Caroline Pham, one of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Republican commissioners, will take over as interim head of the agency as President Donald Trump’s administration shifts U.S. policy toward a friendlier relationship with digital assets.
The CFTC is poised to become one of the top federal crypto watchdogs, and Pham confirmed Monday that she will take the reins as acting chair at a time of major potential transition for the agency. Most early legislative efforts to establish a roadmap for digital assets envision the CFTC taking over regulation of crypto spot markets for widely traded tokens such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether. Ethereum (ETH). These earlier bills are expected to form the basis of crypto work in the new Congress.
“It is an honor to be entrusted with serving the American people during this pivotal time,” Pham said in a statement. “I want to thank President Trump for his confidence in me, and I am grateful to my colleagues and the CFTC staff for their support. I look forward to engaging with all stakeholders in this new capacity so that we focus on the CFTC’s mission to promote well-functioning markets that support U.S. economic growth and competitiveness.
The five-member commission voted to elevate Pham according to the new president’s wish. The agency generally defers to the majority party’s choice of new leadership.
The decision has not yet been officially announced by the agency.
Pham will lead the CFTC until Trump can nominate and the Senate can confirm a permanent selection. It is unclear whether she will also be among the frontrunners for the presidency in her own right, although her name is regularly mentioned on the shortlist for the role.
Read more: This CFTC Commissioner Doesn’t Believe in ‘Gotcha’ Crypto Regulations
During her tenure at the agency, she spent significant time leading the Global Markets Advisory Committee that she led to examine potential approaches to monitoring digital assets. In 2023, it launched a pilot program for crypto monitoring.
Pham was a senior executive at Citigroup and she said she was responsible for Citi’s crypto portfolio during her time there, in the early days of the industry.
Outgoing CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam previously announced he would step down as chairman on Inauguration Day, joining Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who also said he would resign at noon ET, when Trump would be sworn in. Behnam is about to leave his commission. headquarters in February.
The CFTC’s four remaining commissioners include Pham, fellow Republican Summer Mersinger, and Democrats Christy Goldsmith Romero and Kristin Johnson.
UPDATE (January 20, 2025, 6:04 p.m. UTC): Adds a comment from Caroline Pham.
