Former CFTC Chair joins Paxos board of directors

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo will join Paxos’ board of directors.

According to a press release from Paxos, the former chairman of the CFTC will join the stablecoin-issuing company’s board of directors. The firm hired Giancarlo to work alongside other directors, including former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley.

“Chris brings unique expertise and understanding of complex market dynamics to Paxos […] “His insights will support us as we expand our position as a leader in regulated digital asset market structure and stablecoin innovation.”

Charles Cascarilla, CEO and Co-Founder of Paxos

Giancarlo served as Chairman of the CFTC from March 2017 to April 2019 and oversaw the launch of the first Bitcoin futures products. He later published a book on Bitcoin derivatives called “CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money.”

In January 2022, Giancarlo joined New York fintech company Digital Asset, where he advised on asset tokenization, distributed ledger technology, and the potential impact of regulatory changes on the cryptocurrency space.

Prior to this, Giancarlo joined the board of directors of cryptocurrency lending service BlockFi and also served as a strategic advisor at investment company CoinFund.

Giancarlo’s appointment to the company’s board of directors coincides with recent pressure from US regulatory authorities. In February 2023, the US SEC said it planned to sue Paxos for violating investor protection laws. According to the SEC, the Binance USD stablecoin (BUSD) is an unregistered security. As a result, the company was forced to suspend BUSD production.