Senior officials at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission who raised concerns about prediction market companies were suspended, investigated, and eventually pushed out of the agency.
According to a New York Times investigation, the officials had flagged concerns about Polymarket, Crypto.com, and a Gemini affiliate, each with alleged business ties to the Trump family. Despite those concerns, then-acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham and her senior counsel intervened to help the firms. By the end of 2025, two officials who had raised questions were placed on administrative leave and under internal investigation.
The report noted that the CFTC has significantly pulled back on crypto enforcement. The agency dropped at least five crypto investigations and went from filing more than 80 crypto enforcement actions under Biden to just two under Trump.
Pham left the agency to join MoonPay. Her senior counsel became general counsel at Gemini Titan. CFTC chair Michael Selig previously represented crypto firms as a corporate lawyer. Crypto.com is a business partner of Trump Media. Polymarket received investment from Donald Trump Jr.-backed venture capital. Gemini’s founders are backers of American Bitcoin Corp.
