Regulator to Innovator: Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham Jumps Ship to Crypto Giant MoonPay
Top U.S. regulator bolts the government for the crypto frontier.
Caroline Pham, the Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is trading her regulatory rulebook for a role at MoonPay, the payments infrastructure firm powering the on-ramp for millions into digital assets. The move signals a seismic talent shift from watchdog to builder.
The Revolving Door Spins Faster
Pham's pivot isn't an isolated event—it's a trend. Seasoned policymakers and enforcers are increasingly lured by the siren call of Web3, bringing their insider knowledge to the very industries they once policed. For critics, it's the ultimate regulatory capture; for crypto firms, it's a strategic masterstroke in navigating an evolving compliance maze.
What MoonPay Gains
This isn't just a PR win. Pham's deep expertise in derivatives, market structure, and cross-border policy is a direct injection of institutional-grade regulatory intelligence. For MoonPay, aiming to scale its fiat-to-crypto rails globally, her guidance is priceless. It's a clear play to build bridges with traditional finance while staying ahead of the regulatory curve—something legacy banks wish they could do without a committee.
The Bigger Picture: Legitimacy Through Migration
When regulators become operators, it does more than fill a job slot. It validates the sector's longevity and complexity. Each high-profile defection chips away at the 'wild west' narrative, reinforcing that real, sophisticated financial architecture is being built—architecture that requires the very experts who wrote the old rules.
The move underscores a brutal truth in modern finance: real innovation and fat paychecks are rarely found inside government buildings. As the crypto industry matures, its greatest regulatory challenge might just be outbidding the agencies for their best people.
Caroline Pham leaves the CFTC
Caroline Pham, the acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is moving to the crypto payments company called MoonPay after working at the commission for nearly four years.
“I’m excited to join MoonPay at a pivotal moment,” Pham said in a statement.
Pham’s new role involves overseeing all global legal and administrative functions while also leading the company’s policy and regulatory strategy in Washington. Pham’s role at CFTC will be filled by crypto lawyer, Mike Selig, who is now preparing for Senate confirmation.
The final vote on his appointment is expected early next week.
Pham spent seven years at Citigroup, one of Wall Street’s largest banks before being confirmed as a Republican commissioner starting in 2022. She went on to be unanimously elected as acting chairman in January 2025.
During her tenure, Pham encouraged modernization efforts at the CFTC through what she called the “Crypto Sprint,” a series of initiatives designed to bring regulatory clarity to digital asset markets.
On December 4, she announced that listed spot crypto products WOULD trade for the first time in U.S. federally regulated markets through CFTC-registered futures exchanges. She also launched a pilot program that allowed Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoin USDC to be used as collateral in U.S. derivatives markets.
Tokenized assets such as Treasuries and money market funds were also explored for the same purpose.
Last week, Pham said the agency would be withdrawing guidance focused on the “actual delivery” of digital assets, calling it “outdated and overly complex”.
She also established the CFTC CEO Innovation Council, naming twelve CEOs to the forum and the Digital Asset Markets Pilot Program, launched on December 8, 2025.
Her partnership with SEC Chair Paul Atkins resulted in improved collaboration between the two agencies, despite previous clashes over digital asset oversight.
Why did MoonPay hire Pham?
MoonPay, founded by Ivan Soto-Wright, Victor Faramond and Maximilian Crown in 2019, is a Miami-based company that provides payment infrastructure for users to purchase cryptocurrencies and digital assets using traditional payment methods like credit cards, bank transfers, and mobile payment options.
The company reportedly has more than 30 million customers across 180 countries and supports more than 500 enterprise customers in both crypto and fintech industries.
MoonPay raised $555 million in November 2021 in an investment round led by Tiger Global Management and Coatue Management. The deal valued MoonPay at $3.4 billion. In March 2025, the company acquired the crypto checkout startup, Helio, for $175 million and announced the acquisition of the stablecoin platform, Iron.
In the second half of 2025, MoonPay secured both its New York BitLicense and New York Limited Purpose Trust Charter.
The company’s CEO, Ivan Soto-Wright, called Pham “one of the most influential leaders in U.S. financial regulation” and said her experience in regulatory expertise and traditional finance, as well as her DEEP understanding of market structure makes her “the perfect leader to guide MoonPay through our next chapter of growth and compliance excellence.”
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