Brett Harrison, the former president of FTX US, has secured $35 million in fresh funding for his new fintech venture, Architect Financial Technologies, valuing the company at roughly $187 million.
The startup is building a regulated derivatives exchange called AX, designed to introduce crypto-style perpetual futures to traditional financial markets.
The raise marks one of the more notable post-FTX ventures led by a former executive, and it signals continued institutional interest in adapting crypto-native market structures for regulated finance.
What AX Is Building
At the center of Architect’s strategy is AX, an exchange offering perpetual futures contracts, derivatives with no expiration date that have become a cornerstone of crypto trading, but applied to traditional assets.
According to the company, AX will support perpetual futures on:
- Equities
- Foreign exchange (forex)
- Interest rates
- Metals and commodities
The idea is to bring the flexibility and capital efficiency of crypto perpetuals into markets that have historically relied on dated futures structures with fixed expirations and roll costs.
Regulation Shapes the Market Focus
AX is regulated in Bermuda and is explicitly aimed at non-U.S. institutional clients, including hedge funds and asset managers. The platform will not be available to U.S. users, reflecting a clear regulatory constraint: American regulators do not currently permit perpetual futures on traditional assets.
This jurisdictional choice isn’t incidental. It reflects a broader pattern in financial innovation, where new market structures often emerge first in offshore or international regulatory environments before, or if, they are later adopted in the U.S.
Who Backed the Round
The funding round was led by Miami International Holdings and Tioga Capital, with participation from well-known investment groups including ARK Invest, Galaxy Ventures, and VanEck.
The raise builds on an earlier 2024 round that included Coinbase Ventures and Circle Ventures, suggesting sustained confidence from both crypto-native and traditional financial backers.
Harrison’s Background Still Matters
Harrison left FTX US in September 2022, two months before the collapse of the broader FTX group. He was never charged with wrongdoing related to the exchange’s failure. Before FTX, Harrison built his career at elite quantitative trading firms Jane Street and Citadel Securities, grounding his reputation firmly in traditional market infrastructure rather than crypto speculation.
That background appears central to Architect’s positioning: this is not a crypto exchange pivoting into TradFi, but a TradFi-style platform selectively importing crypto innovations.
Why This Matters
Architect’s launch highlights a broader trend taking shape beneath the surface of global markets. While regulatory barriers continue to limit crypto-style products in the U.S., institutional demand for more flexible derivatives structures hasn’t disappeared. Instead, it’s moving to jurisdictions where experimentation is permitted.
If AX gains traction, it could serve as a proof of concept that crypto-born financial engineering, particularly perpetual futures, has relevance far beyond digital assets. Whether those ideas ever make their way into U.S. markets will depend less on technology and more on regulatory willingness.
For now, Architect is betting that the bridge between crypto and traditional finance doesn’t need to be built in New York to be influential.
