SEC's Leadership Vacuum Could Reshape Crypto Rulemaking

The US Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a final rule on September 30, effective October 2, that lowers its quorum requirement to just one commissioner when only two are seated — a move that could significantly accelerate crypto regulation without congressional action. The change comes as the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) operate with drastically reduced leadership, leaving critical decisions over the $3 trillion crypto market in the hands of just three individuals, two of whom were nominated by President Donald Trump.

At the SEC, Chair Paul Atkins and former Acting Chair Mark Uyeda remain as the agency's leadership following Peirce's departure earlier this month. The CFTC faces an even thinner bench, with Michael Selig serving as its sole Senate-confirmed chair and commissioner since December 2025. Both agencies are designed to have five commissioners. "With now just two commissioners around and it being entirely possible that one of them might have to recuse themselves from an issue, just one is now enough to pass a formal rule that applies to America's vast multitrillion-dollar securities markets," Financial Times columnist Robin Wigglesworth wrote on October 5.

In the absence of a comprehensive digital asset market structure bill from Congress, both regulators have moved to fill the gap through rulemaking. The SEC proposed rules in August providing companies with a safe harbor from tokens classified as "investment contracts," while the CFTC followed in October with proposals on crypto exchanges. Selig stated the CFTC would rely on its "existing statutory authorities" to regulate the sector, and Atkins indicated on October 2 that "more regulatory proposals" were on the horizon.

Uyeda pushed back against criticism of the quorum change in a Sunday op-ed for the Financial Times, arguing the rule was designed to promote "flexibility and finality of agency rulemaking." With crypto regulatory outcomes now potentially resting on the votes of one or two officials, the stakes for industry participants navigating compliance have risen sharply.