The Revolving Door Project, a partner of the Prospect, critically examines the executive branch and presidential power; follow their work at therevolvingdoorproject. org. Last Wednesday, the Blockchain Association—Washington’s largest cryptocurrency advocacy group—announced the hiring of CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger as its new CEO. Unlike previous commissioners who typically left the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) before joining regulated industries, Mersinger’s future employer was publicly revealed prior to her CFTC departure. As a Republican commissioner, she remains at the CFTC until May 30, allowing her two weeks of policy influence as a declared future employee of a pro-crypto group. Throughout her time at the CFTC, Mersinger has been a conservative ally to the crypto industry, frequently supporting policies favorable to it. Amanda Fischer, policy director at the pro-regulation group Better Markets, told the Prospect, “During Mersinger’s tenure, the CFTC failed to protect investors and address abnormal trading in many crypto tokens, including President Trump’s meme coin. When enforcement actions occurred, Mersinger often dissented to defend the crypto sector. She also supported easing gambling regulations by allowing firms to reclassify bets as ‘derivatives. ’” The Blockchain Association’s recruitment of Mersinger highlights how corporations influence regulatory processes by hiring regulators sympathetic to their interests into lucrative post-government roles. Though directly agreeing to pay regulators in exchange for favorable policy is illegal, this tacit understanding encourages regulators to favor industry while in office. These positions offer far greater financial gain than simple one-time rewards. After leaving the CFTC, Mersinger will face a one-year ban on “knowingly making communications intended to influence” the Commission, but this limitation likely matters little to the Blockchain Association, which aims to reward her for past actions. Her exit may also consolidate control of the CFTC with a single Silicon Valley crypto advocate. The Trump administration has openly championed cryptocurrency through favorable regulatory reforms and even launched Trump-branded cryptocurrencies as tools for personal gain. This environment enabled the Blockchain Association to pursue a long-sought cryptocurrency market structure bill that would shift regulatory authority over digital assets from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the less powerful CFTC. This effort had support from Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) until his firm's collapse amid fraud and imprisonment. Despite that scandal, the bill never became politically poisonous, and the industry has quietly kept hopes alive while advancing other legislation. Mersinger’s hiring signals a renewed push for CFTC control of crypto. Rather than lobbying from outside, she will serve as the Movement’s public face in Congress, leveraging her decade-plus legislative experience—including as chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader John Thune—and her CFTC background to legitimize the agency’s suitability as crypto’s regulator. She is not the first commissioner to believe the CFTC can govern cryptocurrency despite widespread fraud, money laundering, and risky behavior. Former Democratic CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam also favored shifting authority from the SEC even though the CFTC has fewer staff, weaker statutory powers, and greater congressional budget vulnerability. Yet with a Republican-controlled Congress and Democratic willingness to engage with the industry—despite crypto’s heavy support for Republicans last cycle—Mersinger may be the key figure enabling the crypto lobby’s legislative success. However, Mersinger’s departure threatens more than legislative outcomes; it risks leaving the CFTC at the mercy of a single Trump loyalist. The five-member Commission is already one short and will shrink to three members once Mersinger leaves.

Democratic Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero had planned to retire after confirming Trump appointee Brian Quintenz but moved her exit to the end of May, leaving only two commissioners by June. Acting Chair Caroline D. Pham is reportedly seeking a lucrative post-government position. Although Quintenz’s confirmation hearing is pending, the Senate Agriculture Committee may expedite his confirmation to avoid a two-member CFTC comprising a departing Republican and Democrat Kristin Johnson. Johnson, who had intended to stay, reversed course and announced her departure “later this year. ” If she leaves before Quintenz’s confirmation, the CFTC could become single-party controlled by Republicans Quintenz and Pham. If Pham leaves upon Quintenz’s confirmation but prior to Johnson’s exit, the Commission would split evenly—a scenario unacceptable to the Trump administration. In such an instance, Trump might attempt an illegal firing of Johnson to secure Republican control. Since the CFTC quorum rule doesn’t apply with fewer than three commissioners, Quintenz could wield unilateral power over this vital financial regulator. Quintenz, formerly policy head at crypto-focused venture fund a16z, would thus decide intricate financial matters alone without Senate delays on additional confirmations, cementing crypto industry dominance and enabling unfettered presidential meme coin ventures. Despite Johnson’s confidence in the Commission's ongoing investor protection and fraud prevention, a Quintenz-led CFTC is unlikely to prioritize consumer interests, favoring vested crypto interests instead. Although Senate Democrats should oppose this outcome, internal divisions exist. Marc Andreessen, a16z’s co-founder, has courted Senator Ruben Gallego, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets. Other Democrats joined Gallego in advancing the crypto-friendly GENIUS Act, splitting the caucus and provoking a Senate floor clash between crypto supporter Kirsten Gillibrand and skeptic Elizabeth Warren. Gillibrand has long backed CFTC oversight of crypto, dating back to SBF’s influence in D. C. Fischer of Better Markets warns, “Trump may fire Commissioner Johnson when politically expedient, but the law does not support this. Democrats should focus on defending multi-member commissions rather than easing crypto regulations. ” Unfortunately, Johnson may depart before mounting a legal defense, undermining resistance. A one-commissioner CFTC embodies the authoritarianism, corruption, and recklessness characteristic of the Trump era. Although dismantling the CFTC serves the crypto industry's interests—one of the Republican Party’s principal 2024 backers—the agency remains a key global financial regulator. It has already rubber-stamped risky policies like 24/7 derivatives trading and letting gambling companies evade regulation by posing as derivatives dealers. Reduced oversight will not only accelerate hazardous crypto growth but could also unleash unchecked futures and derivatives markets reminiscent of those preceding the 2008 financial crisis. By hiring Mersinger, the Blockchain Association has not merely secured a former commissioner to lead lobbying; it may have effectively purchased control of the entire agency.