Former FTX US President Backs New Futures Platform With $35M Raise

Brett Harrison, the former president of the US division of the defunct FTX exchange, has returned to the financial markets with a fresh vision. His startup, Architect Financial Technologies, has raised $35 million in new funding. 

The company is building a regulated exchange that applies crypto-style trading design to traditional financial assets. The move reflects growing interest in modern derivatives outside the crypto space, especially among institutional investors.

Strong Backing Signals Market Confidence

According to recent reports, the funding round attracted major financial players. Miami International Holdings and Tioga Capital led the investment, giving the Architect an estimated valuation of about $187 million. 

Sources familiar with the deal say the institutional backing shows rising confidence in new market structures that blend innovation with regulation. 

With solid funding and a clear focus, the firm plans to change how traditional assets are traded in modern derivatives markets. If AX succeeds, it could show that global financial markets are starting to adopt ideas that were first tested in the crypto space.

Architect’s AX Exchange Offers Perpetual Trading to Traditional Markets

Architect operates AX, a global perpetual futures exchange built for institutional traders. The platform lets users trade futures contracts that do not expire and are linked to traditional assets such as stocks and foreign exchange.

Perpetual futures, often called “perps,” do not have a fixed expiration date. Traders can keep their positions open as long as they have enough margin. 

Crypto exchanges made this product popular, but AX applies the same approach to traditional markets instead of digital assets. Unlike many other platforms that offer perpetual futures, AX does not list contracts tied to digital assets.

The exchange deals only with traditional financial assets but uses trading methods inspired by crypto markets. This helps make trading faster and more flexible. At the same time, it still meets the standards expected by institutional investors.

Global Interest Grows in Traditional Asset Perpetual Futures

Although U.S. traders cannot yet access perpetual futures tied to traditional assets, interest continues to rise globally. Market participants are increasingly searching for trading tools that allow continuous market exposure without the need to renew or roll over contracts. 

These products make trading simpler and reduce extra costs and complexity for investors. This growing demand has attracted the attention of major players in the industry. 

In its 2026 investment outlook, Coinbase Ventures pointed to real-world-asset perpetuals as an important area for future growth. According to the firm, more traders now want derivatives that offer synthetic exposure to broader economic data, commodities, and other assets that do not exist on-chain. 

These instruments allow users to track real-world markets while staying within digital trading platforms.