CFTC's Kristin Johnson Announces Departure as Commissioner

CFTC Chair Emphasizes Mission and Future Goals

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) continues to play a critical role in safeguarding customer protection, market integrity, market resilience, and market stability. The CFTC's staff, often referred to as the tireless cop on the beat, effectively surveys markets, enforcing against market manipulation and stamping out fraud, including schemes targeting vulnerable investors.

The current CFTC chair, who has expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the nation, has been instrumental in the CFTC's mission. Having advocated for effective market regulation for nearly two decades, the chair demonstrated global regulatory leadership in response to the global financial crisis in 2010, developing the world's blueprint for swaps market reforms.

Looking ahead, the chair is inspired to do more for customers, markets, and the nation. The CFTC chair has proposed initiatives for domestic and international collaboration through regulators' roundtables and colleges. These initiatives aim to strengthen the CFTC's role in critical market structure and customer protection reforms, particularly in digital asset markets.

The chair is also concerned about the support and investments needed for the expert staff to be successful in the face of market changes. The CFTC's staff supervise markets that help ensure the production and harvesting of food, access to energy, and effective risk management in derivatives markets. Maintaining market resilience for sustainable growth and financial stability is a top priority.

The CFTC's bi-partisan Commission is characterized by consensus-driven decision-making, a trait that has served the agency well over the past 50 years. The CFTC, a small but mighty agency, has served integral regulatory and supervisory functions since its inception at the turn of the century. Congress recognized the need for federal regulation in derivatives markets at this time, and the CFTC has since built a history of derivatives markets regulation.

The CFTC chair's term of service ends in September 2025. During the current term, the chair has proposed initiatives for evaluating cyber threats, AI integration, and market structure reforms. The chair believes that growth and market integrity are not mutually exclusive and that both goals can be prioritized.

Recently, Kristin Johnson, who resigned after nearly four years as CFTC commissioner, was nominated for the position of Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the United States Department of the Treasury. The Commission's term of service ends in April of 2025, with the last day being September 3, 2025. The CFTC, under the leadership of its dedicated chair, will continue to uphold its mission in the years to come.