TLDR
- Former CFTC Chair Caroline Pham says existing laws give the agency broad authority to regulate cryptocurrency markets.
- Pham argues the CFTC can strengthen crypto oversight without waiting for Congress to approve new legislation.
- The CFTC proposes new federal rules for leveraged retail crypto trading to improve investor protection.
- Pham predicts major US exchanges could introduce genuine tokenized stocks with shareholder rights within two years.
- Pham sees tokenized bank deposits serving large financial transactions, while stablecoins remain useful for direct payments.
Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Acting Chair Caroline Pham says existing federal law gives the regulator broad authority over cryptocurrencies. She argues the agency can expand crypto oversight without waiting for Congress to pass new legislation.
JUST IN: Former #USA CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham says the agency’s jurisdiction covers ‘almost everything’ and can regulate most #Crypto activity without new legislation.
— Crypto News (@News_crypto) October 12, 2026
Pham, now MoonPay’s chief legal and administrative officer, spoke during Token2049 in Singapore. She said the Commodity Exchange Act covers almost every commodity, apart from onions and movie box office receipts.
CFTC Authority Extends Beyond Crypto
Pham said the agency’s principles-based rules can accommodate products that did not exist when lawmakers drafted the legislation. She cited potential derivatives linked to artificial intelligence computing capacity as one example.
Her comments follow new CFTC crypto trading proposals announced on October 5. Chairman Michael Selig opened rulemaking on Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM after the Clarity Act failed to advance in September.
Retail Trading Rules Take Shape
The proposals address crypto transactions involving borrowed funds, margin and financing. They would offer a federal regulatory route for certain trading platforms instead of relying solely on separate state licensing systems.
Pham linked the measures to the Crypto Sprint initiative she launched in 2025. She said placing leveraged retail transactions on regulated exchanges would provide stronger safeguards than the current patchwork of rules.
Banks Need Tokenized Deposits
Pham questioned whether stablecoins can serve every wholesale financial transaction. Meanwhile, Rain’s application for federal banking status on October 7 showed growing interest in regulated stablecoin infrastructure.
She estimated that settling an entire trading day instantly would require about $15 trillion in cash. Pham said tokenized bank deposits better suit transactions where banks offset obligations before transferring outstanding balances. She said stablecoins better fit payments between parties lacking mutual trust.
Tokenized Shares Could Reach Major Exchanges
Pham expects Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange to support genuine tokenized shares within two years. She distinguished company-approved stocks carrying shareholder rights from synthetic products without issuer authorization.
An October 6 report described plans for a tokenized stock market involving OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange. Their proposed venue would support blockchain-based trading in shares of major US companies.
Pham also predicted renewed interest in NFTs as customer loyalty tools. She compared their potential uses with airline miles and retail rewards, rather than company shares.
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