Acting chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Caroline Pham, will join crypto firm MoonPay when Mike Selig is confirmed as the regulator’s next chair.
Pham joins MoonPay Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and to guide its regulatory strategy in Washington, the company said in a Dec. 17 notice announcement.
“Caroline is one of the most influential leaders in U.S. financial regulation, helping to shape the future of digital assets,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, co-founder and CEO of MoonPay. “Her unparalleled experience, combining 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.”
Pham said in a statement that she “I am happy to be joining MoonPay at a crucial time,” adding to X that she looks forward to Selig’s successful confirmation.
I look forward to a successful confirmation of Mike Selig as the @CFTC’s next chairman and a smooth transition once he is sworn in. The future looks bright. Onwards and upwards 🚀
— Caroline D. Pham (@CarolineDPham) December 17, 2025
Selig is expected to be approved as CFTC chief as part of a large package of nominees in a vote scheduled for Wednesday evening.
Trump-nominated Selig is an official at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he has also worked closely with the CFTC on crypto policy.
Pham played a crucial role in crypto regulation in the US this year
Pham was unanimously elected acting chairman of the CFTC at the beginning of this year, after being sworn in as a commissioner at the regulator in 2022.
Pham went on to play a crucial role in US crypto regulation under the Donald Trump administration.
In her first 100 days as acting chair of the regulator, Pham introduced a modernization agenda from perpetual futures and 24/7 and extended hours trading to prediction markets and the CFTC’s twelve-month crypto sprint, according to MoonPay.
Under that Crypto Sprint initiative, the CFTC acted on recommendations made by the White House Digital Assets Working Group, which aim to establish a clear regulatory framework for the digital assets space. These recommendations were a step toward realizing Trump’s vision of making the US the “crypto capital of the world.”
The CFTC and SEC also collaborated on crypto policy as part of the recommendations. In doing so, the SEC unveiled its own “Project Crypto” initiative.
CFTC and SEC announce their respective initiatives (Source: CFTC)
Earlier this month, Pham also announced that for the first time, spot crypto products can be traded on federally regulated markets in the US through futures exchanges registered with the CFTC.
Prior to her time at the CFTC, Pham was a Managing Director at Citigroup. She has held multiple leadership positions at the financial company, including Head of Market Structure for Strategic Initiatives.
MoonPay will use Pham’s expertise and experience to grow further
MoonPay will now look to bring Pham’s expertise and experience to the company to help it in its expansion efforts.
“Her leadership at @cftc has shaped policies that expand financial freedom and crypto innovation,” Soto-Wright said on X, adding: “Now we will translate that progress into real results for users and partners worldwide.”
more than happy to welcome @CarolineDPham Unpleasant @moonpay
her leadership @cftc has shaped policies that increase financial freedom and crypto innovation
now we will translate that progress into real results for users and partners worldwide
we have only just begun……
— Ivan Soto-Wright (@ivanhodl) December 17, 2025
MoonPay was able to obtain a New York BitLicense and a New York Limited Purpose Trust Charter in the second half of this year. This puts it in a small class of companies that have achieved both regulatory milestones.
Related articles:
Best Wallet – Diversify Your Crypto Portfolio
- Easy-to-use, feature-driven crypto wallet
- Get early access to upcoming token ICOs
- Multi-chain, multi-wallet, non-custodial
- Now in the App Store, Google Play
- Stake to earn native token $BEST
- 250,000+ monthly active users
#Caroline #Pham #joins #MoonPay #Mike #Seligs #confirmation #approaches