DTCC’s Mark Wetjen joins Coin Center’s advisory board

Posted On 11 Jul 2016

Tag: Advisory board, Blockchain technology, Coin Center, Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, DTCC, Jerry Brito, Mark Wetjen, Public policy related to cryptocurrency

Mark P. Wetjen, formerly one of five commissioners of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), the U.S. financial regulatory agency that oversees activities and trading in most types of exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives. Mr. Wetjen was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve a five-year term in March 2011 and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 2011.

Coin Center, a non-profit group focused on public policy related to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, announced Monday support for the organization from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), a post-trade financial services firm.

In addition, Mark Wetjen, DTCC’s head of global public policy, has been appointed to the center’s advisory board, which includes prominent academics, technologists and investors such as Marc Andreessen, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Fred Wilson, managing partner at Union Square Ventures.

“Distributed ledger technology offers the financial industry a unique opportunity to advance targeted improvements to the infrastructures that underpin the global capital markets,” said Wetjen, a former commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in a press release sent to CoinReport. “Distributed ledgers provide an opportunity to innovate. I am pleased to join Coin Center’s board of advisors and look forward to working toward a regulatory climate that is welcoming to these exciting technologies.”

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Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito

Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito said in the press release, “With its support of Coin Center, DTCC demonstrates its commitment to fostering innovation that pushes technology forward.”

Earlier this year, DTCC said it would start testing an application of the blockchain to help mitigate issues related to short-term markets known as repurchase agreements, or “repos.”

Wetjen’s appointment at Coin Center follows his recent appointment to the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s board of advisors. Additionally, DTCC has joined the chamber’s executive committee.

Image credits:

Mark Wetjen’s photo – Public domain image via CFTC’s website

Jerry Brito’s photo – Via Coin Center’s website (CC BY-SA 3.0 US)

About the Author

Katherine Fletcher is a writer and editor based in London, Ontario, Canada. With a graduate degree in journalism, Katherine spent more than five years curating news on Canadian higher education for a marketing consultancy. Her interest in reporting on Bitcoin stems from her belief that digital currency is, and will continue to be, a disruptor in how we conceive modern currency.