The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is embracing artificial intelligence and automation to tackle its growing oversight duties, according to Chairman Mike Selig's testimony before Congress, despite a significant decline in the agency's workforce under President Donald Trump's administration. With about a quarter of the CFTC's staff having departed since 2025, the agency is leveraging AI tools, such as Microsoft's Copilot, to enhance surveillance and investigations. Selig assured lawmakers that the CFTC is operating more efficiently, despite the staffing reductions. The agency is being tasked with regulating the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency and prediction markets, with Chairman Selig acknowledging "numerous investigations ongoing" in the latter.
The CFTC is working to establish guardrails for US prediction markets and is pursuing policy initiatives in crypto, with Selig emphasizing the importance of proper enforcement and expressing a "zero tolerance" policy for illicit market activity.