Gillibrand’s son raises $30M to start perps exchange

Theodore Gillibrand has raised $30 million to launch American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation (APEC), a startup valued at about $300 million that plans to apply for a Designated Contract Market (DCM) license to list single‑name equity perpetual futures under joint oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Series A round was led by Lux Capital, according to a June 4 memo from APEC.

APEC plans to seek a special exemption to permit listing of perpetual futures, often called perps, on individual stocks. Perps are futures contracts without a fixed expiration date that use funding payments between buyers and sellers to keep contract prices aligned with the underlying asset.

The company also intends to seek registration as a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) so it can clear trades internally. The memo said APEC must demonstrate substantial financial resources and build compliance and technical infrastructure as part of the DCM and DCO registration process.

“The absence of a regulated U.S. venue does not eliminate demand for equity perpetual futures,” the memo states. It adds that without a regulated domestic venue demand can move to offshore platforms outside U.S. oversight. The memo outlines plans to allocate capital toward regulatory capital, compliance teams, technical systems and legal support and says APEC will pursue additional fundraising to meet licensing requirements.

The filing effort comes as the CFTC and SEC coordinate an approach to new products such as crypto and perps. The CFTC has approved requests to list a bitcoin perpetual contract and allowed a platform to list long‑dated perp‑style futures. A crypto exchange has announced plans to offer crypto perps on its pro platform. The approvals prompted a lawsuit by CME Group, which argues that perpetual contracts are swaps under the Dodd‑Frank Act and should be subject to swap rules.

A June 4 meeting on the application included APEC representatives and officials from the SEC and CFTC. Law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, lobbying firm BGR Group and attorney Rebecca Rettig, representing Arktouros PLLC, attended, the memo records.

APEC did not provide a public timeline for formal filings or regulatory approvals. The company’s next steps are expected to include formal DCM and DCO filings and further capital raises to satisfy registration requirements.

Theodore Gillibrand is a recent Stanford graduate who lists experience at venture capital firm Paradigm and an internship at Andreessen Horowitz on his LinkedIn profile. His mother, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D‑N.Y.), has supported legislation on digital assets and worked with Senator Cynthia Lummis on proposals including the Responsible Financial Innovation Act and the GENIUS Act, which became law last year.