TheBlock
Theodore Gillibrand — son of New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) — has raised $30 million at an estimated $300 million valuation for a new perpetuals exchange called American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation (APEC), per a Fortune report and a June 4 SEC filing. Lux Capital led the round. APEC plans to file for a Designated Contract Market license and a Derivatives Clearing Organization license, asking for a special exemption to list perpetuals on single-name equities under joint CFTC and SEC oversight — a structure no US venue has cleared to date.
The pitch lands directly inside an active federal rulemaking process. The CFTC and SEC are collaborating on a "harmonization" strategy to unify their approach to novel markets, and the CFTC in May opened the door to US crypto perpetual futures by approving Kalshi's bitcoin perp and permitting Coinbase to list long-dated "perp-style" futures — moves now contested by CME Group in federal court, which argues perps are swaps under Dodd-Frank and that the agency let Kalshi and Coinbase sidestep stricter swap rules. APEC's June 4 memo frames the opportunity the same way the agencies do: "The absence of a regulated U.S. venue does not eliminate demand for equity perpetual futures. It redirects that demand to offshore platforms outside the reach of U.S. oversight, where participants have no recourse and regulators have no visibility."
Why it matters
The regulatory architecture APEC is targeting is being built in real time. The harmonization memo and the pending CME litigation will decide whether a US equity perp looks more like a CFTC-regulated future or an SEC-regulated swap — and that single legal classification determines who licenses the venue, who clears the trades, and what capital sits behind the book. APEC is also betting on a thin competitive set: there is currently no US-regulated venue for single-name equity perpetuals, and the founders argue the first mover to clear the DCM/DCO process captures an offshore demand pool with effectively no incumbent.
Market impact
The round also signals what a fully-licensed US perp venue might cost to build.
Frequently asked questions
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What is American Perpetuals Exchange Corporation (APEC)?
APEC is a US startup founded by Theodore Gillibrand that is raising $30M at a reported $300M valuation to operate a regulated perpetuals exchange under joint CFTC and SEC oversight, including single-name equity perps.
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What licenses is APEC planning to file for?
APEC plans to file for a Designated Contract Market (DCM) license with a special exemption to list perps on single-name equities, and a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) license so it can clear its own transactions in-house.
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Who led APEC's funding round?
New York-based venture firm Lux Capital led the $30M round, which APEC says values the company at an estimated $300M.
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Why is APEC launching now?
The CFTC and SEC are collaborating on a "harmonization" strategy for novel markets, and the CFTC in May approved Kalshi's bitcoin perp and permitted Coinbase to list long-dated "perp-style" futures — moves that are opening the door to a US-regulated perp venue.
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Why is CME suing the CFTC over perps?
CME argues in federal court that perps are legally swaps under Dodd-Frank, not futures, and that the CFTC's Kalshi and Coinbase approvals let those venues sidestep stricter swap rules designed to limit systemic risk.
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