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 cryptocurrency industry and the U.S. regulatory system seem to always be separated by an insurmountable gap.

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 the 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 sometimes clashed fiercely, sometimes briefly compromised, always moving within a delicate tension.

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

He has worked in the U.S. financial regulatory system for nearly twenty years: from policy advisor for the U.S. Senate Finance 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 led and facilitated the first official 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. Today, 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 at a critical juncture. The platform’s native token TGE is expected to take place on March 23. As the token launch approaches, Backpack is clearly accelerating its global compliance layout, with the U.S. market being its next strategic focus.

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 personal story of a seasoned regulator’s transformation but also a mirror reflecting the subtle yet profound changes in the U.S. regulatory environment and the crypto ecosystem over the past decade—shifting 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 ignited.

But Wetjen’s trajectory is somewhat different.

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

A close look at Wetjen’s career reveals that he has traversed some of the most critical nodes of the modern financial system.

In Washington, he was a policymaker; at the CFTC, he was 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 fabric of the 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 legal counsel to assess 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 market full of potential but with a chaotic structure. He was among the earliest Washington officials to openly advocate for establishing a regulatory framework for Bitcoin.

In his early years, 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 genuinely places compliance at the core of product design, rather than treating it as an afterthought patch. This is also a key reason why 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 approval 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 carefully considered strategic decision.

The Ultimate Answer in Exchange Competition: Trust

In recent years, the battle among crypto exchanges has seemed like 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 core competitiveness of exchanges over 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 engine might be replaced tomorrow by a more efficient architecture; an exchange’s proud liquidity pool could be rapidly copied by competitors 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 in a complex and ever-changing regulatory environment, and always prioritize the security of user assets, then this trust will accumulate over time, ultimately becoming the most difficult moat to replicate.

In Wetjen’s view, the future role of crypto trading platforms is far more than just a matching system.

It’s more like a bridge. 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, Backpack is the first that comes to mind, 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 discussing how to regulate Bitcoin in a conference room in Washington.

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.