Bridging the Gap with Brett Harrison, President of FTX

Brett Harrison is at the helm of one of crypto’s goliaths, and a firm that I believe will be largely responsible for onboarding the next million crypto users. He is the President of FTX US, a US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange. Prior to joining FTX US, Brett was Head of Semi-SystematicTechnology at Citadel Securities, where he managed technology for the firm’s Options, ETF, OTC, and ADR trading globally. He began and spent the majority of his career at Jane Street, where he led the firm’s algorithmic trading system development. He also previously worked at Headlands Technologies as a senior software developer. Brett received his M.S. and B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard.

I felt it was important to have Brett as my first guest on the podcast because he truly embodies everything that The DCBE is about: applying traditional subject matter expertise to a new frontier. More specifically, I have a huge appreciation for the balanced approach Brett takes when it comes to bridging the gap for the masses through advocacy, education, cooperation with regulatory bodies, and being on podcasts like this one. With that, here is my conversation with Brett Harrison.

For more information about FTX, please visit: https://ftx.us/v

You can Follow Brett Harrison on Twitter @Brett_FTX: https://twitter.com/Brett_FTX

Show notes:

[0:09] Introduction to Brett Harrison

[1:55] Setting the scene, Brett's background in traditional finance; met SBF at Jane Street and what led to Brett joining SBF at FTX

[5:45] What are the problems that Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is trying to solve for Traditional Finance (TradFi)

[9:02] How FTX is trying to solve these TradFi problems

[11:52] FTX is bridging the gap from TradFi to DeFi

[15:25] Crypto winter - how did we get here?

[21:00] History doesn't repeat, but often rhymes - how is crypto industry maturing?

[22:56] Crypto regulation - what are the issues the industry is facing from regulatory agencies and where are we at? Who regulates crypto trading and where how FTX operate in the current regulatory environment?

[31:54] Creating new regulatory regime specifically for DeFi - will that ever work?

[34:32] Timeline for clarity from regulatory agencies for Crypto

[36:27] Bipartisan support for Crypto regulation?

[38:15] What does the international regulatory landscape look like for Crypto, and where does the US fit into that narrative?

[41:51] How FTX strategy for working with international governments

[44:24] What does success and failure look like in Crypto?

All opinions expressed by your hosts and the podcasts guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of the hosts or any of their affiliates. This podcast is for commercial and informational purposes only, is not investment advice, and should not be relied upon for any investment decisions. We are not recommending any securities or cryptocurrencies, nor is this an offer or sale of a security or cryptocurrency.