SEC and CFTC Leadership Vacancies May Slow Crypto Regulation

With US lawmakers failing to advance a comprehensive digital asset market structure bill, regulators have moved to fill the legislative gap themselves—though the practical ability of the SEC and CFTC to do so is being tested by an unusually thin leadership bench.

Reporting on the situation, Cointelegraph notes that both agencies have proposed crypto-focused rules that appear intended to substitute for parts of Congressional action. Yet leadership staffing constraints mean that, in some circumstances, rulemaking could effectively proceed with minimal commissioner involvement.

Key takeaways

• The SEC and CFTC have both proposed crypto rules in the absence of a sweeping market structure law, but leadership vacancies raise questions about decision-making capacity.
• At the SEC, Chair Paul Atkins and former Acting Chair Mark Uyeda have remained in place after Commissioner Hester Peirce’s departure earlier this month, leaving fewer than the typical full commission.
• The SEC’s recently adjusted quorum rule can reduce the number of commissioners required to pass certain rules to as low as one person when only two commissioners are present and others are disqualified.
• At the CFTC, Michael Selig has been the only Senate-confirmed chair and commissioner since December 2025, leaving the agency short of its intended five-member structure.
• The fate of the market structure bill at the center of the controversy—Congress’s Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act—remains uncertain, with some experts skeptical of passage in a post-election window.