Backpack Welcomes Mark Wetjen as President of Backpack US
Backpack has hired former CFTC Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen to lead its U.S. expansion, leveraging his regulatory and institutional expertise to build compliant crypto market infrastructure.
Cryptocurrency exchange Backpack has appointed Mark Wetjen as President of Backpack US, a move that signals its intent to enter the American market in a regulated manner. Wetjen, a former Acting Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), brings decades of experience at the intersection of financial regulation, market structure and digital assets.
Wetjen previously served as Head of Global Public Policy at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and as CEO of MIAX Futures, a CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange. He was also among the earliest U.S. regulators to publicly advocate for clearer frameworks for crypto assets, well before the topic became mainstream.
Backpack, which launched in 2023, has processed over $426 billion in total trading volume across more than 150 countries and regions. The exchange holds a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), a MiFID II license in Europe through its acquisition of FTX Europe, and Money Transmitter Licenses in several U.S. states, with additional applications pending.
A key differentiator is Backpack's proof-of-reserves system, which uses zero-knowledge proofs and updates continuously, allowing users to verify exchange reserves daily rather than quarterly or annually.
With Wetjen's appointment, Backpack plans to establish a U.S. presence, build local teams and launch compliant products for American users state by state and license by license. The company noted that the current U.S. regulatory environment is shifting, with increased participation from traditional financial institutions and clearer policy expectations around compliance and market structure.
Source: Backpack