President Donald Trump has appointed Ms. Caroline Pham to temporarily serve as Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Vietnamese-American Commissioner appointed as Acting Chair of CFTC
On the evening of January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump officially appointed Ms. Caroline Pham, one of the five Republican Commissioners at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to the role of acting chair of the agency.
According to Bloomberg, President-elect Donald Trump has appointed CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham as acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to Bloomberg. The commission's five members reportedly confirmed Pham's appointment on Monday, a customary…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 20, 2025
Ms. Caroline Pham will temporarily succeed Mr. Rostin Behnam, who announced his resignation, to serve as chair until the Trump administration nominates an official candidate and is confirmed by the Senate. In an official statement, Ms. Pham expressed:
"It is a great honor to serve the American people during this critical time. I sincerely thank President Trump for his trust, along with the support of my colleagues and the team at CFTC. I look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to advance CFTC's mission of maintaining stable, well-functioning markets, promoting economic growth, and enhancing the competitiveness of the United States on the global stage."
Prior to joining CFTC, Caroline Pham held a senior leadership position at Citibank, where she was responsible for managing the digital asset portfolio in the early days of the crypto industry. With her extensive experience in finance, she quickly made her mark at CFTC, becoming a key figure in shaping policies for digital assets.
At CFTC, Ms. Pham has led several important initiatives, including:
- Establishing the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee: This subcommittee is tasked with proposing governance and risk management regulations for crypto, serving as a foundation for future legal frameworks.
- Proposing a regulatory sandbox framework: In 2023, she was a pioneer in calling for the creation of a "regulatory sandbox," allowing for the testing of new technologies before widespread deployment, balancing innovation and regulation.
- Launching a crypto pilot program: This program is designed to monitor and evaluate the operational models of the crypto market, ensuring transparency and efficiency.
In 2022, Ms. Caroline Pham engaged with and explored Web3 and crypto companies in the U.S. and globally, visiting the offices of Ripple, Uniswap, and attending the Korea Blockchain Week conference in South Korea and Messari's Mainnet.
The next stop on my learning tour was visiting @Ripple Labs. Thanks @bgarlinghouse! #XRP #crypto #blockchain pic.twitter.com/ICr8H2ZE3q
— Caroline D. Pham (@CarolineDPham) September 19, 2022
It was interesting to get a learning tour of @Uniswap and better understand how the user ecosystem works. Thank you for the demo! @haydenzadams @salmanbanaei #crypto pic.twitter.com/Y0m3CyBNr8
— Caroline D. Pham (@CarolineDPham) June 17, 2022
Very thoughtful discussion about responsible actors in the #crypto sector & positive engagement with regulators. I talked about what's next for digital assets regulation. Thanks @hashed_official @jin___kang! #KBW2022 @kbwofficial @FACTBLOCK #web3 #metaverse #gamefi pic.twitter.com/29gC03wxj8
— Caroline D. Pham (@CarolineDPham) August 9, 2022
Even the crypto community found a photo of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) meeting with Ms. Caroline Pham to discuss issues related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
CRIME SZN https://t.co/hqVJ2Bnby3 pic.twitter.com/3NQ7swMzlM
— RunnerXBT (⛷️,⛷️) (@RunnerXBT) January 20, 2025
However, both figures above have rather uneasy relationships with the US government, especially the SEC. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is still facing legal troubles as the SEC recently filed an appeal to overturn the ruling of the Southern District of New York Court in 07/2023. Meanwhile, Sam Bankman-Fried has been convicted on 7 criminal charges related to defrauding customers, lenders, and investors after being accused by the SEC in 12/2022. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 03/2024.
As for the CFTC, the agency is expected to play a central role in overseeing the crypto market as the Trump administration is said to grant direct management authority over cryptocurrencies considered commodities and related trading platforms to the CFTC. With Caroline Pham's leadership, this is likely to become a reality, ushering in a new era for the crypto legal framework in the US.
Currently, the CFTC is entering a critical transition period. The outgoing Chairman, Rostin Behnam, has officially announced his resignation on 01/20 and will leave the agency on 02/07. Meanwhile, Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC Commissioner, is being evaluated as one of the top potential candidates for the permanent Chairman position.
The appointment of Caroline Pham as Acting CFTC Chairman, along with the launch of the TRUMP memecoin on the same day that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stepped down, are clear signals from Donald Trump about a more open and friendly approach to cryptocurrencies compared to the Biden administration, further reinforcing the expectation that Trump will sign a series of crypto-friendly executive orders on his first day in office.
Compiled by Coin68
