CFTC Chair Claims Biden Admin Politically Targeted Crypto Figures

Update (June 2 at 9:35 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a response from the CFTC.

US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig is claiming that the agency under former President Joe Biden “politically targeted” the co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini through enforcement actions.

In a Tuesday CNBC interview, Selig said under his leadership, the CFTC was “trying to get back to a baseline” on enforcement, after what he claimed was politicization by the Biden administration. While the Selig acknowledged that he is a political appointee nominated by US President Donald Trump, he claimed that the recently reported staff cuts targeted people “engaging in lawfare.”

“The Biden administration weaponized the federal agencies against the crypto industry and many other industries,” said Selig. “They politically targeted people like the Winklevoss twins, and that’s not acceptable. We’re righting those wrongs. We’re gonna start fresh. The agency should not be used to engage in lawfare.”

Michael Selig in Tuesday interview. Source: CNBC

Under Selig, the CFTC last week moved for a federal court to vacate the agency’s $5 million settlement with Gemini, which it reached in January 2025 before the commission was under the Trump administration. Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss each donated $1 million to Trump’s 2024 election campaign and have since attended White House events with the president, including the signing ceremony for the stablecoin-related GENIUS Act.

“I’m not going to get into the facts, because this is an active investigation, litigation rather,” said Selig. “But what is important here is that to the extent the agency was used to politically target folks, we’re reversing that, and we’re starting fresh.”

Related: CFTC backs crypto perpetual contracts, issues advisory on 24/7 trading

According to former CFTC Chair Timothy Massad, it was “extraordinarily unusual” for the agency to attempt to reverse its position on a previously settled case like Gemini’s. Cointelegraph reached out to Gemini for comment but did not receive an immediate response. A CFTC spokesperson told Cointelegraph that “the parties have agreed that the $5 million penalty will not be returned to Gemini” if granted by the court.

Selig leads CFTC policy as the agency’s sole commissioner and chair

Under Selig, the CFTC has taken the position that federal commodities law supersedes individual US states' authority over prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. The commission has filed lawsuits against Minnesota and other jurisdictions attempting to restrict or ban prediction markets.

Source: Polymarket

Selig remains the agency’s sole commissioner following a string of resignations and departures from its leadership in 2025, including former acting chair Caroline Pham. Many US lawmakers have urged Trump to fill the agency’s five-person leadership panel with a bipartisan group of regulators, but the president had not announced any picks as of Tuesday.