CFTC Names CEO Of Aptos Labs To Its Digital Assets Subcommittee

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has named Aptos co-founder and CEO Mo Shaikh to its subcommittee on digital assets. 

The CFTC’s Digital Assets Subcommittee is part of a larger committee made up of industry representatives who will advise the agency on rulemaking and regulation. 

Aptos CEO Appointed To Digital Assets Subcommittee 

The Digital Assets Subcommittee will operate under the Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC). Established in 1998, the GMAC consists of financial executives, including higher-ups from institutions such as Citadel, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs. The subcommittee includes executives from major financial and tech institutions, including Polygon Labs, Uniswap Labs, BNY Mellon, and BlackRock. 

The inclusion of Shaikh reflects a significant moment of recognition for Aptos. The Layer1 blockchain was only launched in October 2022 and was developed using the Move programming language, the same language used for Facebook’s discontinued Diem project. Industry experts on the Global Markets Advisory Committee and the Digital Assets Markets Subcommittee will advise the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on regulations and rulemaking that could impact international trade and business. 

“The Global Markets Advisory Committee (GMAC) was created in 1998 to advise the Commission on issues that affect the integrity and competitiveness of U.S. markets and U.S. firms engaged in global business, including the regulatory challenges of a global marketplace that reflects the increasing interconnectedness of markets and the multinational nature of business. The GMAC also makes recommendations regarding international standards for regulating futures, swaps, options, and derivatives markets, as well as intermediaries.”

According to Shaikh, he had to submit a written application in order to be considered for inclusion in the advisory group. 

A Boost For Aptos 

Former employees of Meta Platforms, the parent entity of Facebook, developed Aptos. Shaikh, along with co-founder Avery Ching, had worked on Facebook’s Diem project. However, this was canceled in February 2022. Speaking about the developments, Shaikh stated he was happy that Aptos could act as a voice for numerous projects in the Web3 ecosystem.

“Not only do we represent L1s, but we also represent a lot of the projects in the Web3 space — and [are] happy to be a voice for them along the way.”

Aptos hopes to create a blockchain network that is capable of processing transactions significantly faster than Ethereum and has raised $400 million from venture capitalists, including Andreessen Horowitz and Jump Crypto. In its most recent funding round, the company’s valuation was pegged at a staggering $4 billion.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.