finance
Startup founded by senator's son raises $30 million for derivatives exchange
Theodore Gillibrand secured $30 million in funding for American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation, a startup valued at $300 million. The company plans to offer perpetual futures contracts on equities and stock indexes after seeking regulatory approval.
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Theodore Gillibrand, the 22-year-old son of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, raised $30 million for his startup American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation, or APEC, according to a report published Thursday by Fortune. The funding round was led by venture capital firm Lux Capital and values the company at $300 million.
A spokesperson for Lux Capital confirmed the details to Fortune. APEC plans to offer perpetual futures contracts, known as perps, which allow traders to bet on future asset prices without owning the underlying assets or facing traditional expiration dates.
Regulatory plans The company intends to seek approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to offer perpetual futures tied to equities and stock indexes rather than cryptocurrencies, according to a presentation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"It is clear that the future of these markets is not in offshore and unregulated foreign entities but rather in a regulated and institutional American company," Theodore Gillibrand said in a statement. Theodore Gillibrand graduated from Stanford University on Sunday.
His LinkedIn profile lists prior work as a fellow at crypto-focused venture firm Paradigm and as an intern at Andreessen Horowitz.
Legislative background Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has partnered with Sen.
Cynthia Lummis on legislation aimed at creating a federal framework for regulating digital assets. She was also a leading Democratic architect of the GENIUS Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Fortune noted that the growth of perpetual futures products has coincided with efforts by regulators and lawmakers to bring more digital-asset trading under U.S. oversight.
