Jan 20 (Reuters) - Republican Caroline Pham, named

acting chair on Tuesday of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading

Commission by newly installed President Donald Trump, pledged to

work constructively with all stakeholders.

"I'm humbled to lead the CFTC as Acting Chairman. It is an

honor to be entrusted to serve the American people during this

pivotal time," she said in a statement.

"I'm looking forward to engaging with all stakeholders in

this new capacity as we focus on the CFTC's mission to promote

well-functioning markets that support economic growth and the

competitiveness of the United States."

One of the agency's five politically-appointed commissioners

since 2022, Pham has advocated for clearer crypto rules and

focused on American competitiveness and right-sizing regulations

to promote market liquidity during her time at the agency.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Pham was a managing director

at Citigroup, where she served in various roles focusing on

regulation, market structure and governance, according to her

LinkedIn.

She replaces Democratic Chair Rostin Behnam.

Trump promised on the campaign trail to be a "crypto

president" and in December announced he would make former top

PayPal ( PYPL ) executive and crypto evangelist David Sacks his

"White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." That announcement came a day

after Trump said he would nominate pro-crypto Washington

attorney Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange

Commission.

While the CFTC, which oversees commodity derivatives

markets, has traditionally been a junior player in financial

policy, it is likely to play a more prominent role as Trump's

administration starts to overhaul cryptocurrency regulations.

The crypto industry has been lobbying Congress to create

a crypto regulatory framework which would hand the CFTC greater

oversight of the industry.

Pham has called for the agency to create a program to

support the development of digital asset companies, and is

expected to work with Sacks and Atkins on a new regulatory

framework.

When voting against a CFTC crypto enforcement action in

September, Pham said cracking down on crypto companies rather

than providing clarity through new rules was only increasing

regulatory confusion for the sector.

Pham has also advocated for the CFTC to get to grips with a

proliferation of election-betting platforms by creating a new

regulatory framework that would safely allow betting contract

platforms to operate. Currently, the sector operates under a

hodgepodge of different CFTC exemptions and rules.