The 22-year-old son of a crypto-friendly senator plans to launch his own exchange for a type of derivative popularized by digital asset traders. Theodore Gillibrand, whose mother is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), has drummed up $30 million in a fundraise led by the venture firm Lux Capital, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The deal valued Theodore’s startup at $300 million, said the sources, who asked for anonymity to discuss private business dealings.
Dubbed American Perpetuals Exchange Corp., or APEC, the trading platform aims to list perpetual futures, or “perps,” a form of futures contracts that allow traders to bet on the price of assets without holding the assets themselves. As opposed to standard futures, these derivatives don’t have a set expiration date.
