Giancarlo quits Willkie to double down on crypto, AI and ‘CryptoDad’ sequel

Former CFTC chair J. Christopher “CryptoDad” Giancarlo has quit his senior role at Willkie to focus full‑time on crypto, AI and policy work, including a new book on digital money under Trump’s second term.

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo has stepped down as senior counsel and digital‑assets lead at New York law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher to focus on cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and public‑policy work, he confirmed on LinkedIn and in remarks reported by Crypto in America and Phemex.

Giancarlo, who joined Willkie in 2020 and helped build its “Digital Works” crypto practice, said he is pivoting toward “strategic advisory services to founders and boards in the fintech and digital asset sectors,” as well as nonprofit projects such as the Digital Dollar Project.creators.spotify+3

In an April post, Giancarlo told followers “after six rewarding years helping Willkie build one of the world’s leading digital asset legal practices, it is time for my next chapter,” adding that he will focus on “fintech, #digitalassets, #crypto and AI — and on making sure freedom and human agency are baked into the new architecture of banking, finance and money itself.” The former regulator, nicknamed “Crypto Dad” for his industry‑friendly stance at the CFTC, also teased an upcoming book titled “CryptoDad’s New Adventures: The Path to Financial Freedom in the 21st Century,” due for publication in October and billed as a narrative of the crypto industry from the 2024 election into President Donald Trump’s second term.

Giancarlo chaired the CFTC from 2017 to 2019, overseeing the launch of the first regulated bitcoin futures and arguing that U.S. regulators should adopt a “do no harm” approach to blockchain innovation, a phrase he repeated in speeches and later in his first book “CryptoDad: The Fight for the Future of Money.” At Willkie, he co‑chaired the firm’s Digital Works practice out of New York, advising banks, exchanges and fintech firms on crypto regulation and co‑authoring memos on topics ranging from stablecoin rules to the emerging U.S. crypto regulatory framework.

According to the ABA Banking Journal and other legal trade publications, Giancarlo has also become one of the most visible public advocates for a U.S. central bank digital currency through his work at the Digital Dollar Project, arguing that a well‑designed digital dollar could “promote U.S. values of privacy, free enterprise and the rule of law” in a world where China and others are racing ahead with state‑backed e‑money. Finews Asia previously reported that Trump allies had floated Giancarlo as a potential “crypto czar,” noting his push for clear stablecoin rules, safe harbors for token projects and a more unified federal approach to digital‑asset oversight.

His latest career move comes as Washington debates the CLARITY Act, GENIUS stablecoin legislation and bank‑backed tokenization pilots, with regulators from the Federal Reserve to the SEC and CFTC defining how dollar‑pegged tokens, DeFi and tokenized treasuries fit inside the existing system. By stepping away from big law to concentrate on investing, policy research and a new book aimed at retail readers, Giancarlo is betting there is room — and demand — for a former top derivatives regulator to help architect that future from the outside, as both adviser and storyteller.