Senior officials at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission were suspended and investigated after raising concerns about prediction-market companies, Cointelegraph reported on May 24, citing the New York Times.
The officials raised issues involving Polymarket, Crypto.com and a Gemini affiliate, the report said. They were concerned that Crypto.com did not treat small bettors fairly, that Polymarket lacked anti-fraud safeguards and that the Gemini affiliate had not completed the regulatory review needed to operate. Despite those concerns, then-acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham (캐롤라인 팜) and a chief counsel intervened to help the companies get what they wanted, the New York Times reported, citing sources. By the end of 2025, 2 officials who raised concerns were placed on administrative leave and faced an internal investigation. Three people who had been enforcing cryptocurrency laws received the same treatment. None were told why they were accused of wrongdoing, the New York Times reported.
The CFTC has sharply scaled back cryptocurrency crackdowns and halted at least 5 investigations into cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency enforcement actions that were more than 80 under the Biden administration fell to 2 under the Trump administration. Both cases targeted individual operators rather than large companies.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr