The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is leveraging artificial intelligence and automation to cope with substantial new oversight duties, according to Chairman Mike Selig's congressional testimony, despite a significant decline in the agency's workforce under the Trump administration. Since 2025, approximately a quarter of the CFTC's staff has departed, owing to President Trump's demands for a reduced federal workforce, as per agency records. However, the CFTC is also tasked with regulating the rapidly expanding arenas of cryptocurrency and prediction markets.
Selig stated that AI tools, such as Microsoft's Copilot, will be instrumental in surveillance and investigations, and are being integrated into various workflows. When questioned about staffing declines, Selig asserted that the agency is operating more efficiently and effectively. Committee Chairman Glenn 'GT' Thompson noted that the CFTC is being entrusted with a substantial workload, including digital assets and prediction markets, and sought assurance that Selig would request assistance if the need for additional qualified staff arises. Selig confirmed that he would do so.
He emphasized that market enforcement is a top priority, although the CFTC's budget request for the upcoming year only includes three additional enforcement staff, bringing the total to 108, which is still 23% short of the 140 staff members the division had in 2025. The proposed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would grant the CFTC a central role in regulating non-securities crypto trading, encompassing transactions in prominent assets like bitcoin and Ethereum.
The agency is also asserting its jurisdiction over prediction markets, such as those operated by Polymarket and Kalshi, which have grown from millions to billions of dollars in a year. Selig's predecessor, Rostin Behnam, had consistently argued that the agency required more personnel to oversee crypto and lacked the resources to police the expanding prediction markets. During Selig's tenure, the prediction markets have been marred by accusations of insider trading, with some cases being addressed by the firms themselves. The chairman acknowledged numerous ongoing investigations in prediction markets but declined to provide specifics.
He stated that regulated platforms serve as the first line of defense against insider trading, fraud, and market manipulation, while the CFTC acts as a second line of defense. Selig noted that his agency regularly rejects contracts and is actively reviewing the markets, with a zero-tolerance policy for illicit activities. Representative Angie Craig, the committee's top Democrat, argued that the agency's workforce is overstretched, particularly given its role as the primary regulator of two rapidly growing and volatile markets. Craig emphasized the need to provide the CFTC with sufficient staff, funding, and statutory authority to perform its duties.
The regulator's personnel declines include the commission itself, which is supposed to have five members but has been left with only Selig. The chairman was questioned about proceeding with major rules as a one-person commission and indicated that he would move forward with new regulations. The CFTC is pursuing a preliminary rule process to establish guardrails for US prediction markets, and Selig has also promoted policy initiatives in crypto.
Thompson announced that he and Craig would be sending a letter to the White House, urging them to promptly fill the vacant commissioner positions with CFTC nominees from both parties.