US SEC and CFTC to operate with just three commissioners after Peirce’s departure

Hester Peirce, the SEC commissioner affectionately dubbed “Crypto Mom” by the digital asset industry, will leave the agency on October 2. Her departure drops the SEC’s active roster to just two commissioners, Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda, both Republicans. The standard complement is five. Across the SEC and CFTC combined, seven commissioner seats will sit empty after Friday. That’s a skeleton crew for agencies tasked with overseeing an increasingly complex financial landscape that includes a $3 trillion crypto market. A diminished bench at the worst possible time The SEC is designed to function with five commissioners to ensure a diversity of perspectives and prevent any single faction from dominating policy. Operating with just two members creates an unusual dynamic: both remaining commissioners are from the same party, which eliminates the partisan tension baked into the agency’s design, but also means a single recusal on any matter could prevent the commission from reaching a quorum. Peirce’s term technically expired on June 5, 2025. She stayed on in a holdover capacity for roughly 16 months, a common practice at independent agencies but one that underscores ...