A crypto trade group that was partly backed 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 interviewed 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 New York state Republican.
Now, ADAM is aiming to revive itself as a voice for crypto in Washington, representing the interests of broker-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 like Multicoin Capital and broker-dealers such as
Robinhood Markets
(ticker: HOOD).
ADAM board members either declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment from Barron’s. A Heidrick & Struggles spokesperson declined to comment.
Founded in 2018, ADAM was originally conceived as a “self-governing association” for crypto, with a code of ethics and professional conduct to which members would commit themselves. Original 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, like FTX and Genesis, have either gone bankrupt or sharply curtailed operations since the crypto-market downturn.
The organization was also an influential voice for crypto in Congress and got a significant financial boost in February 2022 when Bahamas-based FTX and its U.S.-affiliate FTX US joined.
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. In 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 appeared frequently 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, as 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 range of criminal charges related to FTX’s collapse.
ADAM still has a board of directors and retains an outside lobbying firm, but hasn’t had a CEO since December.
If it manages to revive itself, ADAM would join a crowded crypto lobbying field in Washington, including the Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, and Chamber of Digital Commerce.
The industry is facing a slew of regulatory difficulties as agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and CFTC bring enforcement actions against various crypto companies.
Coinbase Global
(COIN), for instance, 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 any comprehensive crypto-related legislation will be a tall order in the divided Congress.
Write to Joe Light at [email protected]
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