Original Author: 1912212.eth, Foresight News
On December 23, Architect Financial Technologies (hereinafter referred to as Architect), a fintech company founded by former FTX US president Brett Harrison, completed a $35 million Series A funding round, reaching a valuation of $187 million. This round was led by MIAX and Tioga Capital, with participation from ARK Invest, Galaxy Ventures, VanEck, Coinbase Ventures, CMT Digital, and others. As early as February 2024, Architect completed a $12 million funding round led by BlockTower and Tioga Capital.
In the current bear market for cryptocurrencies, gaining the favor of venture capitalists and securing tens of millions of dollars in funding is quite rare across the entire industry. What makes Architect stand out?
Centralized Traditional Asset Perpetual Contract Exchange AX
Architect was established in January 2023, right as the aftershocks of the FTX collapse were still being felt. The company aims to bridge centralized and decentralized digital asset markets, helping financial institutions efficiently handle trading and post-trade processing for asset classes such as stocks, ETFs, futures, and options.
Specifically, Architect's platform covers three main modules: brokerage services, trading technology, and post-trade solutions. First, its brokerage business provides multi-asset brokerage services under US regulation, supporting stocks, stock options, futures, and futures options. The platform is equipped with a full-featured API, SDKs in various programming languages (such as Rust, Python, JavaScript), paper trading simulations, execution algorithms, and customizable trading dashboards. Users can access major global markets, including CME Group, Cboe, Nasdaq, Coinbase Derivatives, and the NYSE. This makes Architect a one-stop portal for institutional investors to access both traditional and digital assets.
In September 2023, Architect was approved by the National Futures Association (NFA) to register as an independent introducing broker, allowing it to provide derivatives brokerage services.
Secondly, one of Architect's core products is AX—a perpetual futures exchange specifically designed for traditional assets. Perpetual futures are widely popular in the crypto market, but in the US regulatory environment overseen by the SEC and CFTC, perpetual contracts for crypto assets face strict restrictions. AX cleverly sidesteps this pain point by focusing on perpetual contracts for traditional financial asset classes such as foreign exchange, interest rates, and metals.
Finally, the Post-Trade module, targeting digital assets and derivatives, provides advanced post-trade reconciliation, real-time profit and loss tracking, and detailed transaction cost analysis (TCA). This service is particularly suitable for hedge funds, family offices, asset managers, and trading firms, helping them optimize operational efficiency.
Overall, Architect's platform emphasizes flexibility in self-custody and custody options, supports multi-language APIs, and facilitates developers in building custom execution algorithms, streaming market data, and position management tools. The company also has its own regulatory entities: Architect Financial Derivatives LLC (NFA ID 0556853) and Architect Securities LLC (an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/SIPC member), ensuring all operations comply with US financial regulatory standards.
From a business model perspective, Architect is not a crypto exchange but rather more like a FinTech infrastructure provider. It does not issue tokens, does not rely on community governance, and instead profits through trading fees and similar means. This B2B-oriented strategy makes it more resilient in a bear market, avoiding the severe volatility of cryptocurrency prices.
According to the company's website, Architect's target customer base is institutional players, such as hedge funds and asset management groups, who need reliable technology stacks to bridge TradFi and DeFi. The integration of traditional assets and Crypto is already a trend, and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins predicts that within the next two years, the entire US financial market might migrate to blockchain-based technology.
Impressive Resume, Left Before the FTX Collapse
Architect founder Brett Harrison has extensive fintech experience. His career trajectory is exemplary: from traditional high-frequency trading to a crypto leadership role, and then to independent entrepreneurship.
Harrison graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Computer Science. His career began at the top quantitative trading firm Jane Street, where from August 2010 to April 2021, he served as Head of Trading Systems Technology, responsible for building high-performance trading infrastructure. This experience gave him core skills in low-latency systems, algorithmic execution, and risk management.
In May 2021, Harrison joined FTX US as President, responsible for the expansion of the US business. At the time, FTX was at its peak, and he led the platform's technological upgrades and product innovations, including the development of derivatives tools. However, in January 2022, months before the FTX collapse, Harrison announced his resignation. In a public letter, he stated that the departure stemmed from management disagreements with founder SBF, not financial issues. According to the FTX report, it was due to a "lack of proper authorization, formal management structure, and key personnel."
This departure was seen as foresight, avoiding subsequent legal entanglements. During his time at FTX US, Harrison drove the platform's institutional transformation, attracting many traditional investors. Just months after leaving, Harrison founded Architect in January 2023 and completed a $5 million seed funding round the following month, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and others.
Currently, its AX exchange has opened its whitelist registration to both individual and institutional users.
In the macro environment of late 2025, Architect's rise is timely, coinciding with a collective surge in gold, silver, and stock assets. While the entire crypto asset market is languishing, tapping into the most profitable and fastest-growing markets, with compliance and technology as support, might be doing the right thing in the right direction.
