Trump Selects Caroline Pham as Acting CFTC Chair as Commission Votes Her In

Caroline Pham has become acting chair of the CFTC Commission, according to a Bloomberg report. The news has since been confirmed by Unchained. Trump has not announced his choice for a permanent chair of the commission.

Previously, sources close to the Trump transition team had told Unchained that CFTC commissioner Summer Mersinger and a16z crypto Head of Policy Brian Quintenz were the two top contenders for the position. However, sentiments seemed to change over the weekend, when word spread that Pham may be chosen for the role.

A representative for Pham confirmed that she was selected by Trump for the position before being elected by her colleagues. Trump has 210 days to choose a permanent chair and have them confirmed by the Senate, according to the Federal Vacancies Act.

“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,” Acting Chairman Caroline Pham said in an emailed statement. “I want to thank President Trump for his confidence in me, and I’m grateful to my colleagues and the CFTC staff for their support. 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.”

‘Focused on Bringing Innovation Back’

Pham, who was appointed to the commission by President Biden on April 14, 2022, has a strong conservative track record and strong experience both in the private and public sector, her advocates explained. She has also been an ardent supporter of the crypto industry on the commission, often dissenting from enforcement actions against firms she saw as being unjustly targeted.

When Uniswap settled charges for offering leveraged commodity transactions with the CFTC, for example, Pham said that she was “skeptical that the CFTC would try to enforce these statutory provisions outside of DeFi.”

“I’ve known acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham for over 15 years. The daughter of immigrants who fled the Vietnam war, her powerful personal story is uniquely American,” said Chris Perkins, President of CoinFund and Member of the CFTC Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC) Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee. “Caroline is a champion of markets and a supporter of the crypto industry. She will be focused on bringing innovation back onshore by introducing sandboxes, delivering regulatory clarity and refocusing on a principles-based approach.”

Representatives for President Trump and Mersinger did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. Brian Quintenz also did not respond to requests for comment.

Crypto’s More Important Regulatory Agency?

The agency which she currently works for, and now is set to lead, could become a key player in crypto regulation.

If the recently sworn in pro-crypto Congress passes market structure legislation that gives oversight authority to the CFTC before a permanent chair is chosen, it will be up to Pham to spearhead the creation of interpretive rules outlining how the agency will execute on such laws.

Trump reportedly intends (through a potential crypto market structure bill passed by Congress) to encourage the expansion of the CFTC’s oversight authority to crypto and roll back the power of the SEC, which was hostile to the industry starting in Trump’s first term in office and even more so during the Biden Administration under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler.

The crypto industry, which mostly backed president-elect Trump, has pushed for CFTC oversight authority of crypto over the course of several years, in addition to requesting clearer regulatory guardrails in the U.S. more broadly.

Crypto Legislation Incoming

The leader of the House Financial Services Committee, Arkansas Republican French Hill, said in July on the Unchained podcast that market structure legislation would be one of the first two bills he would try to pass through the committee.

The Committee, alongside that on Agriculture, would likely draft the language for crypto market structure legislation. They also spearheaded the creation of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), a market structure bill which has not yet been passed by both chambers of Congress.

Meanwhile, South Dakota Republican Dusty Johnson, who alongside Hill was one of the architects of FIT21, is expected to lead the Digital Assets Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee. With key advocates in place, it seems likely such legislation will be brought to a floor vote before the midterms.