Mark Wetjen

Mark P. Wetjen
Wetjen, c. 2014
Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
In office
October 25, 2011 – August 28, 2015
PresidentBarack Obama
Personal details
Born1973 or 1974 (age 51–52)[1]
Education

Mark P. Wetjen is an American lawyer and the President of Backpack US, a digital-assets trading platform.[2]. He was previously a partner at the law firm, Dentons.[3] In 2011, he was nominated by Barack Obama to serve a five-year term as a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He also served for five months as acting chairman of the CFTC upon the departure of his predecessor, Gary Gensler.[4]

He was the head of global policy at DTCC and CEO of MIAX Futures. He also was the head of policy and regulatory strategy at FTX US[5][6] and in that role was a Washington adviser to Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, until FTX filed for bankruptcy and entered receivership.[7]

Early life and education

Wetjen grew up in Dubuque, Iowa. He received a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University and then a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.[4]

Career

After law school, Wetjen worked as a lawyer in private practice.[4] He then worked for seven years in the United States Senate as a senior leadership staffer where he advised on financial services issues including the Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform.[4] He worked for Harry Reid and other Democrats on “a number of banking, housing, communications, technology, and gaming policy issues and legislative initiatives.”[4][1]

Wetjen joined the CFTC in 2011.[8][9] In late 2013, he became the acting chairman of the CFTC after Gary Gensler left the position. Wetjen served in the position for about five months.[4] During his tenure as acting chair, he was credited with easing tensions with other international regulators and striking a deal with European regulators regarding the treatment of trading platforms.[10][11] Wetjen championed the prioritization of end investors when developing risk-management policy at the CFTC.[12] As sponsor of the Global Markets Advisory Committee, Wetjen convened the first public meeting by the CFTC in October 2014 to discuss the regulatory treatment of digital assets.[13]

On November 3, 2014, in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Wetjen called for the establishment of a governmental regulatory structure for Bitcoin.[14] Wetjen resigned from the CFTC on August 28, 2015.[9]

Wetjen joined DTCC as the head of global public policy in the fall of 2015.[15] He was later appointed chairman of DTCC DerivServ in 2019.[16] While at DTCC Wetjen supported the adoption of enhanced risk-management standards for securities clearinghouses by the SEC and noted how they would promote international coordination.[17]

Wetjen joined the startup exchange operator Miami International Holdings (MIAX Exchange Group) as the CEO of MIAX Futures in January 2020.[18] Wetjen worked with MIAX to acquire the Minneapolis Grain Exchange.[19]

In November 2021, Wetjen became the head of policy and regulatory strategy at FTX US, a company distinct from FTX.com.[5][20] Wetjen was Sam Bankman-Fried’s top Washington advisor during his efforts to lobby the United States Congress to pass legislation on crypto currency.[21] Wetjen's relationship with FTX ended when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. His work with FTX has drawn scrutiny and criticism, given his prior government service.[22] During his time in the industry in 2022, Wetjen called for comprehensive legislation to "plug oversight holes" and ensure consumer protections.[23][24] He also has opined that federally supervised crypto markets would bring useful competition to U.S. capital markets.[25]

Wetjen joined the law firm, Dentons, in 2024[26] and was appointed to the Law360 editorial advisory board for capital markets in 2025.[27]

Personal life

Wetjen lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., with his wife and two sons.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Gao, Shirley (August 3, 2011). "Can an auditor still be independent after 100 years on a corporate payroll?". Center for Public Integrity.
  2. ^ https://financefeeds.com/backpack-appoints-former-cftc-chair-mark-wetjen-to-lead-u-s-expansion/
  3. ^ https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1867257/dentons-hires-former-cftc-commissioner-as-partner-in-dc
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Commissioner Mark Wetjen | CFTC". www.cftc.gov.
  5. ^ a b US, FTX. "Former CFTC Commissioner Mark Wetjen Joins FTX US as Head of Policy and Regulatory Strategy". www.prnewswire.com.
  6. ^ Melinek, Jacquelyn (July 4, 2022). "FTX policy exec says its 'priorities have not changed' amid market madness".
  7. ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried charmed Washington. Then his crypto empire imploded". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "Wetjen confirmed as CFTC commissioner". www.ft.com.
  9. ^ a b Tracy, Ryan. "Democrat Mark Wetjen Stepping Down as CFTC Commissioner". WSJ.
  10. ^ "CFTC leadership change eases strains". www.ft.com.
  11. ^ "Regulators reach deal on over-the-counter derivatives rules". www.ft.com.
  12. ^ "US should consider tougher clearing rules". Financial Times. December 4, 2014.
  13. ^ "Global Markets Advisory Committee | CFTC". www.cftc.gov.
  14. ^ Ackerman, Andrew. "CFTC's Mark Wetjen Says Regulators Should Act to Help Bitcoin Fulfill Potential". WSJ.
  15. ^ "Former CFTC Commissioner Wetjen Joins the DTCC | FTF News - Part 8553". www.ftfnews.com.
  16. ^ "DTCC's Wetjen Appointed Chairman of DTCC Deriv/SERV Board of Directors | DTCC". www.dtcc.com.
  17. ^ "New SEC standards may level playing field for European banks". Financial Times. September 28, 2016.
  18. ^ Miami International Holdings Inc. "MIAX Welcomes Industry Veteran Mark Wetjen to Lead Expansion of Futures and Digital Securities Products". www.prnewswire.com.
  19. ^ Miami International Holdings Inc. "Miami International Holdings Completes Acquisition of Minneapolis Grain Exchange". www.prnewswire.com.
  20. ^ Schwartz, Brian (November 14, 2022). "Washington lobbyists sever ties with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried after crypto exchange implodes". CNBC.
  21. ^ Newmyer, Tory (November 12, 2022). "Sam Bankman-Fried charmed Washington. Then his crypto empire imploded". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  22. ^ "Emails reveal Sam Bankman-Fried's courtship of federal regulators". Los Angeles Times. December 26, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Giancarlo, J. Christopher; Wetjen, Mark; Perkins, Christopher (May 19, 2022). "A bipartisan case for why the US needs a Web3 regulatory overhaul". Forkast News. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  24. ^ "Digital asset regulation: The federal market regulator perspective". Brookings Institution. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  25. ^ "Transcript of Conference Call with Mark Wetjen on Crypto Legislation in the Trump Administration". Capitol Forum. December 16, 2024. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  26. ^ "Dentons Adds Former CFTC Commissioner". Archived from the original on March 29, 2025. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  27. ^ "Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2025 Editorial Boards". Law360. March 19, 2025. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
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