Former CFTC Chair to Focus on Crypto Advisory Work

Chris Giancarlo, the former chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is stepping away from law to become a full-time adviser to cryptocurrency firms.

Giancarlo, referred to as “Crypto Dad” while in office for his crypto advocacy, posted to X on Sunday that he was leaving the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher and retiring from law altogether as he makes the switch to advising crypto and fintech companies.

“From here on, I’ll devote my time to advising founders & builders of FinTech & Digital Assets and their CEOs and boards, research & writing on public policy issues, and continuing work with non-profit programs,” he said.

Giancarlo was sworn in as a CFTC commissioner in 2014 during the Obama administration, before President Donald Trump nominated him to be chairman, a title he held between August 2017 and July 2018.

During his stint as chair, he oversaw the approval of the first Bitcoin futures markets in the US and earned the nickname “crypto dad” for his early support for the sector and advocacy for regulation.

Giancarlo has continued to weigh in on crypto regulatory matters and has advised the crypto bank Sygnum, helping guide the firm on global regulations and strategic partnerships. 

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In early March, Giancarlo appeared on an episode of Scott Melker’s “The Wolf of All Streets” podcast and played down concerns of key proposed regulatory packages like the CLARITY Act not making progress in Congress, arguing that the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission would still be able to establish rules to bring clarity to the industry.

Giancarlo acknowledged, however, that this could deter banks from delving deeper into the industry and emphasized the importance of embracing the technology.

“I think there’s a recognition that this is the new architecture of finance and America, our financial institutions are the world’s dominant financial institutions. We need to modernize that. We need to adopt this technology,” he said.

Giancarlo isn’t the only CFTC chair to make a switch from government to the crypto sector. In December, former CFTC acting chair Caroline Pham stepped down from the CFTC to become the chief legal officer at crypto firm MoonPay.

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