J. Christopher Giancarlo
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP | Senior Counsel, Corporate & Financial Services
J. Christopher "Chris" Giancarlo is senior counsel and Co-Chair of the Willkie Digital Works practice. He is based in the firm’s New York office. Chris served as the thirteenth Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where he oversaw regulation of the futures, options and swaps derivatives markets. Chris was also a successful entrepreneur helping GFI Group Inc. grow into a leading trading platform and technology vendor to global markets for OTC swaps and other derivatives and managing GFI’s successful private equity financing and IPO.
Chris is a renowned blockchain technology advocate and key contributor to the global discourse on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. During his tenure at the CFTC (2014-2019), Chris oversaw the first bitcoin futures products entering the marketplace and applied a "Do No Harm" regulatory approach towards blockchain technology.
Chris has testified often about financial and derivatives markets before the U.S. Congress and EU Parliament and is a frequent guest on broadcast radio and television, including BloombergTV, CNBC, Fox Business and the BBC, as well as podcasts such as "Unchained" and "CoinDesk." Chris has written and spoken extensively on public policy, legal and other matters involving technology and the financial markets and has authored numerous white papers, articles and op-eds that have been published in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Cato Journal, New York Law Journal, Les Echos and Coinbase.
Chris has over 45,000 followers on Twitter as @giancarloMKTS where he is known as "CryptoDad." The American Crypto Association featured him among the top 10 crypto lawyers on its 2020 ranking of "The Top 25 Crypto Lawyers" in the nation.
In March 2022, Chris was appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the French National Order of Merit by a Presidential decree of President Macron. According to French Ambassador Phillipe Etienne, the award recognizes Chris's expertise in "financial markets and the potentials of cryptofinance."
J. Christopher "Chris" Giancarlo is senior counsel and Co-Chair of the Willkie Digital Works practice. He is based in the firm’s New York office. Chris served as the thirteenth Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where he oversaw regulation of the futures, options and swaps derivatives markets. Chris was also a successful entrepreneur helping GFI Group Inc. grow into a leading trading platform and technology vendor to global markets for OTC swaps and other derivatives and managing GFI’s successful private equity financing and IPO.
Chris is a renowned blockchain technology advocate and key contributor to the global discourse on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. During his tenure at the CFTC (2014-2019), Chris oversaw the first bitcoin futures products entering the marketplace and applied a "Do No Harm" regulatory approach towards blockchain technology.
Chris has testified often about financial and derivatives markets before the U.S. Congress and EU Parliament and is a frequent guest on broadcast radio and television, including BloombergTV, CNBC, Fox Business and the BBC, as well as podcasts such as "Unchained" and "CoinDesk." Chris has written and spoken extensively on public policy, legal and other matters involving technology and the financial markets and has authored numerous white papers, articles and op-eds that have been published in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Cato Journal, New York Law Journal, Les Echos and Coinbase.
Chris has over 45,000 followers on Twitter as @giancarloMKTS where he is known as "CryptoDad." The American Crypto Association featured him among the top 10 crypto lawyers on its 2020 ranking of "The Top 25 Crypto Lawyers" in the nation.
In March 2022, Chris was appointed to the rank of Chevalier in the French National Order of Merit by a Presidential decree of President Macron. According to French Ambassador Phillipe Etienne, the award recognizes Chris's expertise in "financial markets and the potentials of cryptofinance."