CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam plans to step down following continued calls to regulate crypto

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam is stepping down from leading the agency as a new presidential administration rolls in.

Over the past few years, Behnam urged Congress to address a lack of regulation of crypto on the federal level as his agency brought enforcement actions against major players in the digital asset industry including now-bankrupt exchange FTX.

Behnam plans to step down from his chairmanship on Jan. 20 and said his last day at the CFTC will be Feb. 7.

"Over the past several years, a multitude of domestic and global events tested the resilience of all financial markets," Behnam said in a statement released by the agency on Tuesday. "I am proud that the Commission consistently made deliberate and intentional decisions to ensure continued strength. We worked to address regulatory gaps and uncertainty. We also responsibly engaged new entrants to support innovation."

Other agency leads have also announced plans to leave ahead of the Trump administration rolling in. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said in November he plans to step down on Jan. 20 and on Monday the Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said he would leave that post. The incoming Trump administration has not yet named a chair to replace Behnam, but one top contender is former CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz, according to multiple news reports.

During his time as CFTC chair, Behnam pressed lawmakers to act on legislation to regulate crypto, noting that his agency used many of its resources to bring enforcement actions, including against FTX, Binance and Celsius, among others. Behnam told lawmakers last March that crypto-related issues were consuming the agency's resources.

More than 49% of the CFTC's enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023 were related to digital assets, and the market is continuing to grow, Behnam said in March.

"It's a staggering statistic that a market we don't directly regulate is taking up half of our enforcement docket and it's not just the Division of Enforcement's resources that are consumed," Behnam told lawmakers. "We need the experts from the different divisions to build a case."

Behnam also voiced support for a bill called the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act. The bill was introduced by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), John Boozman (R-Ark.) in 2022 and would establish a legal definition for digital commodities and place their trading under the jurisdiction of the CFTC. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried also backed the bill.

While leading the CFTC, Behnam focused on prediction markets and called for lawmakers to weigh in. Those markets allow users to bet on the outcome of future events, from the total snowfall in New York City to who the next U.S. president could be.

The agency was embroiled in a legal fight beginning in later 2023 with predictions market Kalshi when it said the firm could not offer elections contracts, adding that they were "contrary to the public interest." Kalshi subsequently sued the CFTC. Later in 2024, Judge Jia M. Cobb for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the CFTC went beyond its statutory authority when it tried to block Kalshi from offering election contracts. The agency quickly appealed that ruling, but was ultimately quashed by a federal appeals court on Oct. 2.

Behnam was previously acting chair and a commissioner from 2017 through 2021 at the CFTC. He was also senior counsel to Sen. Stabenow, who led the Senate Banking Committee.