Overview
- Theodore Gillibrand has raised $30 million in a round led by Lux Capital for American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation, a funding move reported Friday that anonymous sources said values the startup at about $300 million.
- APEC filed a presentation with the SEC and plans to apply to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to list perpetual futures tied to stocks and stock indexes rather than cryptocurrencies.
- Perpetual futures are derivative contracts with no set expiration date that let traders hold leveraged exposure around the clock, a structure that became popular on crypto exchanges.
- Reporting highlights Theodore’s recent graduation from Stanford and past roles at Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz, and notes his family link to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand who has championed crypto legislation while her office says she has no involvement in his business.
- U.S. regulators have begun allowing some perpetuals, including a May CFTC clearance for a bitcoin perpetual, which could encourage trading to shift from offshore venues to regulated American platforms and draw institutional participants.