Caroline D. Pham
CEO, MoonPay Institutional
Caroline D. Pham went from leading the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where she announced a pilot programme for digital assets as derivatives collateral, to heading MoonPay's business for financial institutions entering digital asset markets.
Why the room needs them.
Caroline D. Pham, former Acting Chairman of the US CFTC, is CEO of MoonPay Institutional and spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026. She shared a Hecto Main Stage fireside with Jenny Johnson on embedding digitally native money market funds into onchain transactions.
The full account.
Caroline D. Pham is chief executive of MoonPay Institutional, the business MoonPay launched on 28 April 2026 to serve financial institutions, asset managers, trading firms and exchanges entering digital asset markets. MoonPay's announcement that day said Pham would lead the business, which was founded on its acquisition of the key management infrastructure company Sodot, and described her as CEO of Moon Global Markets. A MoonPay release of 21 May 2026 described her as CEO of MoonPay Institutional and as the company's Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer.
Pham joined MoonPay in December 2025. The company's announcement of 17 December 2025 said she would oversee all global legal and administrative functions and lead its policy and regulatory strategy in Washington, D.C.
She came to MoonPay from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Sworn in as a Commissioner on 14 April 2022, she was designated Acting Chairman on 20 January 2025 and left the agency on 22 December 2025. The CFTC's announcement of her departure credited her with launching its Crypto Sprint, which it said delivered listed spot crypto trading on CFTC-registered futures exchanges, a digital asset markets pilot programme and tokenised collateral guidance. On 8 December 2025 she announced a pilot programme allowing certain digital assets, including bitcoin, ether and USDC, to be used as collateral in derivatives markets, alongside staff guidance on tokenised collateral covering real-world assets such as US Treasury securities and money market funds.
Before becoming a CFTC Commissioner, Pham was a Managing Director at Citigroup, where MoonPay says she held multiple leadership roles, including Head of Market Structure for Strategic Initiatives. In April 2026 CoinShares announced her as an independent director on its board following its Nasdaq listing. She holds a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA, along with an executive certificate from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Pham spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026 on 2 June, in a fireside with Jenny Johnson on the Hecto Main Stage titled "21st Century Cash Optimisation: Embedding Digitally Native Money Market Funds Directly into OnChain Transactions". The same day, Franklin Templeton and MoonPay announced a partnership connecting Franklin Templeton's Benji Technology Platform with MoonPay Trade, so that eligible institutional users can move onchain between supported stablecoins and exposure to Franklin Templeton's tokenised money market funds.
What Caroline believes about the next ten years.
Years of shipping.
Lines that keep proving correct.
“Digital assets like tokenized money market funds provide benefits like improved liquidity and capital efficiency, but only if institutions have access to the onchain financial ecosystem.”
“Boards and investors are asking management the same question: What is your digital asset strategy? MoonPay Institutional gives them the answer.”
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead the CFTC during such a historic moment for market structure and innovation.”
What they have built, written, and backed.
Built
- MoonPay InstitutionalMoonPay's business for financial institutions, asset managers, trading firms and exchanges, launched on 28 April 2026 on the foundation of its Sodot acquisition; MoonPay named Pham to lead it.
- CFTC digital assets pilot programme for tokenised collateralAnnounced by Pham as Acting Chairman on 8 December 2025, allowing certain digital assets including bitcoin, ether and USDC to be used as collateral in derivatives markets, alongside staff guidance on tokenised real-world assets such as US Treasury securities and money market funds.
- CFTC Crypto SprintLaunched by Pham as Acting Chairman; the CFTC credits it with listed spot crypto trading on CFTC-registered futures exchanges, a digital asset markets pilot programme, tokenised collateral guidance and the CFTC Crypto CEO Forum and CEO Innovation Council.
The next Proof of Talk is in Abu Dhabi.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, 3–4 December 2026. Admission is by application, and the room is capped at 2,000.
Request access