Giancarlo quits Wilkie to double down on crypto, AI and ‘CryptoDad’ sequel
Former CFTC chairman J. Christopher “CryptoDad” Giancarlo has stepped down from his senior role at Wilkie to focus full-time on crypto, AI and policy work, including a new digital currency book under Trump’s second term.
Summary
- Former CFTC chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo has retired from his senior position at law firm Wilkie Farr & Gallagher to focus full time on digital assets, AI and policy work.
- Known as “Crypto Dad,” he plans to expand his strategic advisory, private investment and think-tank research work, while promoting a new crypto book for Trump’s second term.
- The move cements Giancarlo’s transition from senior law partner to full-time crypto attorney as Washington rewrites US regulations for stablecoins, DeFi and tokenized markets.
Former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission J. Christopher Giancarlo has stepped down as senior counsel and head of digital assets at New York law firm Wilkie Farr & Gallagher to focus on cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and public policy work, he confirmed on LinkedIn and in remarks reported by Crypto in America and Phemex.
Giancarlo, who joined Wilkie in 2020 and helped build his crypto practice “Digital Jobs”, said he is looking for “strategic advisory services for founders and boards in the fintech and digital assets sectors,” as well as non-profit projects such as the Digital Dollar Project.creators.spotify+3
In an April post, Giancarlo told his followers “after six rewarding years helping Wilkie build one of the world’s leading digital asset law practices, it’s time for my next chapter,” adding that he will focus on “fintech, #digitalassets, #crypto and AI — and making sure that freedom and human agency are embedded in the innovation of banking, finance and money itself.” The former regulator, nicknamed “Crypto Dad” because of his industry-friendly status at the CFTC, also teased an upcoming book titled “CryptoDad’s New Adventures: The Path to Financial Freedom in the 21st Century,” which will be published in October and billed as the crypto industry’s narrative since Donald Trump’s second election.
Giancarlo was the chairman of the CFTC from 2017 to 2019, overseeing the introduction of the first regulated bitcoin futures and arguing that American regulators should use a “do-no-harm” approach to blockchain innovation, a phrase he repeated in speeches and later in his first book “CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money.” At Willkie, he co-chaired the New York-based firm Digital Works, advising banks, exchanges and fintech companies on crypto regulation and authored memos on topics ranging from stablecoin regulations to the evolving US crypto regulatory framework.
According to the ABA Banking Journal and other legal trade publications, Giancarlo has also become one of the most visible public advocates of the US central bank’s digital currency through his work on the Digital Dollar Project, saying that a well-designed digital dollar could “enhance US values of privacy, free enterprise and the rule of law” in a world where China is competing with others. Finews Asia previously reported that Trump allies have floated Giancarlo as a “crypto governor,” noting his push for clear stablecoin regulations, safe harbors for token projects and a more unified federal approach to overseeing digital assets.
His latest move comes as Washington debates the CLARITY Act, the GENIUS stablecoin law and bank-backed token acquisition pilots, with regulators from the Federal Reserve to the SEC and CFTC explaining how dollar-pegged tokens, DeFi and token wealth fit into the existing system. From big law to focus on investments, policy research and a new book aimed at sales students, Giancarlo bets that there is a place – and a need – for a former derivative administrator to help the designer of the future outside, as a consultant and storyteller.
