PANews reported on May 15 that according to CoinDesk, Caroline Pham, acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), plans to resign after the new chair takes office. Republican Commissioner Summer Mersinger has previously confirmed that she will serve as CEO of the Blockchain Association in June. If both of them resign at the same time, the CFTC will only have Democratic Commissioner Kristin Johnson and the new chair Brian Quintenz, which will form a 1:1 party ratio (rather than majority party control).
Quintenz was the policy director of a16z. If he takes office, he may affect the policy direction of the CFTC. Congress is currently considering relevant bills to expand the CFTC's regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies. The insufficient number of commissioners may affect the legislative process. The normal establishment of the CFTC should be 5 commissioners, including 3 majority party commissioners and 2 minority party commissioners. After leaving office, Mersinger will serve as the CEO of the Blockchain Association, which mainly promotes cryptocurrency-related policies. During his tenure, Pham advocated adjusting the CFTC's regulatory approach and reducing law enforcement actions in the cryptocurrency field. Recently, the Trump administration has continued to adjust the personnel arrangements of federal regulatory agencies and has replaced many officials appointed by the Democratic Party.
