Aptos CEO Avery Ching joins the CFTC digital asset committee: How are technology builders reshaping encryption regulatory rules?

Former Meta engineers will speak on behalf of blockchain infrastructure builders, influencing stablecoin, CBDC, and institutional get on board policies.

Technical Expert Gets on Board: Aptos Founder Appointed to CFTC Digital Asset Committee

Blockchain infrastructure is no longer built behind closed doors. Avery Ching, co-founder and CEO of Aptos Labs, has recently been appointed as a member of the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This marks a new phase in cryptocurrency regulation: infrastructure builders are beginning to directly participate in rule-making.

On June 30, Aptos Labs officially announced the appointment of its CEO Avery Ching. This subcommittee is affiliated with the CFTC Global Markets Advisory Committee, featuring a strong lineup of members, including representatives from traditional financial giants like BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Citadel, as well as key figures from the crypto industry such as Rebecca Rettig from Polygon Labs and Christopher Perkins from CoinFund.

Aptos stated that Ching will represent the perspective of builders in a policy environment that is still primarily dominated by traditional participants from the legal and financial sectors. His appointment indicates that the CFTC is actively seeking opinions not only from financial institutions adapting to blockchain changes but also from technical experts with a deep understanding of the complexities of blockchain technology.

Why Ching's role at the CFTC could rewrite crypto regulatory rules?

Avery Ching's appointment comes at a critical moment for cryptocurrency regulation. While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to wield its enforcement stick, the CFTC has taken a different approach. As a commodities regulatory agency, the CFTC has been steadily expanding its oversight of cryptocurrencies (particularly assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH)) in a more measured manner.

With Ching joining and advising its digital asset market committee, the organization will gain direct insights from a technology expert who has extensively built Blockchain infrastructure.

Ching's background sets him apart from traditional financial field appointees. Before co-founding Aptos, he was the chief engineer of Meta's Diem project (formerly Libra) and personally experienced the regulatory hurdles faced in launching a global stablecoin. This experience gives him the rare dual perspective to deeply understand the challenges that decentralized systems face in both technology and compliance. In the CFTC subcommittee, Ching will work with Nasdaq's Tony Sio, Franklin Templeton's Sandy Kaul, and others, striving to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency disruptors and Wall Street traditional giants.

Aptos quietly lays out: regulatory compliance and institutional onboarding preparation

Although Ching's appointment is a new development, Aptos has long been laying the groundwork for regulatory relevance. The project was recently selected as the preferred blockchain platform for Wyoming State-Legal Stablecoin (WYST). WYST is the first fiat-backed stablecoin issued by a state government in the United States.

At the same time, Bitwise Asset Management has modified its spot ETF application documents related to Aptos, demonstrating the growing interest from institutional investors—even though the SEC continues to delay decisions on the approval of broader cryptocurrency ETFs. Notably, three types of USD-pegged stablecoins have been hosted on this Layer 1 Blockchain. Given the ongoing debate surrounding stablecoin regulation, this factor is likely to have attracted special attention from regulators.

Ching's first test may be the standardization work on stablecoin and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) framework launched by the group committee in March 2024. With the Wyoming WYST project and Aptos's ETF prospects, his opinions may directly influence how regulators view and handle Blockchain-native financial instruments.

Gate market shows that the native token APT of Aptos is currently priced at 4.549 USD, with a 24-hour decline of 3.04%.