The Trump administrations more relaxed attitude to crypto doesnt mean the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will give the industry an easy ride, says the agencys acting chair, Caroline Pham.There is no easy street for anybody, and regulators arent easy, Pham told Yahoo Finance at the Coinbase Annual Summit on Thursday.Just because we are pro-innovation and pro-growth does not mean that youre going to be able to get away with breaking the law.And this is where Im talking about not twisting the law to criminalize an asset class or a technology, but Im talking about lying, cheating, and stealing, she added.Pham said that she was pleased the CFTC has been able to decisively end the regulation by enforcement against crypto and be able to refocus attention on catching fraudsters and scammers in our markets.Caroline Pham speaking at the Coinbase Annual Summit.
Source: Yahoo FinanceGoing beyond the lawPham said that the Biden administration really went beyond what the law says and what the statute says on crypto, adding that its approach also harmed traditional derivatives and forex markets.When we start to change the rules for [...] global derivatives markets because were trying to be creative and flex it to go after what we perceive to be bad or evil crypto or blockchain that is really breaking the fabric of our global markets.Uberizing cryptoYahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi asked Pham to explain her previous comment about uberizing crypto, meaning to change an industry through a new service, such as how ride-sharing app Uber disrupted taxis.Pham explained it means making digital assets so widely adopted and integrated into peoples daily lives that banning or criminalizing them becomes politically impossible, similar to how Uber is now too established to be decisively shut down.When something becomes so big, so accepted, so part of our lives, you cant really take it away then.
The public, the people, voters, they wont let you, Pham said.Crypto clarity bill advancesPhams comments came in the same week that the crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, passed a House Financial Services Committee vote on Tuesday.Related: Trumps CFTC chair pick wont push president for bipartisan commissionIf approved, the bill would clarify which regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission or the CFTC, would oversee crypto, with more authority expected to be handed to the latter.Pham said she planned to move to the private sector to make way for a16z Crypto policy head Brian Quintez, who will take the helm pending a Senate vote.Magazine: Elon Musk Dogecoin pump incoming? SOL tipped to hit $300 in 2025: Trade Secrets