four current commissioners were sworn in with each other in 2022 to fill the list. Under the law, the agency can operate without its complete supplement of commissioners, but the legal observers have argued in the past that a single commissioner remaining a party could face judicial disputes to try to implement a unilateral program.
The derivative regulator is probably the main watchdog for American crypto activity under the legislation examined in the congress to establish a domestic surveillance regime. Although the agency request to develop crypto rules may not come for a certain time, any confusion or legal uncertainty at the top of the CFTC can be problematic.
Johnson, who had taken a three -year leave at the Emory University School of Law to correspond to the time in the term in which she entered, concentrated a large part of her farewell declaration on artificial intelligence work. But she also referred to the crypto.
“I encouraged the Commission to start a multipartite dialogue on the digital asset markets which would help prepare the committee staff to create regulations to carry out a mandate of the congress and, at the same time, to offer educational workshops on fundamental questions such as corporate governance, resolution planning and the protection characteristics of CFTC regulations,” she said.
Read more: the CFTC commissioner, Mersinger, will be CEO of the Blockchain Association
