Today, FTX US, Sam Bankman-exchange Fried’s empire’s American affiliate, announced the hiring of Mark Wetjen as head of policy and regulatory strategy.
Wetjen is a valuable addition to the developing organization, having served as a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2011 to 2016. When then-chair Gary Gensler (who is now the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission) departed the agency in early 2014, Wetjen took over as acting chairman for five months.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the federal regulator for derivatives, which are financial contracts based on assets such as commodities or stocks. This includes Bitcoin futures and options, which allow investors to bet on the cryptocurrency’s future price.
It should come as no surprise that FTX US plans to add crypto futures trading to its present spot offers; after all, its parent exchange has become Binance’s principal competitor thanks to its derivatives offerings. It just completed the acquisition of LedgerX, the first CFTC-regulated crypto derivatives platform. Wetjen joined the board of directors of LedgerX shortly after leaving the CFTC, perhaps by coincidence.
1/ FTX US is very happy to welcome @MarkWetjen as our Head of Policy and Regulatory Strategy! https://t.co/ReHR07fkGr— Brett Harrison (@Brett_FTXUS) November 2, 2021
“We’ve created FTX US Derivatives with the intention of becoming the first US-regulated crypto exchange to provide crypto derivatives trading to our user base,” FTX US President Brett Harrison said in a press release, “and Mark’s experience and guidance will be instrumental in achieving this goal.”
Wetjen will be in charge of lobbying and engaging with regulatory agencies and the legislative committees that govern them in his role as public affairs head. This should put him in touch with Gensler, his former colleague.
Acting CFTC chair Rostin Behnam and Gensler have been jockeying for positions in regulating the nascent bitcoin sector. Gensler has pushed for the SEC to have a bigger role in regulating stablecoins, which are dollar-pegged assets that make it easier to get into the crypto world. Meanwhile, Behnam has asked the Senate Agriculture Committee to expand his agency’s ability to regulate cryptocurrencies beyond derivatives.
Wetjen said he’s looking forward to “advancing the regulatory conversation of the crypto landscape on behalf of FTX US.”
