Caroline Pham to Leave CFTC Following Quintenz Confirmation
Her departure will leave a two-member commission at pivotal moment for crypto
Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Caroline Pham will be leaving the agency and returning to the private sector later this year.
Speaking at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association Annual Meeting in Amsterdam on Thursday, Pham confirmed she’ll step down once Brian Quintenz is confirmed as chairman, a transition she first hinted at during last week’s Milken Institute Global Conference.
“I will be returning to the private sector once Brian Quintenz is confirmed as Chairman,” she said. “While I don’t have any specific plans for what’s next for me personally yet, I hope to make some over the next several months.”
Before her confirmation as commissioner in 2023, Pham spent seven years at Citi, one of Wall Street’s largest banks. When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Pham referred Crypto In America to her remarks at the ISDA conference.
Pham’s exit confirmation comes just one day after news that her fellow Republican commissioner, Summer Mersinger, will also depart the agency to become CEO of the crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association starting next month.
Her exit, along with that of Democrat Christy Goldsmith Romero, will leave the CFTC with just two sitting commissioners: Quintenz, a Republican, and Democrat Kristin Johnson. That would give Quintenz — who has yet to be confirmed by the Senate — effective control over the agency’s staffing and daily operations.
However, with only two members, the CFTC may be limited in advancing new rulemaking, especially as Congress weighs legislation that could expand the agency’s authority over digital assets.
Johnson has not been a prominent voice on crypto, and it’s uncertain how much policy alignment she and Quintenz, former head of policy at a16z Crypto, may share. Meanwhile, with the White House yet to nominate replacements, the agency remains in a holding pattern at a critical moment for digital asset regulation.
In her closing remarks at the ISDA event on Thursday, Pham, who began her CFTC career as a law student intern, reflected on her time at the agency, calling it “the honor of a lifetime.”
She added, “I hope you will agree that I put my mind, heart, body, and soul into this job, and achieved my vision of what was possible.”
Senate Tees Up Vote on Revised GENIUS Act
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed cloture on the GENIUS Act Thursday, setting up a key procedural vote as early as Monday — just days after the bill failed to advance on the Senate floor.
The revised bill text targets Big Tech’s involvement in stablecoins, with new language that would ban non-financial public companies like Meta, Amazon, and Google from issuing them. The amendments also crack down on U.S.-themed branding to prevent confusion with official government-backed currency — a direct response to controversial products like the Trump family’s USD1 token.
Additionally, enforcement powers would shift from the SEC and CFTC to the Treasury Department, giving it more centralized authority to investigate and penalize wrongdoers. The bill also includes provisions to flag potential conflicts of interest in digital asset policymaking.
Republican lawmakers say the new version addresses concerns that derailed the bill last week, but a Thursday evening memo from Democratic staff on the Senate Banking Committee signals the party is still unsatisfied with the draft. GOP leadership is eyeing a final vote before the Memorial Day recess, but that target could be subject to change.
If passed, the bill could reshape how tech giants interact with digital currency and redefine who gets to issue and hold stablecoins in the U.S.
Weekly Recap
ICYMI. Here are some of the biggest news stories this week from the intersection of Washington and Web3:
Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm is set to stand trial on July 14 after the DOJ dropped one charge but will move forward with allegations of money laundering and other offenses.
A Manhattan federal judge has rejected a proposed settlement between the SEC and Ripple Labs, pointing to procedural flaws. The decision comes just weeks after both parties agreed to withdraw their appeals and bring an end to the four-year legal dispute. Ripple says it will revisit the issue with the court.
The SEC has published new FAQs to clarify the application of broker-dealer and transfer agent regulations to crypto assets and distributed ledger technology. Commissioner Hester Peirce described the guidance as an 'incremental step' forward, noting it covers custody rules, in-kind crypto ETF creations, and tokenized securities.
Payments giant Mastercard is teaming up with MoonPay to launch global stablecoin cards, enabling crypto payments at 150 million merchants worldwide.
Coinbase has warned of a potential $400 million loss from a cyberattack ahead of its planned S&P 500 listing next week. The company says it rejected a $20 million ransom demand after hackers bribed overseas staff.
The Treasury Department hosted a series of industry roundtables this week that covered topics such as DeFi, stablecoins, crypto banking and cybersecurity.
Israeli trading platform eToro priced its Nasdaq IPO at $52 per share, giving the company a valuation of $4.26 billion.
Robinhood will acquire top Canadian crypto platform WonderFi, affiliated with investor Kevin O’Leary, to expand its crypto services across Canada.
The U.S. has reached a temporary trade deal with China, agreeing to cut tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% for 90 days. In return, China will lower tariffs on U.S. goods from 125% to 10% for the same period.
U.S. inflation dropped to 2.3% in April, lower than forecast amid the ongoing trade dispute.
The Crypto In America team was on the ground at Consensus 2025 in Toronto this week, where we hosted a handful of engaging panels, appeared at the CoinDesk Live Desk, and recorded an episode on illicit finance in crypto with TRM Labs’ Ari Redbord.
Thanks to CoinDesk for a great event!
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You guys have been BUSY!
Great week of reporting.