Former FTX US president Brett Harrison announced Monday his company Architect Financial Technologies raised $35 million in Series A funding.
The round was led by Miami International Holdings and Tioga Capital.
Participants included Galaxy Ventures, ARK Invest, VanEck, Trumid, Geneva Trading, and continued backing from Coinbase Ventures.
The funding will accelerate growth of AX, the company's perpetual futures exchange for traditional assets launched in October.
What Happened
AX offers perpetual contracts on foreign currencies, interest rates, single stocks, stock indexes, metals, and commodities.
The exchange operates under the regulatory regime of the Bermuda Monetary Authority through Architect's Bermuda-based affiliate.
Perpetual futures, popularized by crypto exchanges like FTX and Binance, are futures contracts without expiration dates.
This allows investors to maintain leveraged positions without rolling over contracts.
Harrison founded Architect Financial Technologies in early 2023 after leaving FTX US.
The company previously raised $5 million in pre-seed funding in 2023 and $12 million in seed funding in 2024.
AX is currently available to institutional clients including hedge funds, market makers, family offices, asset managers, and insurance companies in eligible jurisdictions.
The platform is not available in the United States because perpetual futures on traditional assets have not been approved by U.S. regulators.
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Why It Matters
Harrison served as FTX US president until September 2022, departing before the exchange's November 2022 collapse.
His new venture applies crypto-style derivatives structures to traditional financial markets under established regulatory frameworks.
The approach aims to combine the capital efficiency of crypto perpetuals with the security and oversight of traditional futures exchanges.
Architect maintains U.S.-regulated subsidiaries including Architect Financial Derivatives (NFA-registered) and Architect Securities (FINRA-registered) for other business lines.
The company plans expansion into Europe and Asia-Pacific markets.
A waitlist is available for sophisticated individual traders interested in accessing the platform.
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