The winds of change are blowing through the halls of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as newly appointed Chair Caroline Pham, a Republican elevated by President Donald Trump, has wasted no time in reshaping the senior ranks of this key derivatives regulator. In a sweeping series of personnel moves, Pham has ushered out many of the top officials who served under her predecessor, Democrat Rostin Behnam, signaling a potentially significant shift in the agency’s approach to crypto regulation.
A New Era at the CFTC
Among the most notable changes is the appointment of Harry Jung, who joined the CFTC in 2023 as a senior policy advisor to Pham, to the critical role of acting chief of staff. In this elevated position, Jung will spearhead the agency’s engagement with the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency industry, which has increasingly fallen under the CFTC’s regulatory purview in recent years.
Pham’s housecleaning extended to a wide swath of the CFTC’s leadership, with the departure of the agency’s:
- General counsel
- Heads of enforcement, public affairs, clearing and risk, market oversight, and market participants divisions
- Head of the office of international affairs
- Head of the legislative affairs department
The latter role is particularly crucial as Congress gears up to tackle comprehensive crypto legislation that could greatly expand the CFTC’s authority in the space.
Fresh Faces, New Directions
To fill these key posts on an interim basis, Pham has turned largely to members of her own commissioner staff, elevating them to acting roles:
- Meghan Tente – Acting General Counsel
- Harry Jung – Acting Chief of Staff
- Taylor Foy – Acting Public Affairs Director
- Nicholas Elliot – Acting Head of Legislative Affairs
Meanwhile, the critical enforcement division will be helmed by Briang Young, a Department of Justice veteran who took over as the CFTC’s whistleblower officer just last year.
“I’m pleased to announce CFTC leadership changes with the beginning of the new administration,” Pham said in a statement. “I am grateful for their combined many decades of faithful service to the CFTC, and I appreciate our talented CFTC staff who will be assuming these roles on an interim basis.”
The Crypto Question
These leadership changes come at a pivotal moment for the CFTC, as the agency stands poised to take on a central role in the regulation of digital assets. With legislative efforts underway to grant the CFTC expanded oversight of the crypto markets, the direction charted by Pham and her new team could have profound implications for the industry’s future.
As a Republican appointee of the famously pro-business Trump administration, Pham’s ascension has raised hopes among some in the crypto community for a more industry-friendly regulatory approach. However, her specific views on digital assets and the appropriate scope of CFTC regulation remain largely unknown.
What is clear is that the CFTC, under Pham’s leadership, is entering a new era – one in which crypto is likely to play an increasingly central role. As the agency navigates this uncharted territory, the decisions made by its freshly minted leadership team will be closely watched by industry stakeholders and policymakers alike.
In the coming months, as the crypto regulatory landscape continues to evolve, the CFTC’s direction under Chair Pham and her new senior staff will be a critical factor shaping the industry’s trajectory. With so much at stake, all eyes will be on this key derivatives regulator as it grapples with the complex challenges and opportunities presented by the rise of digital assets.
