That’s ‘Sir’ Crypto Dad: French order knights former CFTC chair Chris Giancarlo

June 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Awards

The first of his name, king of the punks and the first regulators, protector of the seven tokens, the keeper of the great CBDC, the breaker of blockchains and father of crypto.

The French government has given former United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Chris Giancarlo, also known as "Crypto Dad," the equivalent of a knighthood.

In a Tuesday tweet from Giancarlo, the former CFTC head said France’s National Order of Merit awarded him a Chevalier — the equivalent of a knighthood — in a ceremony at the French ambassador's residence in Washington D.C. Those attending included current and former CFTC commissioners Rostin Behnam, Brian Quintenz, Christy Goldsmith Romero, Kristin Johnson, Caroline Pham, as well as Hester Peirce of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Merci for honor of l’Ordre National du Mérite at the Résidence de France before mes amis @CFTCbehnam @BrianQuintenz @HesterPeirce Dawn Stump Dan Berkovitz @CFTCcgr @CFTCjohnson @CFTCpham @CFTC ⁦@the_afx⁩ @WillkieFarr⁩ ⁦@WhartonCypher⁩ pic.twitter.com/rI9MYzaI8a
— Chris Giancarlo (@giancarloMKTS) June 28, 2022

The order announced Giancarlo’s appointment in May. Phillippe Etienne, France's ambassador to the United States, said the award was due, in part, to the former CFTC chair’s “understanding of financial markets and the potentials of crypto finance.”

“[This award] recognizes the creation of well-regulated crypto trading markets and strengthening of overseas regulatory ties with the help of many fine public servants during my time of government service,” said Giancarlo at the time.

Giancarlo worked as the chair of the CFTC for five years before leaving in April 2019. During his time with the government agency, he oversaw the launch of regulated Bitcoin (BTC) futures and was alleged to have had a “do no harm” approach to blockchain regulation, earning him the nickname Crypto Dad.

Since leaving the CFTC, Giancarlo has gone on to join blockchain investment firm CoinFund as a strategic adviser, the board of directors for blockchain startup Digital Asset, and briefly, the board of crypto lending firm BlockFi. He currently works as a senior counsel at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

Other individuals who have previously been knighted by their respective governments have joined the crypto space in various ways. Sir Richard Starkey, also known as Beatles member Ringo Starr, launched his own line of nonfungible tokens on June 13. Star Trek star William Shatner, who tokenized a series of trading cards in 2020, was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2019 — though many have said the honor is not equivalent to a knighthood.

Former CFTC chair Chris Giancarlo joins Digital Asset’s board

January 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

Many in the crypto and blockchain space referred to Giancarlo as “Crypto Dad” for his role in supporting digital assets during his five years at the CFTC.

Chris Giancarlo, who served as chair for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission until 2019, will be joining the board of directors for blockchain startup Digital Asset.

In a Tuesday announcement, Digital Asset said Giancarlo would be providing counsel on asset tokenization, distributed ledger technology, and the possible impact of regulatory developments on the crypto space. The former CFTC chair is currently working as senior counsel at the Willkie Farr & Gallagher law firm and co-founded the Digital Dollar Project, a non-profit organization aimed at generating data to inform U.S. lawmakers on developing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC.

“We are on the precipice of a digital economic transformation that will necessitate safe and secure ways for businesses to interconnect and share assets,” said Giancarlo.

I’m excited to join the board of @digitalassetcom at this critical stage in emerging #web3 evolution. https://t.co/NXJW9dtafk
— Chris Giancarlo (@giancarloMKTS) January 25, 2022

During his time as CFTC chair, Giancarlo also served as a member of the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Committee, the President's Working Group on Financial Markets and the executive board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions. Many in crypto and blockchain referred to him as “Crypto Dad” for supporting digital assets during his five years at the CFTC, including overseeing the launch of regulated Bitcoin (BTC) futures and advocating for a “do no harm” approach to blockchain regulation.

Giancarlo was replaced as chair by Heath Tarbert in July 2019, for whom current CFTC commissioner Rostin Behnam took over in 2021 as acting chair before being confirmed by the Senate in December. Though no longer serving in an official capacity for any U.S. government agency, the Crypto Dad was on the board of directors at BlockFi for four months in 2021, and recently joined blockchain investment firm CoinFund as a strategic advisor.

Digital Asset has raised more than $300 million through funding rounds since its founding in 2014, most recently raising $120 million in a Series D financing round in April 2021. The firm has acquired firms in the crypto and blockchain space including Hyperledger, Bits of Proof, Blockstack and Elevence.