On January 20, the CFTC announced that Commissioner Caroline Pham had been named Acting Chair of the agency. She has served there since her confirmation for the role in March 2022.
Pham issued a statement that set out her idea for a new path for the CFTC, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
“We must refocus and change direction with new leadership to fulfill our statutory mandate to promote responsible innovation and fair competition in our markets that have continually evolved over the decades. It’s time for the CFTC to get back to the basics,” she said.
Innovation and market structure
Just last week Pham announced the launch of public roundtables on innovation and market structure. The roundtables will tackle issues such as affiliated entities and conflicts of interest, prediction markets, and digital assets.
She renewed her pleas for open public engagement and increased transparency by the CFTC on its policy approach to changes in derivatives markets.
“As I have long said, the CFTC must take a forward-looking approach to shifts in market structure to ensure our markets remain vibrant and resilient while protecting all participants,” Pham said. “Innovation and new technology have created a renaissance in markets that presents new opportunities that are accessible to more people, as well as risks.”
She said the CFTC roundtables will “develop a robust administrative record with studies, data, expert reports, and public input.”
Interim appointments
Pham quickly got busy appointing some interim officials to top spots, including new directors for the agency’s market oversight and enforcement divisions and a top position for the CFTC’s crypto outreach.
Harry Jung was appointed acting chief of staff and will “lead the CFTC’s engagement on crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other digital assets,” Pham said.
Pham is known for being a crypto-friendly regulator, and Jung previously served as her policy adviser.
Form PF
And in a rulemaking move, the CFTC – along with the SEC – extended the compliance date for the amendments to Form PF that were adopted in February 2024.
The compliance date for these amendments, which was originally March 12, 2025, is now June 12, 2025.
CFTC court cases
A couple of cases that were already winding their way through federal court and had stemmed from CFTC complaints were announced last week.
In one of them, the Southern District of Florida entered orders of default final judgement against Roberto Pulido, aka Berto Delvanicci, and his company, Lions of Forex (LOF) LLC, both of Miami, Florida.
The orders stemmed from the CFTC’s complaint filed in September 2023, charging Pulido with fraudulently soliciting at least four clients to trade leveraged or margined retail off-exchange foreign currency and charging LOF with aiding and abetting Pulido’s fraudulent scheme.
Under the terms of the orders, the defendants are required to pay, jointly and severally, approximately $172,000 in restitution to defrauded clients and over $516,000 in civil monetary penalties.
In another case, the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an order of default judgment against five offshore entities and three individuals, finding them liable for fraud and other violations of CFTC regulations in connection with a global retail binary options fraud that victimized US residents.
The defendants executed their unlawful scheme through internet websites using fictitious trade names such as BigOption, BinaryBook, and BinaryOnline.
According to the order, the defendants engaged in fraud and other violations, and the court ordered them to pay, jointly and severally, $112.9m in restitution and a $338.7m civil monetary penalty.
The order also permanently enjoins them from engaging in conduct that violates the Commodity Exchange Act and permanently bans them from registering with the CFTC and from trading in any CFTC-regulated markets.
