# Ex-Chairman Tarbert, who named Ether a commodity, is leaving the CFTC

Without much fanfare, Heath Tarbert has announced his full departure from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at the end of this week.

In a tweet Wednesday morning, the former CFTC Chairman said that he would be fully resigning as of Friday. In December, he left his post as chairman, which the CFTC announced formally on its website, but he indicated that he intended to stay on at the commission for an indefinite length of time. 

Today’s announcement did not clarify future plans. 

During his chairmanship, which began in 2019, Tarbert was a vocal advocate for cryptocurrency usage. He was, for example, publicly in favor of regulating Ether as a commodity. 

Tarbert’s departure comes as the Biden administration has been busily filling appointed positions like the chairmanship of the CFTC. Though there has been no formal nomination, Georgetown law professor and occasional Cointelegraph contributor Chris Brummer has emerged as a likely contender.