Former CFTC Chairman Giancarlo Joins Coinfund As An Advisor

Giancarlo has been an outspoken proponent of cryptocurrencies and CBDCs, arguing for a “no harm” approach to blockchain legislation. CoinFund has made many investments in cryptocurrency-related firms during the last year.

Source: Cointelegraph

 CoinFund, a blockchain investment startup, has engaged former US commodities regulator J. Christopher Giancarlo as a strategic consultant – a move that should assist the Brooklyn-based business in navigating the complicated and constantly shifting regulatory environment in its native nation.

His Views on Supporting Digital Assets 

In 2014, Giancarlo was appointed to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The blockchain community refers to him as “Crypto Dad” because he supports digital assets. In January 2017, he was appointed interim chair of the agency before taking on the post-full-time in August of the same year.

Giancarlo was hailed as a “driving force” of innovation at the CFTC by CoinFund president Christopher Perkins, particularly for lobbying for “thoughtful crypto policy in the United States.” CoinFund’s founder, Jake Bruckman, said that the former government official would bring experience at a time when domestic cryptocurrency legislation is evolving rapidly.

Giancarlo has been a more public proponent of digital assets after leaving the CFTC, serving on the board of directors of crypto lending startup BlockFi. In June 2021, Giancarlo told Cointelegraph that without a central bank digital currency, the United States risked becoming a “backwater” and that China was the frontrunner in CBDC development. Giancarlo said as early as January 2020 that the US needed a digital dollar to compete with China’s CBDC scheme.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the blockchain investment business secured a $83 million financing round in July 2021 to continue supporting new blockchain and cryptocurrency startups.  The company has led a $50 million Series A fundraising round for digital asset curator Metaversal and will also participate in a $14 million Series B funding round for NFT marketplace Rarible in June 2021.