Franklin Templeton, BNY Mellon execs to co-chair digital asset panel

The U.S. derivatives and commodities regulator added new crypto industry market participants to a new subcommittee focused on digital assets, according to an agency announcement Friday.

Caroline Pham, a commissioner with the CFTC, announced the fresh appointments to its Digital Asset Subcommittee, Technical Issues Subcommittee and the regulator's so-called Global Market Structure Subcommittee. In total, there are now 128 members across its GMAC group and relevant subcommittees.

Goldman Sachs' Amy Hong will serve as the GMAC's chair, according to the announcement. Caroline Butler, global head of digital assets at BNY Mellon, will serve as a co-chair of the digital assets subcommittee along with Franklin Templeton's Sandy Kaul. 

 "BNY Mellon is committed to playing a leadership role in shaping the future of finance for the betterment of our clients and the broader ecosystem," commented Butler in a statement. 

Nadine Chakar, CEO of Securrency, joined GMAC's parent committee alongside Nasdaq's Kevin Kennedy. Chakar was previously a crypto executive at State Street where she spent more than a year as their digital chief. 

Other members of the Digital Asset Subcommittee include executives from crypto companies like Coinfund, Crypto.com, and Uniswap. There is also representation from Wall Street with members from asset manager BlackRock, trading firm DRW, and Goldman Sachs.

The GMAC was created to help the regulator parse through issues related to US capital markets, making recommendations on policy tied to financial instruments like derivatives as well as companies facilitating trading such as exchanges and brokers.