Michael Selig Takes Over CFTC as Caroline Pham Departs

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has officially undergone a change of leadership, with acting chair Caroline Pham saying she will leave the agency on Monday, while Mike Selig was sworn in as chair.

Pham, who had been serving as the CFTC’s acting chair since January and its sole commissioner since August, said on Monday that it would be her last day at the agency.

Meanwhile, the CFTC confirmed that Selig was sworn in as the agency’s 16th chairman on Monday after being nominated for the role by President Donald Trump on Oct. 27 and confirmed by the Senate on Thursday.

Pham’s departure leaves Selig as the CFTC’s sole commissioner. He is widely seen as pro-crypto and previously served as the chief counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force.

Selig to continue positive momentum in crypto oversight 

Selig will now serve a term that will expire in April 2029, and has previously vowed to support growth in innovative technologies such as crypto and blockchain by avoiding a so-called “regulation by enforcement” approach. 

“I’m grateful for the confidence President Trump has placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the CFTC at this pivotal time,” Selig said.

“We are at a unique moment as a wide range of novel technologies, products, and platforms are emerging, retail participation in the commodity markets is at an all-time high, and Congress is poised to send digital asset market structure legislation to the President’s desk, cementing the US as the Crypto Capital of the World.”

On Monday, White House crypto czar David Sacks said Selig and SEC chair Paul Atkins were a “dream team to define clear regulatory guidelines.”

Pham shifts to crypto after steering CFTC 

Pham has long said she would leave the CFTC once Congress confirmed someone to lead the agency, and on Wednesday, MoonPay confirmed earlier reports that Pham was headed to the crypto fintech company.

Pham’s time as acting chair saw her take a proactive approach to supporting crypto regulation.

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Pham said in her departing statement that the CFTC had “refocused on our mandate to promote responsible innovation and fair competition as the CFTC prepares to take on expanded oversight of new markets and new products like digital assets, crypto, and prediction markets.”