Weekly Crypto Regulation News: CFTC in Turmoil and Trump Eyes Powell Successor

The crypto regulation environment and ￰3￱ markets delivered no shortage of drama this ￰4￱ the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) suffering a leadership exodus even as it adopts new surveillance tools, to Trump’s advisers floating a future Federal Reserve shake-up, the headlines show a turning point for both digital assets and traditional ￰5￱ Outlook: “No Bear Market for Years” Bitcoin may be trading at its August bottom near $112,000, but David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine and a crypto policy adviser to President Donald Trump, insists there is no bear market on the ￰6￱ argued that institutional adoption across sovereigns, banks, corporations, pension funds, and insurers will keep buying pressure strong for years to ￰7￱ as the crypto market digests a 10% pullback from Bitcoin’s all-time high of $124,000 set on August 13, Bailey said the market has not even begun to capture 0.01% of its total addressable ￰8￱ bullish stance contrasts with the broader unease over August price weakness, particularly as altcoins have shown relative ￰9￱ forecast offers a striking counterpoint to skeptics who warn of ￰10￱ Bailey, Bitcoin’s new institutional profile changes the market cycle narrative—less prone to extended downturns and increasingly tied to global balance ￰11￱ Embraces Nasdaq Tech While markets wrestle with direction, regulators are attempting to ￰12￱ CFTC announced it has adopted Nasdaq’s Market Surveillance platform to enhance its ability to detect fraud, manipulation, and insider ￰13￱ system, which went live on August 27, replaces the agency’s outdated 1990s-era ￰14￱ @CFTC has adopted @Nasdaq ’s surveillance tool to monitor insider trading and market manipulation across crypto markets. #CFTC #Nasdaq ￰0￱ — ￰15￱ (@cryptonews) August 28, 2025 Acting Chair Caroline ￰16￱ said the upgrade marks a leap in oversight capabilities, particularly as Congress debates the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century ￰17￱ passed, that legislation could expand CFTC authority beyond derivatives into the spot digital asset markets—a move closely watched by industry ￰18￱ Leadership Vacuum Yet the CFTC’s progress on technology masks a deeper problem: a collapsing leadership ￰19￱ Kristin Johnson will leave the agency on September 3, following the earlier exits of two commissioners and the ￰20￱ leaves Pham as the only remaining commissioner, just as she prepares to take a role at crypto payments firm MoonPay once the Senate confirms Trump’s nominee Brian ￰21￱ reported that the agency has also seen a 15% staff reduction since Trump’s administration began, with the enforcement division especially ￰22￱ only one commissioner left on what should be a five-member bipartisan panel, the CFTC faces questions over its ability to enforce rules or pursue new initiatives during a key period for crypto ￰23￱ Opens Door to Foreign Exchanges In an attempt to counterbalance its internal struggles, the CFTC also issued a landmark advisory clarifying that ￰24￱ can once again provide direct market access to American ￰25￱ CFTC has issued a landmark advisory allowing foreign exchanges to reopen direct market access to Americans. #CFTC #CarolinePham ￰1￱ — ￰26￱ (@cryptonews) August 28, 2025 According to the agency’s August 28 press release, the Division of Market Oversight has been fielding rising inquiries from foreign boards of ￰27￱ Chair Pham emphasized that the guidance restores choice to ￰28￱ and brings back onshore activity that had moved abroad amid “regulation by enforcement.” The advisory could allow major offshore crypto venues that had cut off American users to legally re-engage the U.

S. market, provided they meet certain ￰29￱ ￰30￱ and funds, it indicates a potential expansion of liquidity and product diversity at ￰31￱ Eyes Fed Shake-Up Meanwhile, monetary policy could soon see a dramatic ￰32￱ Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that interviews will begin after Labor Day to identify a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May 2026. Trump’s team has begun weighing 11 contenders for Powell’s Fed Chair ￰33￱ Sec. @SecScottBessent says interviews start after Labor Day as @Polymarket odds rise. #FederalReserve #Trump ￰2￱ — ￰34￱ (@cryptonews) August 27, 2025 The process, overseen by President Trump and senior advisers, currently involves 11 candidates, with the field expected to be narrowed to three or four by fall.

“There are 11 very strong ￰35￱ Trump knows some of them; he doesn’t know others. We’ll begin talking to him after Labor Day,” Bessent said in a video posted on ￰36￱ emphasized the importance of appointing someone fluent in both monetary and regulatory policy to lead the Fed, which he described as a “sprawling institution.” While Trump cannot remove Powell early, his team has made clear that a new direction for the Fed is a priority once the current chair’s term ￰37￱ This week in crypto regulation showed the turbulence within ￰38￱ ￰39￱ CFTC is both modernizing its technology and simultaneously hollowing out its leadership. Bitcoin’s price remains volatile, but Trump’s allies continue to broadcast confidence in its ￰40￱ the looming battle over the Fed’s next leader sets up a key inflection point for ￰41￱ ￰42￱ crypto investors and traditional institutions alike, the signs are clear: Washington is in flux, markets are adjusting, and the stakes for both regulation and adoption have never been higher.