The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is embracing artificial intelligence and automation to support its expanding oversight duties, according to Chairman Mike Selig's testimony to Congress, even as the agency faces significant staffing reductions under the Trump administration. With roughly a quarter of the CFTC's workforce having departed since 2025, the agency is leveraging tools like AI to enhance its surveillance and investigative capabilities, including the use of Microsoft's Copilot AI tool. Selig emphasized that the CFTC is operating more efficiently and effectively despite the staff reductions. The agency is being tasked with regulating the rapidly growing cryptocurrency and prediction markets, with Chairman Selig acknowledging 'numerous investigations ongoing' in the prediction markets, although he declined to provide specifics.
The CFTC is pursuing a preliminary rule process to establish guidelines for the US prediction markets and is also advancing policy initiatives in crypto. Lawmakers have expressed concerns about the agency's staffing levels, with Representative Angie Craig arguing that the CFTC's workforce is stretched too thin, particularly given its role as the primary regulator of two of the fastest-growing and most volatile markets.