SEC and CFTC Down to Three Commissioners for Ten Seats

The Securities and Exchange Commission has two commissioners. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has one, and both agencies are designed to seat five.

For anyone holding crypto, that number decides who can approve a rule and how fast. The SEC loosened one constraint on Sept. 30, amending its quorum rule so that in some cases a single commissioner is enough to act. It put the change into effect on Oct. 2 without opening a public comment period, on the grounds that it was housekeeping rather than policy.

Three Commissioners, Seven Empty Seats

Hester Peirce left the SEC on Oct. 2, leaving Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda as its only members and three of its five seats empty. At the CFTC, Michael Selig has been the only Senate-confirmed chair and commissioner since December 2025, when acting chair Caroline Pham departed.

The Quorum Rule, in the SEC's Own Words

Release No. 34-106537, adopted Sept. 30 and signed by Secretary Vanessa A. Countryman, amends the commission's quorum rule at 17 CFR 200.41. The SEC adopted it two days before Peirce's departure, and summarised the substance like this:

Three commissioners will continue to constitute a quorum of the Commission, with two important exceptions.

One of those exceptions covers members who cannot take part in a matter. The amended text provides that where the number of members in office, minus those disqualified from a matter, comes to two or one, that number "shall constitute a quorum for purposes of such matter."

The commission leaned on that framing to skip public input. It found the amendments "relate solely to agency management and organization and do not constitute a substantive rule," which under the Administrative Procedure Act meant notice and comment did not apply. The rule's effective date line reads: "This rule is effective on October 2, 2026."

Not everyone accepted the housekeeping argument. James McRitchie, who publishes on corporate governance, said he filed a petition for rulemaking under Rule 192 asking the SEC to rescind the amendment or, at minimum, suspend it and put it out for public comment. He wrote that the SEC had opened no comment period before adopting it.

What Still Moves While the Seats Sit Empty

The agencies have not stopped proposing rules. They are working from existing legal authority rather than waiting for Congress.

• The SEC proposed a safe harbor in August 2026 for tokens that would otherwise be treated as investment contracts.
• The CFTC said in October it would pursue proposals on virtual asset exchanges.
• Chair Paul Atkins said on Oct. 2 that more regulatory proposals were "on the horizon" for crypto.

The market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, has stalled in Congress, which leaves both agencies working under current law rather than a new statute.

Filling the empty seats starts with the White House sending names to the Senate. As of Tuesday, Oct. 13, none had been announced, and none had been formally submitted. Until that changes, the SEC's crypto rulemaking runs through the two commissioners in office, and the CFTC's through one.