- CFTC staffing falls 21% as crypto and prediction markets expand, while enforcement actions drop 80%.
- Former CFTC lawyers allege the leadership curtails crypto cases and pushes out lawyers who handled them.
- Reduced agency capacity limits rule-making and fraud prevention despite rising market activity.
As cryptocurrency and prediction markets expand, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is shrinking.
CFTC’s staffing has fallen by 21% compared to its 10-year average, and enforcement actions dropped by nearly 80% in 2025 alone compared to the previous decade.
The decline in agency capacity comes as digital-asset markets grow, raising questions about the regulator’s ability to oversee the expanding markets.
CFTC Staffing Falls 21% as Crypto and Prediction Markets Expand
The CFTC is experiencing staffing shortages as the cryptocurrency and prediction markets grow exponentially. By the end of 2025, the agency’s payroll had fallen 21% below its previous 10-year average, while its headcount dropped another 22% between January 2024 and January 2025.
In Q3 2026, prediction markets reported a trading volume of $188B, 21 times higher than in Q3 2025. Meanwhile, the global crypto market cap is $2.88T today, underscoring the scale of the markets CFTC oversees as its workforce shrinks.
Former CFTC enforcement lawyers have also raised concerns about the agency’s approach to crypto investigations. They accuse Trump-era leadership of deliberately limiting certain crypto cases and sidelining lawyers who pursued significant enforcement cases against companies like Binance and FTX.
CFTC Enforcement Actions Drop Nearly 80%
Meanwhile, the CFTC brought nearly 80% fewer enforcement actions in 2025 than the previous decade’s annual average. In 2025, the agency launched only 13 enforcement actions compared with 58 in 2024 and almost 100 in 2023.
Former CFTC enforcement lawyers Jeff Le Rich and Joe Konizeski say experienced attorneys involved in major enforcement cases were pushed out or left the agency. Le Rich worked at the CFTC from 2005 to 2025, while Konizeski spent 26 years at the agency before being forced out in 2025.
What This Means for Crypto and Prediction Markets
The sharp contraction in the CFTC workforce has raised concerns about its ability to oversee expanding crypto and prediction markets and combat fraud. Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for a formal Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the agency’s workforce cuts.
In addition, the CFTC says it is working to stabilize its headcount and plans to hire roughly 100 employees in mission-critical divisions by the end of 2026. To overcome the shortage of personnel, the current CFTC Chairman, Michael Selig, has also diverted agency resources to automation.
Related: CFTC Opens Consultation on Leveraged Retail Crypto Trading After Clarity Act Stalls
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