Caroline Pham’s time at the CFTC looks to be finally coming to an end, as she lines up a move into the private crypto sector.
MoonPay has named Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Caroline Pham as its new Chief Legal and Chief Administrative Officer.
Pham will join the company following the conclusion of her role as Acting Chairman of the CFTC and once her successor is confirmed.
As part of her new dual role, Pham will take responsibility for MoonPay’s legal and governance operations, alongside engaging with policymakers and regulators in Washington DC.
MoonPay Co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright described her as “one of the most influential leaders in US financial regulation,” noting her experience.
“Her unparalleled experience, which combines regulatory expertise, traditional finance, and a deep understanding of market structure, makes her the perfect leader to guide MoonPay through our next chapter of growth and compliance excellence,” he said.
Pham joins MoonPay as it looks to build on this year’s momentum, which saw the company secure both a New York BitLicense and a New York Limited Purpose Trust Charter in the.
The end of the Pham era?
In its announcement, MoonPay suggests Pham’s time at the CFTC was smooth sailing, highlighting milestones such as efforts to modernise US market oversight, guidance on tokenised collateral and work aimed at improving market efficiency.
Those familiar with US financial regulation, however, will recognise her tenure as more complicated than the release suggests.
Pham was unanimously appointed Acting Chair of the CFTC in January 2025, stepping into the role after Rostin Behnam announced his departure a month earlier. She had served as a Commissioner since 2022, but her position as chair was always understood to be temporary, pending a permanent nomination from President Donald Trump.
Pham perhaps thought her tenure wouldn’t last too long when Trump nominated Brian Quintenz for the role in February. Though the nomination soon became filled with controversy, with the Senate Agriculture Committee repeatedly delaying votes after Quintenz publicly shared messages involving Gemini Co-founder Tyler Winklevoss and accused the Winklevoss twins of lobbying efforts designed to derail his confirmation.
The impasse dragged on for several months before the White House formally withdrew Quintenz’s nomination on October 1, leaving the CFTC under Pham’s leadership once again.
Throughout this period, Pham has also faced other challenges, including ongoing jurisdictional friction between the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She was required to advance rulemaking initiatives without provoking inter-agency conflict, while also defending the CFTC’s authority over crypto-commodities.
The race to succeed Pham
Attention has now turned to her potential successor, a development which would allow Pham to formally begin her role at MoonPay.
The White House’s new nominee is Michael Selig, a financial regulatory lawyer and specialist in crypto policy. While his appointment has not yet been formally confirmed, Selig acknowledged the nomination in an October 25 post on X, describing it as an honour and pledging to support well-functioning commodity markets, innovation and US leadership in digital assets.
Selig is a partner in Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s Digital Works group, where he has advised on decentralised finance enforcement actions, decentralised-exchange manipulation cases and NFT-related matters.
Earlier in his career, he served in the office of former CFTC commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo, during the period when the agency began its first sustained engagement with crypto markets.
If confirmed, Selig would inherit a demanding agenda, including oversight of the Digital Asset Markets Pilot Programme, decisions around perpetual futures and tokenised collateral frameworks, and the jurisdictional tensions between government agencies.
