The New York Times sparked an investigation today, May 24, alleging that Trump appointees at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigated and placed officials, including senior staff, who did not comply with its plans to predict markets on administrative leave.
Career officials have reported problems with three companies: Polymarket, Crypto.com, and a subsidiary of Gemini, and according to the New York Times, those companies’ ties to the Trump family may have been what led to their problems.
The concerns raised by ousted employees were different for each company.
- Does Crypto.com treat small bettors fairly?
- Does Polymarket have adequate fraud protections?
- Has the Gemini subsidiary completed the mandatory regulatory review before being allowed to operate?
Carolyn Pham, who served as Acting CFTC Chair The New York Times, citing sources, claimed that at the time, its senior advisers intervened on behalf of the companies and helped them obtain positive results despite the objections of agency employees.
How does the Trump CFTC deal with crypto market and forecasting companies?
Citing comments from current and former agency employees, the Times said everyone at the CFTC quickly got the message that Trump’s acting was supposed to send: Raising concerns about politically connected companies will have consequences.
Two officials who raised questions about the companies mentioned in the Times report were reportedly placed on administrative leave and were facing internal investigations by the end of 2025.
Three other employees who were working on cryptocurrency enforcement cases faced the same treatment. He received no explanation for the disciplinary action Investigation found.
Trump came into office promising to scale back enforcement of markets, especially frontier sectors like cryptocurrency and forecasting markets, which were deemed unfair during the Biden administration.
From the time Pham was in a representative role at the CFTC until now after Michael Selig’s confirmation, the agency has dropped at least five crypto-related investigations. The frequency of law enforcement actions targeting cryptocurrencies has also decreased significantly, going from more than 80 under Biden to just two under Trump.
Trump appointees are leaving the CFTC for roles in the industry
Many key figures have secured roles in companies under their control immediately after leaving their positions. like Cryptopolitan reported In August 2025, Bo Hines got the Tether job US Digital Assets and Strategy Advisor after leaving his position Executive Director of the White House Cryptography Council.
Pham left the CFTC to join MoonPay, a cryptocurrency company that partners with Polymarket. Its top lawyer, Brigitte Wells, became general counsel at Gemini Titan, the same entity whose application she helped approve.
The current CFTC Chairman, Michael Selig, previously worked as a corporate attorney representing cryptocurrency companies. He is now the agency’s sole commissioner.
The New York Times also raised eyebrows about the financial ties between the three companies at the center of the investigation and the Trump family. Crypto.com is a business partner of Trump Media. Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, has invested in Polymarket. Gemini’s founders are the financial backers of American Bitcoin Corp, a company co-founded by Eric Trump.
White House spokesman Davis Engel rejected any suggestion of irregularities. “President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American people,” Engel told the Times. “There is no conflict of interest”
Trump’s CFTC is now fighting states over prediction markets
The investigation begins as the CFTC, under Selig’s leadership, aggressively expands its legal push to protect prediction markets from state regulation. The agency has Lawsuits filed against the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois over their efforts to restrict or ban platforms like Calci and PoleMarket, according to CFTC press releases.
Minnesota became the first state Ban prediction markets completely When Gov. Tim Walz signed the legislation on May 19, The CFTC filed suit the next day, seeking a preliminary injunction before the law takes effect on August 1.
“This Minnesota law turns legal operators and participants of prediction markets into criminals overnight,” Selig said at a news conference. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announcement..
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison rejected the order. Saying salon “Prediction markets are designed to be addictive and prey especially on young people and low-income people.”
The prediction market industry has grown rapidly with the waving of regulatory green flags by the Trump administration. Monthly trading volume rose from about $792 million in January 2025 to nearly $12.5 billion in January of this year, according to Devilama data.
The New York Times’ findings raise questions about whether the same agency that is now struggling to protect prediction markets from state oversight has been reshaped specifically to serve the interests of companies with ties to the president’s family.
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