Ex-CFTC chair leaves without replacement pick from Trump

Rostin Behnam, who chaired the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2021 to 2025, has stepped down as commissioner for the financial regulator without a potential replacement nomination from President Donald Trump.

In an X post, Behnam said Feb. 7 would be his last day at the CFTC after roughly eight years serving separately as a commissioner and the regulator’s chair. On Jan. 7, Behnam announced his departure as chair would be on the same day as Trump’s inauguration, paving the way for the CFTC to elect Caroline Pham as acting chair.

Source: Rostin Behnam

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has not announced any potential pick to replace Behnam, leaving the five-commissioner panel split between Republicans and Democrats. Reports have suggested that the US president was considering nominating former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz, but the White House had made no official announcement at the time of publication.

Under Chair Pham, who has been in charge of the agency for less than 30 days, the CFTC announced it was ending its practice of regulation by enforcement and restructuring its priorities. The commission has previously filed lawsuits against crypto firms, including Binance, Uniswap Labs and Celsius Network.

Related: Crypto firms to see more enforcement actions within 2 years — CFTC chair

In one of his last official messages as CFTC chair, Behnam called on US lawmakers and policymakers to establish regulatory guardrails for the crypto industry. He added that he planned to continue to advocate for the commission after his Feb. 7 departure.

Leadership at US financial regulators changing under Trump

The Securities and Exchange Commission, another significant US financial regulator, had only three commissioners out of five as of Feb. 7 following the departure of Chair Gary Gensler and Jaime Lizárraga. Trump appointed Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair until US lawmakers in the Senate decide whether to take up the nomination of former Commissioner Paul Atkins.

Under Uyeda, the SEC announced it would be creating a crypto task force to explore a regulatory framework for digital assets. The initiative appeared to separate from a crypto working group ordered by Trump on Jan. 23 and Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate coordinating to explore stablecoin legislation and a market structure bill.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions