President Donald Trump has chosen Carolin Pham, a junior commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to serve as the acting chair of the swaps and derivatives regulator, per media reports.
On Monday, the CFTC’s five members voted to confirm Pham as acting chair. Traditionally, the incoming president selects the acting chair, and the commission follows that choice.
Pham expressed her gratitude for the selection, “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.” She looks forward to working with everyone to help the CTFX keep markets running smoothly, support economic growth, and strengthen the U.S. economy.
A permanent CFTC chair has not yet been named. Pham is one of the candidates for the permanent role, including Summer Mersinger and Brian Quintenz. Summer is a senior Republican at the CFTC, and Brian Quintenz is a former Republican commissioner now working at a16z Crypto.
Pham has supported making rules clearer for digital companies. She proposed using “regulatory sandboxes” to allow companies to test their products under temporary supervision.
Additionally, she also strongly disagreed with some CFTC rules, including blocking Kalshi Inc., an event contracts exchange, and other companies from allowing Americans to trade on elections. This could lead the CFTC to reassess how to regulate industries that are challenging the agency’s authority under the new administration.
Pham was nominated to the CFTC by former President Joe Biden in 2021. She had previously worked at Citigroup for over seven years.
She will lead the CFTC temporarily until a permanent chair is confirmed, as current Chairman Rostin Behnam plans to step down in February 2025. The CFTC oversees the $400 trillion swaps market. Behnam became chairman in January 2022.
Also Read: Bitcoin Turns Volatile as Trump Sworn In as President
