The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s interim chief, Caroline Pham, keeps pressing forward on new crypto initiatives as her tenure approaches its conclusion, now seeking to stand up a “CEO Innovation Council” that will include advisory work on crypto policy.
She announced a quick-turnaround nomination period that expires Dec. 8, and is asking for suggested names of leaders and ideas for what they should focus on.
“The CFTC stands ready to carry out our mission over expanded markets and products, including crypto and digital assets, and ensure our markets remain vibrant and resilient while protecting all participants,” Pham said in a statement on Tuesday. “In order to hit the ground running, it is critical that the CFTC drives public engagement with the support of expert industry leaders and visionaries who are building the future.”
The nominations and the suggestions for topics the group needs to prioritize will be gathered at CEOcouncil@cftc.gov.
President Donald Trump elevated Pham from her commissioner role at the start of his administration, and the five-member commissioner has since dwindled to only her. Trump has struggled to get a permanent chairman confirmed, having dropped his first choice and more recently nominated Mike Selig, a senior official at the Securities and Exchange Commission who has been working on crypto policy. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced his nomination to the overall Senate last week, but the Thanksgiving break leaves the timing of a final vote in flux.
Despite the potential near-term end of Pham’s leadership at the agency — after which, people familiar with the situation have said she’s likely to go to MoonPay as chief legal officer and chief administrative officer — she has pressed to implement a number of crypto initiatives. Closest to execution may be her push for CFTC-registered platforms to begin listing leveraged spot crypto, which she’s argued is well within the agency’s legal boundaries.
She’s also moved toward tokenized collateral that is expected to include stablecoins, and she’s developing a rulemaking effort to add blockchain technology to a number of CFTC regulations.
Pham’s new innovation council follows in the footsteps of the crypto CEO forum she had organized earlier this year.
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