How did the earliest regulators of Bitcoin gradually enter the crypto world?

Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author | Dingdang (@XiaMiPP)

__

In the eyes of most people, the crypto industry and the U.S. regulatory system seem to always be separated by an insurmountable divide.

On one side are the relentless technological pioneers who believe that code can rewrite financial rules, constantly testing the boundaries of the system; on the other side are regulators tasked with safeguarding order and stability, using caution and rules as shields to protect the bottom line of the financial system.

Over the past decade, these two forces have clashed fiercely at times and compromised temporarily at others, always moving within a delicate tension.

But there are also some who happen to stand at this boundary, like Mark Wetjen.

He has worked in the U.S. financial regulatory system for nearly twenty years: from policy advisor for the U.S. Senate Banking Committee to being nominated by President Obama as a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and in 2014, serving as acting chairman. At that time, Wall Street was mostly cautious or skeptical about Bitcoin, yet he had already led and facilitated the first formal hearing on digital assets in U.S. regulatory history within the CFTC. Looking back now, his openness and foresight toward emerging technologies must have seemed especially precious and lonely at the time.

More than ten years later, this former regulator has chosen to turn into a participant in the crypto world. Now, he has joined the crypto trading platform Backpack as President of Backpack US, responsible for operations, regulatory communication, and business development in the U.S. market.

At this pivotal moment, Backpack is also standing at a new critical juncture. The platform’s native token TGE is expected to take place on March 23. As the token issuance approaches, Backpack is clearly accelerating its global compliance layout, with the U.S. market regarded as its most important strategic focus for the next phase.

Against this backdrop, Odaily Planet Daily was fortunate to have an in-depth and candid conversation with Mark Wetjen.

This dialogue is not only a story of a seasoned regulator’s personal transformation but also a mirror reflecting the subtle yet profound changes in the U.S. regulatory environment and the crypto industry ecosystem over the past decade— from initial caution and alienation to increasing understanding, dialogue, and even some mutual closeness.

And Mark Wetjen has witnessed and participated in all of this.

From Regulatory Seat to Market Frontline

In the narrative of crypto development, regulators are often seen as an “external force.” They tend to arrive late after the market has already formed, using rules to correct, restrict, or even rectify those sparks of innovation that have already occurred.

But Wetjen’s trajectory is somewhat different.

While many are still debating whether Bitcoin and other emerging digital assets are just a bubble, he was already contemplating a more pragmatic question: if these assets can truly exist and grow sustainably, how should the regulatory system respond?

Careful observation of Wetjen’s career reveals that he has traversed nearly all the key nodes of the modern financial system.

In Washington, he was a policymaker; at the CFTC, a regulator; at DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation), he entered the core financial infrastructure of Wall Street and participated in shaping early thoughts on blockchain technology; later, he was appointed to lead MIAX Futures and helped push its entry into digital asset products. Subsequently, he joined FTX US, overseeing policy and regulatory affairs. From rule drafter to infrastructure guardian to exchange leader, his path almost spans the entire financial market.

During his tenure at the CFTC, he approved the first Bitcoin derivatives traded on a regulated U.S. platform and directed the general counsel to evaluate whether Bitcoin qualifies as a commodity, to determine if it is suitable as a reference asset for CFTC regulation. At that time, he saw a nascent market full of potential but with a chaotic structure. He was among the earliest Washington officials advocating for a regulatory framework for Bitcoin.

Early on, Wetjen formed the view that truly sustainable crypto companies are those that treat compliance as a competitive advantage. Because compliance not only ensures legal safety but also means broader market access, more institutional funds, and more stable long-term growth.

In Wetjen’s view, Backpack is exactly such a company.

They are a team that places compliance at the core of product design, not as an afterthought or patchwork. This was a key reason he ultimately chose to join Backpack.

Now, as Backpack officially enters the U.S. market, he has been appointed President of Backpack US, responsible for operations, regulatory communication, and business expansion in the U.S. Simply put, his task is to help Backpack truly establish itself in the world’s most complex and important financial market.

And judging by current results, this strategy is already taking shape. Backpack has obtained regulatory approvals in multiple jurisdictions: a VASP license in Dubai, MiFID II authorization in Europe, and the U.S. is its next most important market. In Wetjen’s view, this is no coincidence—it is a well-thought-out strategic decision.

The Ultimate Answer in Exchange Competition: Trust

In recent years, the competition among crypto exchanges has resembled an endless arms race: who has deeper liquidity, faster product iteration, quicker coin listings… These have been regarded as the keys to success and have indeed helped some platforms stand out in the short term.

However, when asked about the most critical competitive advantage for exchanges in the next decade, Wetjen believes these are not the ultimate answers.

His answer is simple: trust.

In the crypto industry, everything happens quickly and can disappear just as fast. Today’s leading matching engines might be replaced tomorrow by more efficient architectures; an exchange’s proud liquidity pool can be rapidly copied during market cycles. Even regulatory licenses, once seen as barriers, may no longer be exclusive advantages as the industry moves toward compliance.

But trust is different.

If an exchange can operate stably over the long term amid complex and changing regulatory environments, and always prioritize the security of user assets, then this trust will accumulate over time and ultimately become the most difficult moat to replicate.

In Wetjen’s view, the future role of crypto trading platforms will go far beyond simple trading matching systems.

They are more like bridges. One end connects the native crypto world, and the other connects traditional finance, allowing ordinary users and institutional investors to access this new financial network in a compliant and secure manner.

It is for this reason that he chose to join Backpack. “I believe this team is doing the right thing at the right time,” Wetjen said.

If five years from now, when people talk about the most compliant, trustworthy, and innovative crypto trading platforms, the first name they think of is Backpack, then perhaps this experiment will have already succeeded.

In a sense, this is also a natural extension of his career.

Ten years ago, he was in a Washington conference room discussing how to regulate Bitcoin.

Ten years later, he is involved in building a crypto financial infrastructure that can be accepted by the regulatory system.

Some are builders of the crypto world; others are gatekeepers of the regulatory system. And people like Mark Wetjen are trying to build a bridge between the two.