CHICAGO, Jan. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — FTX US Derivatives (“the Company”), a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulated digital asset futures & options exchange and clearinghouse, today announced the members of the Company’s Board of Directors. Larry E. Thompson has been named as Chairman of the Board and will be joined by professionals from the traditional finance, crypto and regulatory landscapes.
Since launching in 2017, FTX US Derivatives, previously known as LedgerX, has made crypto-related options and swaps contracts available to both retail and institutional investors 24/7. The Company pioneered bitcoin mini contracts in the U.S. and its offerings include physical settlement of all contracts, block trading and algorithmic trading opportunities for institutional investors, and direct access for all traders.
Larry E. Thompson, Chairman of the Board for FTX US Derivatives, commented on today’s news, “It is an honor to be named as Chairman of the Board for FTX US Derivatives and to be a part of one of the fastest growing and most influential crypto exchanges in the U.S. Throughout my career, I have come to understand the importance of working alongside regulators to ensure that investors are protected while still being able to take full advantage of the markets and FTX US Derivatives does just that. We have worked closely with regulators to establish FTX US Derivatives as the premier regulated crypto derivatives trading platform, and I am looking forward to continuing this journey.”
The Board will be instrumental in devising and implementing the long-term growth strategy of FTX US Derivatives to further cement the Company as the premier crypto derivatives trading platform in the U.S. Alongside Mr. Thompson, the members of the Board of Directors are:
- Keisha Bell, Managing Director, Head of Diverse Talent Management and Advancement, DTCC
- Bryan Bishop, CTO at Avanti Financial Group
- Zach Dexter, CEO of FTX US Derivatives
- Joe Keefer, Trader at Grapefruit Trading
- Jerome Kemp, President of Baton Systems
- Lucas Moskowitz, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Robinhood
- Bart Smith, Global Head of Strategy for Digital Assets for the Susquehanna International Group of Companies (“SIG”)
- Mark Wetjen, Head of Policy and Regulatory Strategy at FTX US
“I am excited to work alongside the other board members and coordinate on how we can provide the best value to our users and advance the crypto derivatives trading marketplace,” said Zach Dexter, CEO of FTX US Derivatives. “The Board of Directors brings together a group of professionals whose cumulative experience spans the entire financial ecosystem and the complex regulatory environment. We have the resources needed to guide FTX US Derivatives through the ever-evolving digital asset landscape, all while working alongside government regulators to provide our dedicated users and investors with additional value.”
Board Members
Larry E. Thompson
Larry E. Thompson is the Chairman of the Board at FTX US Derivatives. Previously, Mr. Thompson was the Chairman of the Board for LedgerX, which was acquired by FTX US and became FTX US Derivatives in October of 2021. Thompson has over 30-years of experience working on Wall Street, where he served in a variety of senior-level roles, including General Counsel and, most recently, Vice Chairman of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).
Joe Keefer
Joe Keefer is a trader at Grapefruit Trading. In this role, he works as part of a team to manage Grapefruit’s capital in a variety of proprietary cryptocurrency trading strategies, including spot and derivatives trading. Prior to Grapefruit, Joe was a cryptocurrency trader at Cumberland. Before joining Cumberland, Joe traded grains derivatives at DRW. Joe is a graduate of Duke University with a B.S. in Mathematics and Economics.
Jerome Kemp
Jerome Kemp is the President of Baton Systems where he oversees the firm’s continued growth. Prior to his role at Baton, Mr. Kemp worked at Citi as global head of futures and clearing building out the OTC clearing platform. Before his tenure at Citi, Kemp spent 17 years at JP Morgan in a senior position and was chair of the Futures Industry Association for two years. He holds a Master of Arts in Economic Development and a Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University as well as a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Philosophy from Brandeis University.
Bryan Bishop
Bryan Bishop creates and builds software that is changing the face of modern finance, enabling startups to raise tens of millions of dollars in venture capital and pursue their revenue opportunities at full throttle. He currently serves on the Board of Directors at Avanti Bank & Trust and also as CTO where he leads the engineering team to build a modern, digital bank that can process both dollars and Bitcoin. Before that, he made software and built out a highly regulated finance firm that integrates Bitcoin with the $600 trillion derivatives market, culminating in a Swap Execution Facility (SEF) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) awaiting regulatory approval by the CFTC. He is also a public speaker and published scholar (Nucleic Acids Research, J. Comp. Inf. Sci. Eng., etc.). “Do-It-Yourself biohacker” with hobby projects involving DNA synthesis using phosphoramidite chemistry, and projects involving genetic engineering and more speculative technology development regarding cryonics, brain scanning and emulation, nootropics, molecular nanotechnology, automation, etc.
Bart Smith
Bart Smith is Global Head of Strategy for Digital Assets for the Susquehanna International Group of Companies (“SIG”). In this role, Mr. Smith participates in developing all of SIG’s business activities in this area, including proprietary trading, direct investments, market making and counterparty relationships. Additionally, Mr. Smith is responsible for the FICC, ETF and Portfolio Trading Groups at SIG, where he oversees SIG’s ETF lead market-making and exchange-related business, ETF issuer relationships, ETF and Fixed Income institutional counterparty trading (through Susquehanna Financial Group, LLLP (“SFG”), a member of SIG), global equity and fixed income portfolio trading (also through SFG), and other strategic ETF and Fixed Income initiatives. Prior to his current role, he helped Emerging Global Advisors launch its EGShares lineup of ETFs. Mr. Smith has also worked at AllianceBernstein and UBS in a variety of sales and consulting roles. Mr. Smith is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Human & Organizational Development.
Keisha Bell
Keisha Bell is Managing Director and Head of Diverse Talent Management and Advancement at DTCC, where she is responsible for recruiting and retaining the best diverse talent and developing DTCC’s next generation of leaders through focused sponsorships and talent advancement strategies. In her prior role, Keisha was Managing Director of DTCC’s Risk Management Reporting, Governance, Analysis and Program Management group. She successfully led Board and Management Risk Committees, regulatory, audit and compliance reporting, management control testing, and program management of the Financial and Technology Risk initiatives. Previously, she served as Executive Director of Wealth Management Services at DTCC and worked for Seligman Funds and Park Avenue Securities spanning broker/dealer operations, technology transformations, program management and business analysis. She earned her B.S. in Organizational Behavior from New York University.
Zach Dexter
Zach Dexter is the CEO of FTX US Derivatives, maintaining his position after LedgerX was acquired by FTX US in October 2021. Mr. Dexter has extensive experience in the Fintech space, starting at Tutorspree as a Full-Stack and Lead Software Engineer, before founding LedgerX in 2013. Since then, Dexter has played an instrumental role in the firm becoming the first vertically integrated crypto options exchange and clearinghouse regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science.
Lucas Moskowitz
Lucas Moskowitz is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Robinhood and oversees regulatory, litigation, and government affairs. Lucas has an extensive background in financial services law and policy in both the public and private sectors. Mr. Moskowitz has held several roles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including as the agency’s Chief of Staff under Chairman Jay Clayton and as a senior counsel in the Division of Enforcement. He also has served as Chief Investigative Counsel for the Senate Banking Committee and Counsel for the House Financial Services Committee. He was most recently a partner in the Securities Department at WilmerHale, and holds a B.A. in Politics from Princeton University and J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Mark Wetjen
Mark Wetjen is the Head of Policy and Regulatory Strategy at FTX US and is responsible for the firm’s communications with U.S. regulatory and legislative bodies, such as the CFTC, SEC and various House and Senate Committees. Additionally, he will be advising FTX US on its compliance standards and reporting operations. Mr. Wetjen has more than twenty years of experience in the practice of law, policymaking, regulatory strategy and exchange operations. He most recently held the position of CEO at MIAX Futures, where he focused on crypto-derivative products and strategic initiatives. Mr. Wetjen also previously served as a commissioner and acting chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and was a member of the board of directors of LedgerX, the first licensed crypto-native derivatives exchange in the U.S. which was recently acquired by FTX US and rebranded as FTX US Derivatives.
About FTX US Derivatives
FTX US Derivatives is a digital currency futures and options exchange and clearinghouse regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). FTX US Derivatives is available to both retail and institutional investors 24×7 and offers physical settlement of all contracts, block trading and algorithmic trading opportunities for institutional investors, and direct access for all traders.
FTX US Derivatives holds the following CFTC registrations:
- Designated Contract Market (DCM)
- Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO)
- Swap Execution Facility (SEF)
For more information on FTX US Derivatives, visit: https://derivs.ftx.us/
Media Contact
Peter Padovano
M Group Strategic Communications (On behalf of FTX US Derivatives)
646.859.5953
[email protected]
SOURCE FTX US Derivatives
