CFTC commissioner will step down to become Blockchain Association CEO

Summer Mersinger is expected to leave the commission three years before her term ends to lead the Blockchain Association.
Summer Mersinger, one of four commissioners currently serving at the US financial regulatory body Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will become the next CEO of the digital asset advocacy group the Blockchain Association (BA).
In a May 14 notice, the Blockchain Association said its current CEO, Kristin Smith, would step down for Mersinger on May 16, allowing an interim head of the group to work until the CFTC commissioner assumes the role on June 2. Though her term at the CFTC was expected to last until April 2028, the BA said Mersinger is set to leave the agency on May 30.
The departure of Mersinger, who has served in one of the CFTC’s Republican seats since 2022, opens the way for US President Donald Trump to nominate another member to the financial regulator. Rules require that no more than three commissioners belong to the same political party.