US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Kristin Johnson will officially depart the regulator on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, leaving the agency with just one confirmed commissioner. Johnson, the CFTC's sole Democrat commissioner who was nominated by President Joe Biden and joined in March 2022, announced her departure in a Tuesday statement.
Her exit reduces the five-member commission to just Acting Chair Caroline Pham, creating what former commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero described in May as "not a great situation" for crypto regulations due to the lack of diverse opinions. The CFTC has been handling specific regulatory and enforcement issues related to cryptocurrency alongside the SEC, and recently announced its first "crypto sprint" statement on August 1, committing to work with the SEC to create a rulemaking process.
President Donald Trump's nominee for CFTC chair, Brian Quintenz, remains in limbo after the White House intervened to postpone a Senate vote on his nomination in late July. Several crypto advocacy groups have called for Quintenz's confirmation, arguing that a permanent chair is critical for the commodities regulator to fulfill its crypto goals. However, Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have pressed Trump to reconsider Quintenz's nomination, claiming he wouldn't fully enact the president's crypto agenda.
If Quintenz is confirmed and replaces Pham, she has stated she intends to leave and return to the private sector, potentially leaving Quintenz to helm the commission solo. The Trump administration has shown no signs of nominating additional commissioners, abandoning the tradition and legal mandate of having both parties involved in federal agency decisions.