Commodity Futures Trading Commission

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Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Founded	1974
Headquarters	Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20581
Products	Federal commodity derivatives regulator
Key People	Michael Selig, Chairman
Twitter	@cftc
youtube	CFTC
facebook	cftcgov
LinkedIn	Profile
Web site	www.cftc.gov

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent federal regulatory agency established in 1974 that oversees the U.S. derivatives markets, including futures, options, and swaps, with a mission to protect market participants from fraud and manipulation while ensuring market integrity. It is currently led by Chairman Michael Selig.

Following the 2025 presidential transition, Caroline D. Pham was designated acting chairman of the CFTC by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, after the resignation of Rostin Behnam, who had served as the agency's 15th chairman since January 2022. Prior to her designation as acting chairman, Pham had served as a commissioner since April 14, 2022, after being nominated by President Joe Biden and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

President Trump initially nominated Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner, to serve as chairman in February 2025. However, Quintenz's confirmation faced significant obstacles, including opposition from prominent cryptocurrency industry figures Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who expressed concerns about his alignment with the administration's crypto agenda. The Trump administration formally withdrew Quintenz's nomination on September 30, 2025, with a White House official stating that "President Trump has made it a priority to make America the crypto capital of the world, and in doing so has called for the revitalization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to play a larger role in securing this promise." The administration indicated it would announce a new nominee "in the near future," while Pham continues to lead the agency as acting chairman.

In 2026, the CFTC’s Chicago office, which once housed the agency's top market enforcers, went from about 20 trial lawyers to none. After Caroline Pham was elevated from CFTC commissioner to acting chair, she carried out a sweeping reorganization of the enforcement division, closing about half of its open cases—sometimes without consulting the teams involved—in a campaign against what she called “regulation by enforcement.”

In fiscal year 2024, the CFTC brought 58 enforcement actions and won a record $17.1 billion in monetary relief. In fiscal year 2025, the agency brought 13 enforcement actions resulting in less than $10 million, according to CFTC news releases.

Mission

The mission of the CFTC is to protect market users and the public from fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices related to the sale of commodity and financial futures and options, and to foster open, competitive, and financially sound futures and options markets. It was created in 1974 when Congress passed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act, signed by President Gerald Ford.

History

Congress created the CFTC with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974 as an independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and options markets in the United States. (Before that time, futures markets were regulated by the Commodity Exchange Authority (CEA), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture). The CFTC's mandate has been renewed and expanded several times since 1974, most recently by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (CFMA). In May of 2008, the U.S. Congress reauthorized the CFTC through the Fiscal Year 2013. On July 21, 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), which expanded the CFTC's jurisdiction and authorities.

William T. Bagley, a lawyer, was appointed by President Gerald Ford as the first chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, serving from 1975 to 1978. As keynote speaker at a press dinner on the Chicago Board of Trade's trading floor early in his chairmanship, he established one of the CFTC's oversight goals by telling the crowd something along the lines of that if there was anything "Mickey Mouse" going on in the industry, he would cut off Mickey's ears.

Today, the CFTC assures the economic utility of the futures markets by encouraging their competitiveness and efficiency, ensuring their integrity, protecting market participants against manipulation, abusive trading practices, and fraud, and ensuring the financial integrity of the clearing process.

The CFTC introduced a new fintech initiative in May 2017 called LabCFTC. On December 15, 2017, the CFTC launched a virtual currency resource Web page, cftc.gov/bitcoin, as a repository for commission-produced resources about virtual currency (aka cryptocurrency).

Regulatory Agreement with the European Commission

The CFTC and the European Commission in February 2016 announced a "common approach" to clearinghouse requirements that would pave the way for European regulators to grant equivalence to U.S. clearinghouses. The agreement would allow European CCPs to do business in the U.S. more easily and U.S. CCPs to continue to provide services to EU companies. The deal will also result in millions of dollars of savings daily in the amount of collateral derivatives dealers are required to post.

The European Commission will propose the adoption of an equivalence decision, which will need to be approved by the Member States of the European Union. That vote is expected on Feb. 24. The Commission expects that U.S. CCPs will be recognized by June 21, the date when the mandatory clearing obligation for interest rate swaps starts to take effect.

The agreement is the culmination of three years of sometimes bitter talks over common standards for the global derivatives markets mandated by world leaders after the 2008 financial crisis.

How the CFTC Is Organized

The CFTC consists of five commissioners appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate to serve staggered five-year terms. The president, with the consent of the Senate, designates one of the commissioners to serve as the CFTC chairman. No more than three commissioners at any one time may be from the same political party.

The CFTC organization consists of the offices of the Chairman and Commissioners, as well as 14 operating divisions and offices. The CFTC is led by Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham in her capacity as the agency's chief executive, directing day-to-day management and coordinating the commission's business and regulatory agenda. The Executive Leadership Team consists of the heads of each operating division and office, the agency's Chief of Staff/Chief Operating Officer, and the Chairman.

The current 14 operating divisions and offices include the Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR), Division of Enforcement with its Whistleblower Office (DOE), Division of Market Oversight (DMO), Market Participants Division (MPD), Division of Data (DOD), Office of the General Counsel (OGC), Division of Administration (DA), Office of the Chief Economist (OCE), Office of International Affairs (OIA), Office of Public Affairs (OPA), Office of Technology Innovation (OTI), Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs (OLIA), Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), and Office of Customer and Education Outreach (OCEO).

Historically, the CFTC's organizational structure has evolved to reflect changing market conditions and regulatory needs. Earlier incarnations included the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight, which was reorganized into the current Market Participants Division to better address the regulatory landscape following the Dodd-Frank Act. The Division of Data was established in 2020 to replace the data functions previously housed within the Division of Market Oversight, reflecting the agency's increased focus on data-driven regulation and analytics.

The Office of the Inspector General operates as an independent organizational unit within the CFTC with the mission to detect fraud, waste, and abuse and promote integrity, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the Commission's programs and operations. The Chairman's staff provides direct responsibility for public information, interaction with governmental agencies and Congress, and preparation of Commission documents, including Freedom of Information Act responsiveness.

The CFTC maintains its headquarters in Washington, D.C., at Three Lafayette Centre, with regional offices in Chicago (covering Central and Southwestern regions), New York (Eastern region), and Kansas City (Central region). The agency is undergoing a significant headquarters relocation from Lafayette Center to Patriots Plaza III in southwest Washington, D.C., scheduled for completion in March 2026, downsizing to approximately 49% of its current footprint to accommodate expanded telework and alternative work arrangements.

CFTC Budget & Enforcement Results

CFTC Annual budget

• 2024
• 2023: $392 million
• 2022: $328 million
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019:
• 2018: $249 million
• 2017: $250 million
• 2016: $250 million
• 2015: $250 million
• 2014: $215 million
• 2013: $215 million
• 2012: $205.2 million
• 2011: $169 million
• 2010: $168.8 million
• 2009: $146 million
• 2008: $111 million

Total monetary sanctions for fiscal year

• 2020: $1.3 billion
• 2019: $1.3 billion
• 2018: $950 million
• 2017: $413 million
• 2016: $1.29 billion
• 2015: $3.14 billion
• 2014: $3.27 billion

Major Operating Units

Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) The functions of the Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight include oversight of derivatives clearing organizations, financial integrity of registrants, customer fund protection, stock-index margin, registration and fitness of intermediaries, sales practice reviews, National Futures Association activities related to intermediaries, and foreign market access by intermediaries.

Division of Market Oversight (DMO) The Division of Market Oversight has regulatory responsibility for initial recognition and continuing oversight of trade execution facilities, including new registered futures exchanges and derivatives transaction execution facilities. The regulatory functions of the Division include, among other things, market surveillance, trade practice reviews and investigations, rule enforcement reviews, review of product-related and market-related rule amendments, and associated product and market-related studies.

Market Participants Division The Market Participants Division oversees the registration and compliance of intermediaries and futures industry self-regulatory organizations (SRO's) including U.S. derivatives exchanges and the National Futures Association (NFA). Under Dodd-Frank, DSIO also will be responsible for developing and monitoring compliance with regulations addressing registration, capital adequacy and margin requirements for swap dealers and major swap participants.

Division of Enforcement (DOE) The Division of Enforcement investigates and prosecutes alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. Violations may involve commodity futures or option trading on domestic commodity exchanges, or the improper marketing of commodity investments. The Division may, at the direction of the Commission, file complaints before the agency's administrative law judges or in the U.S. District Courts. Alleged criminal violations of the Commodity Exchange Act or violations of other Federal laws which involve commodity futures trading may be referred to the Justice Department for prosecution. The Division also provides expert help and technical assistance with case development and trials to U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, other Federal and state regulators and international authorities.

Division of Data

Legal Division The Legal Division is the Commission's legal advisor. OGC staff represents the Commission in appellate litigation and certain trial-level cases, including bankruptcy proceedings which involve futures industry professionals. As the Commission’s legal advisor, the Legal Division reviews all substantive regulatory, legislative, and administrative matters presented to it and advises the Commission on the application and interpretation of the Commodity Exchange Act and other administrative statutes. OGC also assists the Commission in performing its adjudicatory functions.

Division of Administration The Office of the Executive Director (OED) formulates and implements the management and administrative policies and functions of the agency. OED staff formulate the agency's budget, supervise the allocation and use of agency resources, promote management controls and financial integrity, and develop and maintain the agency's automated information systems. The Office of Proceedings, which is under the administrative direction of OED, provides an inexpensive and expeditious forum for handling customer complaints against people or firms registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) through its reparations program. The Office of Proceedings also hears and decides enforcement cases brought by the Commission.

Office of Chief Economist (OCE) The Office of the Chief Economist is an independent office with responsibility for providing expert economic advice to the Commission. Its functions include policy analysis, economic research, expert testimony, education and training.

Office of International Affairs The CFTC created an Office of International Affairs on July 23, 1997. The agency said the office would help it keep abreast of global changes in the derivatives industry and continue to take a leading role in international initiatives.

Climate Risk Unit (CRU) While not a formal office, the CFTC announced the establishment of a Climate Risk Unit on March 17, 2021. Staffed by members of CFTC’s operating divisions and offices, the unit was formed to respond to climate change issues. In particular, CRU focuses on the role of derivatives in understanding, pricing and addressing climate-related risk and a transition to a low-carbon economy.

Reports

The CFTC regularly issues various weekly, monthly or annual reports, including Commitments of Traders reports, Cotton On-Call, Bank Participation in the Futures and Options Markets, and Financial Data of FCMs and others.

CFTC Cautions and Advisories

- CFTC Customer Advisory Cautions the Public to Beware of Artificial Intelligence Scams: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Office of Customer Education and Outreach today issued a customer advisory warning the public about Artificial Intelligence (AI) scams.

Bitcoin and ether derivatives

The CFTC has continued to exercise and expand its regulatory oversight over bitcoin and ether derivatives. Following a 2018 federal court ruling that all virtual currencies, including bitcoin and ether, fall under the commodity definition, the CFTC has exercised authority over both derivatives and spot markets for digital assets listed on registered exchanges.

The Commission initially used this authority to pursue fraud cases, such as actions against My Big Coin Pay Inc. and its founder, Randall Crater, who was indicted for wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions tied to misleading virtual currency claims. The CFTC has relied on these precedents to target fraud and abuse in virtual currency markets, including the outcome of CFTC v. My Big Coin Pay and federal decisions affirming that virtual currencies are commodities.

The agency’s efforts faced legal challenges in other domains. For example, in Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Monex Credit Co., an initial ruling held that the CFTC’s authority to bring fraud cases required evidence of both fraud and market manipulation. This interpretation limited CFTC actions to situations involving explicit manipulation. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this view in July 2019, confirming the CFTC could pursue fraud cases against commodities dealers without needing to prove manipulation.

From 2022 onwards, the CFTC expanded its supervision of bitcoin and ether futures and options, supporting new product launches including perpetual contracts and continuous bitcoin and ether futures on designated contract markets such as Coinbase Derivatives and Cboe. These products are subject to federal standards for market surveillance, capital requirements, customer protections, and anti-fraud compliance.

In August 2025, the CFTC, in coordination with the SEC, formally permitted spot trading of bitcoin and ether on exchanges registered under federal jurisdiction. These venues must comply with comprehensive market rules and are authorized to offer both derivatives and spot digital asset contracts, representing a shift from state-level and fragmented regulatory oversight to a unified, federally supervised system.

On December 4, 2025, CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline Pham announced that listed spot cryptocurrency products would begin trading for the first time in U.S. markets on CFTC registered futures exchanges. The announcement marked a step forward in the Trump Administration’s plan to make America the “crypto capital of the world.”

Bitcoin

In September 2014, the CFTC permitted TeraExchange, a swap execution facility (SEF), to certify to the commission that its bitcoin swap complied with requirements under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). This action implicitly affirmed bitcoin’s status as a commodity within the CFTC’s regulatory jurisdiction. Later that year, in Congressional testimony, then-Chairman Tim Massad stated his view that bitcoin was a commodity and acknowledged the broad definition of commodities under the CEA.

In 2015, the CFTC settled enforcement action against Coinflip, a company that had provided options on bitcoin through its Derivabit platform without registering as a SEF, the only permitted venue for commodity options trading. Similarly, in 2016, the CFTC settled a case against Bitfinex, which was accused of trading off-exchange Bitcoin futures without registration as a futures commission merchant.

Federal courts further supported CFTC jurisdiction over bitcoin as a commodity. On March 6, 2018, U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein permitted the CFTC to pursue fraud action against Patrick McDonnell and his company CabbageTech under the Commodity Exchange Act over allegations of defrauding investors with cryptocurrency advisory services.

Ether

In December 2018, the CFTC issued an official 60-day Request for Information (RFI) inviting public comment and feedback on the mechanics, technology, and markets for virtual currencies beyond bitcoin, notably including Ether and its use within the Ethereum network. The agency announced that insights from this RFI would contribute to developing oversight and regulatory policy for digital asset markets. The Commission offered several methods for the submission of public input, including a mailing address and access to its public comments website.

On October 10, 2019, before any formal rulemaking, CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert publicly stated at the Yahoo! Finance All Markets Summit that “Ether is a commodity” in his view, clarifying the CFTC’s regulatory stance. He emphasized that the Commission was cooperative with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on regulatory matters regarding both bitcoin and ether, and that neither agency regarded these assets as securities. Tarbert also stated that the CFTC would be prepared to approve ether futures. Later, at DC Fintech Week, Tarbert further articulated that a digital asset could reclassify between a security and a commodity based on network and usage factors.

Despite the explicit guidance, in November 2020, Tarbert said the CFTC and SEC were still evaluating regulatory approaches for future changes to the Ethereum network, such as the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, which would transition ether from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.

On May 11, 2020, ErisX, a designated contract market (DCM), began offering physically settled ether futures contracts, marking the first listing of such contracts on a regulated U.S. DCM or SEF. These ether futures are available in contracts priced both in U.S. dollars and in bitcoin, calling for the delivery of one ether per contract. The contracts feature monthly and quarterly settlement cycles, and minimum block trade sizes are specified for institutional market participation.

The CFTC has approved the listing of perpetual and continuous ether derivatives on federally supervised exchanges and has partnered with the SEC in joint harmonization initiatives to establish unified regulatory standards for digital assets, including ether, across spot and derivatives markets.

Digital asset derivatives

The CFTC has progressively clarified and expanded its regulatory framework for digital asset derivatives, beginning with its decision to permit TeraExchange to certify its bitcoin swap contract for trading as a swap execution facility (SEF). TeraExchange received permanent registration from the CFTC on May 26, 2016. The North American Derivatives Exchange (Nadex), a designated contract market (DCM), added self-certified bitcoin binary contracts on its trading platform in November 2014.

LedgerX applied for, and later received, registration as both a SEF and a derivatives clearing organization in July 2017, enabling it to list and clear physically delivered bitcoin swaps and options. LedgerX reported its first bitcoin swaps trading on October 16, 2017, marking a milestone for physically settled crypto derivatives on a regulated U.S. platform. Its compliance program and rules are publicly posted.

On December 1 and December 17, 2017, respectively, the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE) and the CME Group launched cash-settled bitcoin futures contracts certified with the CFTC. The introduction of these contracts prompted concerns from futures commission merchants and industry representatives, leading to public letters from the Futures Industry Association (FIA) requesting increased diligence around market integrity, surveillance, and collateral requirements.

In response, the CFTC issued staff advisories to exchanges and clearinghouses in 2018, underscoring the need for robust market surveillance and financial risk management for certified cryptocurrency products. The agency has also published guidance for futures commission merchants regarding the holding and management of virtual currencies in segregated accounts and the design of firm-specific risk management programs.

The CFTC’s ongoing agenda now includes collaborative regulatory initiatives with the SEC, such as harmonization efforts to create unified standards and rule proposals for digital asset market intermediaries, event contracts, and derivatives—including perpetual digital asset contracts—on federally supervised exchanges. The Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act and related rulemakings are establishing new pathways for registration, supervision, segregation of customer assets, and consumer protection standards for digital asset futures, swaps, and options.

Current regulatory advancements also reflect industry feedback from regulated entities and custodians, and continue to promote innovation, clarity, and effective risk management in the evolving digital asset derivatives ecosystem.

Interpretive guidance for "actual delivery"

The CFTC issued final interpretive guidance on March 24, 2020, clarifying the meaning of "actual delivery" for retail commodity transactions involving digital assets. The guidance specifies that for actual delivery to occur in transactions with retail participants—including those involving margin, leverage, or financing—the buyer must secure possession and control over the full amount of the purchased digital asset within 28 days, and the seller must relinquish all interest, claim, or control over the asset.

This interpretive statement also details the nature of custody for both buyers and sellers, establishing that any digital asset held by third-party depositories or custodians must be controlled completely and exclusively by the buyer after delivery. The CFTC guidance applies both to spot digital asset transactions and to transactions where the underlying assets are referenced in derivative contracts.

CFTC enforcement actions and market monitoring practices now reference this standard when reviewing exchange operations and customer protections in the fast-evolving digital asset marketplace, ensuring clarity in regulatory compliance for both trading platforms and market participants.

Education initiatives

The CFTC has undertaken efforts to educate market participants and potential market participants about the specific risks associated with dealing in cryptocurrencies in general and bitcoin specifically. The CFTC provides a website that lists resources that the CFTC has made available to the public. The web page provides brief descriptions of and hyperlinks to a variety of materials including podcasts, customer advisories, primers/backgrounders and brochures.

In July 2018, the CFTC issued a customer advisory to those considering buying digital currency. The document cited the high rate of failure and fraud among new ICOs and the volatility of digital currency prices. It also urged potential consumers to take responsibility for knowing the laws, function, and promises made by those selling them.

Central Bank Digital Currencies

In July 2020, the CFTC's Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) conducted a meeting to discuss virtual currency and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Chris Brummer, Georgetown Law Center professor and faculty director of the Institute of International Economic Law, gave a presentation on central bank digital currencies that included how they could theoretically work and could potentially be issued. He pointed out the rising popularity of stablecoins (which are not the same as CBDCs) and the potential benefits of adopting a "digital dollar," including improved cross-border transactions.

Cryptocurrency enforcement actions

McAfee

On March 5, 2021 the CFTC announced that in its first manipulation case involving digital assets it had charged John McAfee and Jimmy Gale Watson, Jr., McAfee's bodyguard, with engaging in digital asset "pump-and-dumps" involving Verge (XVG), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Reddcoin (RDD). The agency said that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York had obtained an indictment of McAfee and Watson on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to commit securities touting fraud, and money laundering.

The CFTC said that the two defendants had accumulated positions in purposefully selected digital assets which McAfee would promote ("pump") in social media channels. After the price had risen they would then sell ("dump") the assets at prices they helped inflate.

McAfee, who was a fugitive at the time, had been arrested in Spain on October 5, 2020 on five counts of tax evasion and five counts of failure to file a tax return. The criminal charges were brought by the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. They were filed earlier that year on June 15 and sealed pending arrest. The case was filed in the Western District of Tennessee.

The same day the federal criminal charges were announced, the SEC charged McAfee with failing to disclose that he was paid for his promotions of several ICOs which he highlighted in his Twitter feed. According to the agency, McAfee was paid in cryptocurrencies worth more than $23 million. He was also charged with "scalping" digital asset securities. Scalping is the practice of accumulating securities and then promoting them at the same time as the scalper sells them off in the market.

The October 2020 SEC case against the two was ongoing at the time of the CFTC's complaint.

BitMEX actions

On October 1, 2020 both the CFTC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against HDR Holdings and its subsidiaries and affiliates which together operate BitMEX, as well as HDR's owner founders, Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo, and Samuel Reed. In its civil complaint, the CFTC accused the defendants of operating an unregistered derivatives trading platform that solicited business from and conducted business with U.S. residents. The CFTC also alleged that BitMEX did not comply with U.S. anti-money laundering requirements. In its indictment that was unsealed the same day, the DOJ charged HDR Holdings, its subsidiaries and affiliates, the three owner founders of HDR, and Gregory Dwyer, the head of business development, with violating and conspiring to violate the Bank Secrecy Act by not implementing an anti-money laundering program. Reed, the CTO, was taken into custody in Massachusetts by federal law enforcement on October 1, 2020, while the other executives remained "at large" in the DOJ's terminology. A week later, BitMEX announced that it had made changes to its leadership, which included Arthur Hayes stepping down as CEO.

In March 2021, a court filing revealed that Hayes had discussed surrendering to U.S. authorities on April 6, 2021; the court filing was tweeted about on Wednesday, March 3 by Pavel Pogodin, a representative for the plaintiffs in civil proceedings against BitMEX and its founders. Hayes, who resides in Singapore, was in the process of discussing arrangements that would allow him to remain living abroad and travel to Hawaii to appear remotely in New York for court appearances, eventually appearing in New York personally, according to a court transcript of Jessica Greenwood, assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

$6.5 million Coinbase penalty

On March 19, 2021, the CFTC announced a settlement with Coinbase following charges that dated back to 2015 through 2018. The CFTC alleged that Coinbase had recklessly delivered false, misleading, or inaccurate transaction reports related to trades in cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and litecoin on its GDAX platform. The Commission's order further found Coinbase vicariously liable for wash trading by a former employee, who engaged in matched trades in the litecoin/bitcoin market, artificially inflating reported trading volume and liquidity.

The settlement required Coinbase to pay a civil monetary penalty of $6.5 million and to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. This enforcement action underlined the Commission’s stance on ensuring market integrity and transparency in digital asset trading. At the time, Coinbase’s initial public offering on Nasdaq was pending, making the ruling particularly significant for regulatory compliance in advance of public listing. The CFTC’s investigation and enforcement response have since served as a cautionary example for digital asset platforms subject to U.S. commodity laws.

Prediction Markets

Event contracts sold on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, which boomed in popularity in 2025, are regulated by the CFTC. These prediction markets have come under scrutiny as insider trading and market integrity worries about prediction markets make news.

Commissioners

• 

  Michael Selig, Chairman

See also CFTC Commissioners

Terms of Service - Current and Former Commissioners

Commissioner	Term Available	Dates of Service
William T. Bagley, (Chairman 04/15/75 – 11/15/78)	04/15/75 – 04/15/80	04/15/75 – 11/15/78
Read P. Dunn, Jr.	04/15/80 – 04/15/85	04/15/80 – 11/13/81*
Susan M. Phillips, (Acting Chairman 05/28/83 – 11/16/83), (Chairman 11/17/83 – 07/24/87)	04/15/80 – 04/15/85, 04/15/85 – 04/15/90	11/16/81 – 07/24/87
Wendy L. Gramm, (Chairman 02/22/88 – 01/22/93)	04/15/85 – 04/15/90, 04/15/90 – 04/15/95	02/22/88 – 01/22/93
Sheila C. Bair	04/15/90 – 04/15/95	10/05/94 – 06/16/95*
David D. Spears, (Acting Chairman 06/02/99 – 08/10/99)	04/15/95 – 04/15/00	09/03/96 – 12/20/01
Walter L. Lukken, (Acting Chairman 6/27/07- 01/20/09)	04/15/00 – 04/15/05, 04/15/05 – 04/15/10	08/07/02 – 07/10/09
Scott D. O’Malia	04/15/05 – 04/15/10, 04/15/10 – 04/15/15	10/19/09 - 08/08/14
Gary L. Seevers, (Acting Chairman 12/06/78 – 05/03/79)	04/15/75 – 04/15/79	04/15/75 – 06/01/79
Philip McBride Johnson, (Chairman 06/08/81 – 05/01/83)	04/15/79 – 04/15/84	06/06/81 – 05/01/83
Robert R. Davis	04/15/84 – 04/15/89	10/03/84 – 04/30/90
Sheila C. Bair, (Acting Chairman 08/21/93 – 12/21/93)	04/15/89 – 04/15/94	05/02/91 – 10/04/94*
Mary L. Schapiro, (Chairman 10/13/94 – 01/26/96)	04/15/94 – 04/15/99	10/13/94 – 01/26/96
Brooksley E. Born, (Chairperson 08/26/96 – 06/01/99)	04/15/94 – 04/15/99	08/26/96 – 06/01/99
William J. Rainer, (Chairman 08/11/99 – 01/19/01)	04/15/99 – 04/13/04	08/11/99 – 01/19/01
Sharon Brown-Hruska, (Acting Chairman 08/24/04 – 07/10/05)	04/13/99 – 04/13/04, 04/13/04 – 04/13/09	08/07/02 – 07/28/06
Jill E. Sommers	04/13/04 – 04/13/09, 04/13/09 – 04/13/14	08/08/07 - 07/08/13
Read P. Dunn, Jr.	04/15/75 – 04/15/78	04/15/75 – 04/15/80*
James M. Stone, (Chairman 05/04/79 – 06/08/81)	04/15/78 – 04/15/83	05/04/79 – 01/31/83
William E. Seale	04/15/83 – 04/15/88	11/16/83 – 09/01/88
William P. Albrecht, (Acting Chairman 01/22/93 – 08/20/93)	04/15/88 – 04/15/93	11/22/88 – 08/20/93
John E. Tull, Jr., (Acting Chairman 01/27/96 – 08/25/96)	04/15/93 – 04/15/98	11/24/93 – 02/27/99
Thomas J. Erickson	04/15/98 – 04/13/03	06/21/99 – 12/01/02
Frederick W. Hatfield	04/13/03 – 04/13/08	12/06/04 – 12/31/06
Bart Chilton	04/13/03 – 04/13/08, 04/13/08 – 04/13/13	08/08/07 - 03/21/14
John V. Rainbolt, II	04/15/75 – 04/15/77	04/15/75 – 05/18/78
David G. Gartner	04/15/77 – 04/15/82	05/19/78 – 10/05/82
Fowler C. West	04/15/82 – 04/15/87, 04/15/87 – 04/15/92	10/06/82 – 01/20/93
Barbara P. Holum, (Acting Chairman 12/22/93 – 10/07/94)	04/15/92 – 04/13/97, 04/13/97 – 04/13/02, 04/13/02 – 04/13/07	11/28/93 – 12/09/03
Reuben Jeffery III, (Chairman 07/11/05 – 6/27/07)	04/13/02 – 04/13/07	07/11/05 – 06/27/07
Gary Gensler, (Chairman 05/26/09 - )	04/13/07 – 04/13/12	05/26/09 - 01/3/14
Robert L. Martin	06/19/75 – 06/19/76, 06/19/76 – 06/19/81	06/20/75 – 08/31/81
Kalo A. Hineman, (Acting Chairman 07/27/87 – 02/22/88)	06/19/81 – 06/19/86, 06/19/86 – 06/19/91	01/12/82 – 06/19/91
Joseph B. Dial	06/19/91 – 06/19/96	06/20/91 – 11/13/97
James E. Newsome, (Acting Chairman 01/20/01 – 12/27/01), (Chairman 12/27/01 – 07/23/04)	06/19/96 – 06/19/01, 06/19/01 – 06/19/06	08/10/98 – 07/23/04
Michael V. Dunn, (Acting Chairman 01/20/09 – 05/26/09)	06/19/01 – 06/19/06, 06/19/06 – 06/19/11	12/06/04 – 10/24/11
Mark P. Wetjen	06/19/11 – 06/19/16	10/25/11
Timothy G. Massad, (Chairman 06/05/14 - 01/20/17)	06/05/14 - 02/17/17	(04/13/12 – 04/13/17)
Sharon Y. Bowen	06/09/14 - 09/29/17	(04/13/13 - 04/13/18)
Christopher J. Giancarlo, (Chairman 08/10/17 - 07/15/19, (Acting Chairman 01/20/17 - 08/10/17)	06/16/14 - 07/15/19	(04/13/14 - 04/13/19)
Heath P. Tarbert, (Chairman 07/15/19 – 01/21/21)	07/15/19 – 03/05/21	(04/13/19 – 04/13/24)
Brian D. Quintenz	08/15/17 – 08/31/21	(04/15/15 – 04/15/20)
Dan M. Berkovitz	09/07/18 – 10/15/21	(04/13/18 – 04/13/23)
Dawn DeBerry Stump	09/05/18 – 04/13/22	(04/13/17 – 04/13/22)
Rostin Behnam, (Chairman 01/04/22 - 01/20/25), (Acting Chairman 01/21/21 - 01/04/22)	09/06/17 - 02/07/25	06/19/16 - 06/19/21 and 06/19/21 – 06/19/26)
Summer K. Mersinger	03/30/22-05/31/25	(04/13/2018 – 04/13/2023 and 04/13/2023 – 04/13/2028)
Christy Goldsmith Romero	03/30/22-05/31/25	(04/13/2019 – 04/13/2024)
Kristin N. Johnson	03/20/22-09/03/25	03/20/22-09/03/25
Caroline D. Pham	(04/13/2022 – 04/13/2027)	04/14/22 - 12/22/25, (Acting Chairman 01/20/25-12/22/25)

Video

CFTC's Massad Recaps 2016 - JLN	Jill Sommers Reflects on the CFTC, Dodd-Frank, and Her Future	CFTC's Scott O'Malia Calls for a Plan of Action on Swap Data - JLN
The CFTC and Fintech Innovation, Part 1 - Goals of LabCFTC - JLN	The CFTC and Fintech Innovation, Part 2 - First Steps for LabCFTC - JLN	The CFTC at 50: Examining the Past and Future of Commodity Markets - House Committee on Agriculture
CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam Discusses Market Volatility, Data-Driven Culture, and Future Initiatives - JLN	CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam Gears Up for Full CFTC - JLN	CFTC’s Pham Highlights Enforcement Reforms, Crypto Regulation Efforts at FIA Boca 50 - JLN

Resources

CFTC Recruitment Video