By Michelle Price
(Reuters) -Republican Caroline Pham, named acting chair on Monday of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission by newly installed President Donald Trump, pledged to work constructively with all stakeholders.
“I’m humbled to lead the CFTC as Acting Chairman. It is an honor to be entrusted to serve the American people during this pivotal time,” she said in a statement.
“I’m looking forward to engaging with all stakeholders in this new capacity as we focus on the CFTC’s mission to promote well-functioning markets that support economic growth and the competitiveness of the United States.”
One of the agency’s five politically-appointed commissioners since 2022, Pham has advocated for clearer crypto rules and focused on American competitiveness and right-sizing regulations to promote market liquidity during her time at the agency.
Prior to joining the CFTC, Pham was a managing director at Citigroup, where she served in various roles focusing on regulation, market structure and governance, according to her LinkedIn.
Following Trump’s selection of Pham, she was unanimously elected by her colleagues to serve as acting chair, the agency said in a statement.
She replaces Democratic Chair Rostin Behnam, who took office in 2022 and will remain on the Commission until he steps down on February 7.
Trump promised on the campaign trail to be a “crypto president” and in December announced he would make former top PayPal executive and crypto evangelist David Sacks his “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” That announcement came a day after Trump said he would nominate pro-crypto Washington attorney Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the CFTC, which oversees commodity derivatives markets, has traditionally been a junior player in financial policy, it is likely to play a more prominent role as Trump’s administration starts to overhaul cryptocurrency regulations.
The crypto industry has been lobbying Congress to create a crypto regulatory framework which would hand the CFTC greater oversight of the industry.
Pham has called for the agency to create a program to support the development of digital asset companies, and is expected to work with Sacks and Atkins on a new regulatory framework.
When voting against a CFTC crypto enforcement action in September, Pham said cracking down on crypto companies rather than providing clarity through new rules was only increasing regulatory confusion for the sector.
Pham has also advocated for the CFTC to get to grips with a proliferation of election-betting platforms by creating a new regulatory framework that would safely allow betting contract platforms to operate. Currently, the sector operates under a hodgepodge of different CFTC exemptions and rules.
(Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Megan Davies, Nia Williams and Diane Craft)
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