Jeff Bandman

Founder & Principal of Bandman Advisors & Industry Expert at the Department of Digital Innovation, Institute For the Future

University of Nicosia

"Jeff Bandman leads Bandman Advisors, an advisory practice helping clients ranging from governments to global firms to start-ups meet strategic innovation and regulatory challenges. He is currently advising the government of the Republic of Cyprus on new DLT legislation. He is also conducting a national risk assessment for Cyprus under new FATF requirements with respect to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. He regularly advises clients on matters relating to cryptoassets, blockchain, FinTech, RegTech, financial markets and the US and international regulatory framework. He also conducts training seminars for regulators on digital assets and international standards.

He leads Regulatory Strategy for Kalshi, an innovative new U.S. exchange recently licensed by the CFTC and dedicated to event contracts. Jeff is widely recognized as a thought leader, speaker and educator on financial markets and regulation as well as blockchain and cryptoasset law, regulation and policy. He is co-Founder and Board Member of the Global Digital Finance policy initiative and leads its regulatory engagement globally. He teaches law, policy and regulation of blockchain and cryptoassets at the University of Nicosia’s Institute for the Future (IFF). As Lecturer in Global Affairs at Yale, he taught blockchain, cryptoassets and public policy in the Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. He is also an advisor to CipherTrace, a leading cryptoasset AML, compliance and forensic intelligence company.

Jeff Bandman is also Founder and CEO of BlockAgent Inc., a new independent SEC-registered transfer agent focused on blockchain-based digital securities. BlockAgent is the new regulated market infrastructure bringing trust and compliance to digital securities. Jeff also chairs the Blockchain Committee of the Securities Transfer Association.

Previously, Jeff was a senior official at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He is best known as the architect responsible for the design and launch of LabCFTC, the CFTC’s hub for engagement with FinTech innovation (the first launched by a U.S. market regulator). As an Advisor to Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo, Jeff was Founding Director and architect of LabCFTC. He established and chaired the CFTC blockchain, virtual currencies and FinTech working group from inception in 2015. Jeff led FinTech and RegTech coordination with domestic and international regulators and led work by international regulators on post-trade digital innovation. He joined the CFTC as Special Counsel to Chairman Timothy G. Massad, and led the CFTC’s Division of Clearing and Risk, which oversees many of the world’s largest clearinghouses. He led the negotiations resulting in “Clearinghouse Equivalence” with the European Commission. He also led the CFTC’s Office of International Affairs.

Jeff worked for many years in the financial industry in New York and London. He rebuilt and ran Cantor Fitzgerald’s market data business after the events of September 11. As Head of Partnerships & Alliances of LCH’s SwapClear, he helped design and launch the SwapClear “FCM service” for clearing interest rate swaps through US intermediaries after the financial crisis.

Mr.Bandman started his career as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York. He graduated from Yale magna cum laude, with honors in History and English. He received his law degree from Stanford Law School, with honors as a member of the “Order of the Coif”. He is a five-time Jeopardy! Champion and spent his winnings backpacking around Africa, Asia and Europe."