SBF loves the CFTC so much he’s hired its former commissioner

—, ,
—by Protos Staff
Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried was trading boring ETFs at Jane Street until 2017. Then he found Bitcoin was more expensive in Japan.
Listen to this article.

Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX US Derivatives (formerly LedgerX) announced former Commodities and Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) commissioner Jill Sommers is joining the board.  

Jill Sommers was originally a George W. Bush nominee to the commission and was subsequently nominated by Barack Obama.

Prior to joining the CFTC she had worked in the derivatives industry for both the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.  

Read more: Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda owed Voyager much more than we thought

Jill Sommers return to the industry comes amidst FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried’s attempts to have the CFTC as the primary regulator for cryptocurrency markets. FTX has recently been releasing policy pieces to promote this view and to push legislation including the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, and the Digital Commodity Exchange Act. This would make the CFTC the primary regulator of the cryptocurrency markets.

Sponsors of those bills who have received donations from Sam Bankman-Fried include Senator Stabenow, Senator Boozman, Senator Booker, and Senator Gillibrand.  

FTX US Derivatives adding a former commissioner of the CFTC to their board emphasizes the importance of that regulator relationship for them. 

For more informed news, follow us on Twitter and Google News.