How the SEC’s lack of leadership could facilitate crypto rulemaking

After US lawmakers failed to pass a comprehensive digital asset market structure bill, financial regulators stepped up efforts to change rules around the oversight and enforcement of crypto companies and offerings. 

However, the two primary regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), are understaffed at the leadership level, leaving the decisions for regulating aspects of the $3 trillion crypto market largely in the hands of just three individuals, two of whom were nominated by US President Donald Trump. 

At the SEC, two commissioners — Chair Paul Atkins and former Acting Chair Mark Uyeda — remain following the departure of Commissioner Hester Peirce earlier this month. The dearth of leadership at the CFTC is even more stark, with Michael Selig serving as the only Senate-confirmed chair and commissioner since December 2025. The agencies are intended to each have five commissioners.

Both agencies have proposed rules that appear to be attempting to take the place of legislation from Congress in regulating cryptocurrencies. 

The SEC proposed rules to provide companies with a safe harbor from tokens being treated as “investment contracts” in August, and the CFTC followed suit in October, with Selig saying the agency would use its “existing statutory authorities“ to address crypto regulation through proposed rules on exchanges. Atkins added on Oct. 2 that “more regulatory proposals [were] on the horizon” for crypto.