Exclusive: Gary Gensler and Sen. Elizabeth Warren Allegedly Ran Covert DC Campaign to Strip CFTC of Crypto Jurisdiction
Sam Bankman-Fried has publicly alleged that former SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Senator Elizabeth Warren orchestrated a behind-closed-doors campaign in Washington D.C. to strip the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of its authority to regulate cryptocurrency. In a Thursday post, SBF claimed Gensler sought to consolidate all regulatory power under the SEC, then used that control to mandate licenses he had no intention of approving, following a recent Memorandum of Understanding between the agencies.
SEC wanted greater power to regulate crypto
Both Gensler and Sen. Warren were close allies and known for pushing tougher crypto oversight through the SEC.
In July 2021, Sen. Warren had written to Gensler asking whether the agency needed more authority to regulate crypto exchanges. Among other things, she asked Gensler to clarify “if Congress needs to act to ensure that the SEC has the proper authority to close existing gaps in regulation […].”
Gensler responded in the affirmative. In a response letter to Sen. Warren, the former SEC Chair urged lawmakers to give the agency greater power to regulate crypto trading, lending, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.
Meanwhile, the CFTC was also claiming jurisdiction over digital assets and was even pursuing enforcement actions against offenders.
In May 2022, the then-CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam even proposed “working with this [Senate Agriculture] Committee to reexamine – and, if appropriate, expand – the CFTC’s authority” to regulate the digital asset market.
SBF praises Trump for fixing SEC
“Gensler didn’t just declare war on crypto. He declared war on the CFTC,” SBF wrote, praising U.S. President Donald Trump for fixing the SEC by firing Gensler and hiring Paul Atkins.
President Trump nominated Atkins as the new SEC Chair in January 2025, and he was officially sworn in on April 21. Since then, the securities regulator has softened its stance on crypto assets, including downsizing a special unit of 50 lawyers responsible for its crypto enforcement actions.
Both the SEC and CFTC have now reached a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in efforts to provide a “fit-for-purpose” regulatory framework for digital assets, among other things, Cryptopolitan reported Wednesday.
The MoU is expected to end the years-long turf war between the federal agencies, which stalled crypto regulation and licensing in the U.S. market.
Is SBF trying to please Trump?
Sam Bankman-Fried’s post today seems just like another campaign aimed at earning him a presidential pardon, perhaps.
How @realDonaldTrump fixed the SEC: fire Gensler, hire Atkins.
Gensler didn't just declare war on crypto. He declared war on the CFTC.
Not in public, obviously. But behind closed doors, he and @SenWarren ran a covert campaign in DC to strip the CFTC of all of its power—bringing… pic.twitter.com/1YxnqdZBlc
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) March 12, 2026
SBF is currently two years into his 25-year prison sentence over the collapse of FTX and billions of dollars in losses, which he continues to challenge.
In several posts, SBF has claimed that FTX was never insolvent, saying he was wrongfully jailed by the Biden administration. He argues that the Biden administration hated and railroaded him for being one of the faces of crypto in the U.S. market and a former Democrat donor.
Over the past year, the disgraced FTX founder has continued to express a dislike of how Gensler and Biden’s administration treated crypto, while praising Trump for getting it right, a ploy many think is only aimed at gaining him a pardon, considering that SBF and Gensler were reportedly once close.
“Under Biden, companies were forced offshore. […] Insane regulation by Dems: require licenses, refuse to give them out. They literally couldn’t operate in America,” SBF wrote in a post in February. “Under President Trump, that’s changed. The DOJ is no longer indicting entire industries.”
In January, meanwhile, President Donald Trump told reporters that he would not pardon SBF. Bankman-Fried is now looking to reopen the trial of his case by filing a pro se motion, Cryptopolitan reported on February 11.
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