Former CFTC Boss Joins FTX US Board Of Directors
- The former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Jill Sommers joined the Board of Directors at FTX US, the US arm of crypto exchange FTX.
- Sommers has joined the board in a move to help boost the Company’s regulatory efforts and aims to change FTX into “the most regulated digital asset exchange in the world.”
On Thursday, former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Jill Sommers joined the Board of Directors at FTX US, the United States subsidiary of the regulated digital asset futures & options exchange and clearinghouse FTX.
According to the recent announcement by the FTX US Derivatives, Sommers has joined the board in a move to help boost the Company’s regulatory efforts.
Currently, Sommers serves in the capacities of Senior Advisor for Patomak Global Partners, Board Member for the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, and Board Member for Everybody Wins! DCMs. Sommers, who previously held the position of CFTC Commissioner for two consecutive terms, was formerly nominated by President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama and was subsequently confirmed by the United States Senate. On July 8, 2013, she stepped down from her position at CFTC after serving for six years.
Sommers has held various positions within the derivatives industry over the course of her career. These positions include serving as the Policy Director and Head of Government Affairs for the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and as the Managing Director of Regulatory Affairs at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group).
Commenting on being added to FTX US Derivatives’ board of directors, former CFTC commissioner stated:
“I am honored to be joining the FTX US Derivatives Board of Directors to advance the mission of reshaping market structure in the United States. [FTX US] has been at the forefront of bridging the gap between traditional and digital assets while staying true to its founding principles of transparency and leading the charge toward becoming the most regulated digital asset exchange in the world.”
She added that the Company will continue “working closely with regulators to further establish [the company] as the premier regulated crypto derivatives trading platform.”
Zach Dexter, the Chief Executive Officer of FTX US Derivatives, said that the appointment of Sommers comes at the time when the Company continues its mission of “providing industry-leading derivative services to our users and work to evolve the crypto derivatives trading market structure.”
“Adding Jill’s wealth of experience in the derivatives landscape is an invaluable resource for our board as we traverse through the evolving digital asset ecosystem and its integration into the broader financial market structure,”
Dexter said.
FTX US Derivatives’ expansion efforts
Since its inception in 2017, FTX US Derivatives, which was formerly known as LedgerX, has made available to investors around-the-clock options and swaps contracts relating to cryptocurrencies. The Company was an early pioneer in the use of bitcoin mini contracts in the United States, and its products and services include “physical settlement of all contracts, block trading and algorithmic trading opportunities for institutional investors, and direct access for all traders.”
FTX US expanded its trading offerings to stocks earlier this year and, in July, displayed its plans to offer options trading for the service.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
