Multiple CFTC Officials Questioning Prediction Market Platform Placed on Leave

On May 24, several senior officials from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — who had previously raised concerns about prediction market platforms — were suspended pending an investigation and ultimately forced to resign. The officials had voiced regulatory worries over three entities: Polymarket, Crypto.com, and a Gemini affiliate. Specifically, they questioned whether Crypto.com treated small-scale users fairly, whether Polymarket had sufficient anti-fraud measures in place, and whether the Gemini affiliate had obtained all required regulatory approvals. Sources familiar with the matter say then-acting CFTC Chairman Caroline Pham and her senior advisors intervened to help those companies advance their approval processes and business needs. The report also notes a notable gap in the CFTC’s cryptocurrency enforcement efforts across administrations: during the Trump era, the agency took only two crypto-related enforcement actions, both targeting individuals rather than large institutions. In contrast, under the Biden administration, the CFTC has initiated more than 80 such enforcement cases. Furthermore, after leaving the CFTC, Pham joined MoonPay — a company that has a partnership with Polymarket. Her former senior advisor, Brigitte Weyls, took a position as Chief Legal Officer at Gemini Titan. The White House responded to related conflict-of-interest claims, stating, “President Trump has always prioritized the interests of the American public, and there is no conflict of interest.”