Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened its doors in 1974 as a new independent agency of the US government. Congress created this body to replace the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Exchange Authority.
John T. O'Hara became the first chairman that same year after members were selected in 1975. The agency began with a narrow focus on agricultural commodities like grain and livestock futures.
CFTC chairperson Brooksley E. Born issued a concept release requesting public comment on regulating over-the-counter derivatives markets. She lobbied Congress and the President to give her agency oversight of off-exchange markets alongside its existing duties before resigning shortly after legislation prohibited regulation.
In March 2014, the CFTC acknowledged it was considering the regulation of Bitcoin and took the position that Bitcoin is a commodity under the Commodity Exchange Act. In October 2019, former Chairman Heath Tarbert declared that ether was also a commodity under the same law.
The CFTC issued a landmark enforcement action against Polymarket fining the company $1.4 million for failing to register as a Designated Contract Market. The agency ordered it to wind down U.S. operations for this violation which forced Polymarket to geo-block U.S. users for nearly four years.