Crypto regulation at SEC, CFTC to come down to 3 commissioners following key resignation

Two of the United States’ financial agencies tasked with overseeing and enforcing digital asset regulation will be down to just three commissioners after Friday, following the departure of a Republican member.

On Friday, Hester Peirce, who served as a commissioner with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for eight years, will leave the agency about two months before the end of the 18-month extension for her second term. The departure of Peirce, whom many in the industry knew as “Crypto Mom” for her views on digital assets, will mark only the second time in US history the agency has operated with two commissioners.

At the SEC, Chair Paul Atkins and Mark Uyeda, both Republicans, will remain as the two final commissioners in a bipartisan panel expected to consist of five people. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), another federal regulator behind many aspects of crypto oversight and enforcement, has been led by Chair Michael Selig as the sole commissioner since December 2025, when acting chair Caroline Pham departed.

As US President, Donald Trump is the only person under federal law who can nominate replacements to fill the empty SEC and CFTC leadership seats. However, the White House has not announced any nominations or intention to nominate additional members to the financial agencies, all of whom were chosen by Trump with the exception of Uyeda, a Biden pick from 2022.