Crypto Trade Group, once backed by SBF’s FTX, is mounting a comeback
A crypto trading group backed in part by Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX has put out a Help-Wanted sign: CEO Needed.
Board members of the Association for Digital Asset Markets (ADAM) have been interviewing candidates to lead the organization in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. ADAM hired executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to help find a new leader, the people said.
ADAM has been dormant since December, when former CEO Michelle Bond quit, following an unsuccessful run for Congress as a Republican in New York state.
Now, ADAM aims to revive itself as a voice for crypto in Washington, representing the interests of brokers, dealers, institutional investors, marketplaces and other Wall Street-related companies.
Members of ADAM include algorithmic trading firms such as Jump Trading and Hudson River Trading, hedge fund managers such as Multicoin Capital and brokers such as Robinhood Markets (ticker: HOOD).
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ADAM’s board members either declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment from Barron’s. A spokesperson for Heidrick & Struggles declined to comment.
Founded in 2018, ADAM was originally envisioned as a “self-governing association” for crypto, with an ethics and professional conduct to which members would commit. Initial members included crypto heavyweights such as Genesis Global, Galaxy Digital and Paxos, as well as traditional Wall Street firms such as Hudson River Trading. Some members, such as FTX and Genesis, have either gone bankrupt or greatly reduced operations since the downturn in the crypto market.
The organization was also an influential voice for crypto in Congress and received a significant financial boost in February 2022 when Bahamas-based FTX and its American affiliate FTX US joined.
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ADAM helped push for legislation that FTX supported, such as a bill sponsored by members of the House Agriculture Committee that would have put much of the crypto market under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Bond also received financial support from FTX. During her run for Congress, Bond disclosed in campaign forms that FTX Digital Markets had paid her $400,000 in 2021 and 2022 for consulting work. During the race, she often appeared on the campaign trail with her boyfriend, who was a senior FTX official.
Bond did not respond to a request for comment.
ADAM removed FTX and its affiliates from the association in November, when the trading platform imploded amid fraud allegations, an ADAM spokesperson told CNBC at the time. Bankman-Fried, under house arrest in California, is awaiting trial on a number of criminal charges related to FTX’s collapse.
ADAM still has a board and retains an outside lobbying firm, but has not had a CEO since December.
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If it manages to revive itself, ADAM will join a crowded crypto lobby field in Washington, including the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Chamber of Digital Commerce.
The industry is facing a number of regulatory difficulties as agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the CFTC come up with enforcement actions against various crypto companies. Coinbase Global (COIN), for example, recently disclosed that it may be sued by the SEC. The CFTC accused Binance, the largest crypto exchange, of allowing illegal derivatives trading by Americans. Binance called the action “disappointing” and said it has significantly expanded its compliance team.
Lawmakers in both parties have said they intend to pursue legislation that would more clearly delineate the rules around how federal agencies should treat digital assets, though many policy analysts say passing comprehensive crypto-related legislation will be a tall order in the divided Congress.
Write to Joe Light at [email protected]
