A New York Times investigation reveals that senior Commodity Futures Trading Commission officials were suspended, investigated and pushed out after they raised concerns about prediction market platforms Polymarket, Crypto.com and a Gemini affiliate. The suspensions came after career staff flagged issues including consumer treatment, fraud controls and whether an affiliate had completed a required regulatory review.
The report indicates that then-acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham and her senior counsel Brigitte Weyls intervened to help the three firms move forward. By late 2025, two officials who had questioned the firms were placed on administrative leave, followed by three more staff tied to crypto enforcement. Current and former employees told the Times they received a clear message: “Don’t cause trouble.”
The NYT also highlights financial links between the firms and the Trump family. Crypto.com is a business partner of Trump Media; Donald Trump Jr.’s venture firm 1789 Capital invested in Polymarket; and Gemini’s founders are backers of American Bitcoin Corp, co-founded by Eric Trump. White House spokesman Davis Ingle denied any conflicts, saying, “President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public. There are no conflicts of interest.”
Since the Trump administration took office, the CFTC under acting and now confirmed chair Michael Selig has sharply pulled back from crypto enforcement—dropping at least five probes and filing only two crypto cases, both against individual operators. Meanwhile, the agency has aggressively expanded legal challenges against states trying to restrict prediction markets, suing Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois. Minnesota became the first state to pass a full ban, and the CFTC sued immediately to block it.
The controversy arrives as monthly prediction market volume exploded from $792 million in January 2025 to nearly $12.5 billion in January 2026, according to Defillama. Congress is also pressing to fill four vacant CFTC commissioner seats, warning that a one-member commission cannot handle the expanding crypto oversight duties. Polymarket, meanwhile, is in active talks with the CFTC to lift a four-year U.S. ban, and recently acquired a CFTC-registered exchange for about $112 million.
The investigation raises questions about whether the CFTC’s current pro-prediction-market stance was shaped to benefit firms with Trump family connections, as the agency battles states and moves to relax federal oversight.
