The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s acting chair, Caroline Pham, has made significant changes to the agency’s top positions just days after being appointed by US President Donald Trump.
Pham announced the CFTC’s new leadership in a Jan. 22 statement naming interim officials to top spots, including new directors for the agency’s market oversight and enforcement divisions and a top position for the CFTC’s crypto outreach.
Harry Jung was appointed acting chief of staff and will “lead the CFTC’s engagement on crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other digital assets,” Pham said.
Jung previously served as Pham’s policy adviser. Pham was long known as a crypto-friendly commissioner at the agency.
Source: CFTC
Trump picked Pham to head the CFTC on Jan. 20. In November, it was reported that the Trump administration might seek to hand oversight of the crypto industry to the CFTC, curbing the remit of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Coinfund president Christopher Perkins said in a Jan. 22 X post that he was “glad to see the CFTC engaging…and NOT with the head of enforcement.”
Crypto trader Monolith highlighted that Jung holds a law degree, has experience as a manager at Morgan Stanley and served as vice president at CitiBank, which could make his approach to crypto regulations “interesting.”
Pham said that Meaghan Tente will transition from chief of staff to acting general counsel, Taylor Foy will move from Pham’s senior adviser to the Office of Public Affairs, and Tom Smith will lead the market participants division.
The acting chair acknowledged former CFTC chair Rostin Behnam — who had raised concerns about the lack of regulatory oversight in crypto — and the rest of the former CFTC leadership team.
Related: CFTC mulling probe of Crypto.com over Super Bowl contracts: Report
It comes after the CFTC announced a record-breaking $17.1 billion in monetary relief for fiscal year 2024, largely driven by enforcement actions involving crypto cases.
The record amount comprised $2.6 billion in civil monetary penalties (CMP) and $14.5 billion in disgorgement and restitution, the CFTC said on Dec. 5.
Magazine: GOAT’s AI agents play to win crypto for you, Flappy Bird reboot: Web3 Gamer