CFTC names DJ Hennes to lead Market Participants Division

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission appointed DJ Hennes director of its Market Participants Division, Chairman Michael S. Selig announced Monday. Hennes will oversee compliance examinations, registration and coordination with self-regulatory organizations as the agency advances rulemaking on event contracts.

The Market Participants Division supervises registered brokers, swap dealers, fund operators and other intermediaries that operate in U.S. derivatives markets. Hennes will manage on-site and remote examinations, review registration applications and work with groups such as the National Futures Association to enforce and update rules for traditional and digital-asset derivatives and for federally licensed prediction markets.

Selig, a Trump appointee who took office in December 2025, cited Hennes’s work on crypto assets and prediction markets in explaining the hire. Selig praised Hennes’s experience: “He brings a wealth of experience advising clients across the financial services industry, and his work with crypto assets and prediction markets will be of tremendous value as we seek to future-proof the CFTC’s rules and regulations.”

Hennes joins the CFTC from KPMG, where he advised banks and brokers on compliance for digital-asset derivatives. He previously spent 15 years at Promontory Financial Group and led its Americas capital markets unit. He holds a degree in history and economics from Vanderbilt University and has spoken publicly about prediction-market regulation.

Hennes commented on the appointment: “I am honored to be joining the Commission. I look forward to working with Chairman Selig, his leadership team, and the dedicated staff as we continue the CFTC’s mission of fostering integrity, innovation, and liquidity in our vibrant derivatives markets.”

The appointment places a compliance-focused leader atop a core oversight arm while the commission develops policy on crypto-linked products and event contracts. The agency has pressed for clearer federal rules for prediction markets and has pushed back on state-level efforts to limit licensed platforms; formal proposals on event contracts are expected in the coming months.