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About Architect
Architect is a digital asset trading infrastructure provider focused on building regulated, institutional-grade markets. Its core product, AX, is a regulated perpetual futures exchange that offers contracts on traditional asset classes such as foreign exchange, interest rates, equities, metals, and energy, in addition to digital assets. The platform combines the security and transparency of traditional futures markets with the capital efficiency and flexibility of crypto-style perpetual contracts, allowing users to trade with fiat or stablecoin collateral.
Architect's key competitive advantage lies in its regulatory-first approach: it operates under licenses from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) and holds U.S. registrations as an introducing broker with the NFA and SEC. This enables it to serve institutional clients such as hedge funds, asset managers, and family offices that require compliance and operational certainty. The platform also emphasizes low-latency matching technology and a developer-friendly API ecosystem.
The market pain point Architect addresses is the fragmentation between traditional finance and digital assets. Traditional futures markets suffer from expiring contracts, rollover costs, and limited collateral options, while crypto perpetuals lack regulatory clarity and institutional safeguards. AX bridges this gap by offering non-expiring perpetual contracts on traditional assets under a clear regulatory framework, with centralized clearing and anonymous order books.
Over the past six months (February to August 2026), Architect has focused on expanding its product offerings and enhancing market liquidity. It has reportedly added new asset classes and improved its trading infrastructure to attract a broader institutional user base. However, the company has faced challenges related to regulatory scrutiny in certain jurisdictions and competitive pressure from established derivatives exchanges. Despite these headwinds, Architect continues to position itself as a compliant bridge between traditional and digital asset markets.
Architect, founded in January 2023 by Brett Harrison (former President of FTX US), aims to bridge traditional and decentralized finance. In February 2023, it completed a $5 million seed round with participation from Coinbase Ventures, marking early industry recognition. In September 2023, Architect obtained NFA registration as an introducing broker, establishing regulatory compliance for its derivatives business. In late 2025, the company closed a $35 million Series A led by Miami International Holdings and Tioga Capital, reaching a $187 million valuation. That same year, it launched AX, the first perpetual futures exchange tracking real-time GPU and RAM rental prices, developed with Ornn Data. This product introduced crypto-style derivatives to AI infrastructure, offering hedging tools for AI firms and data centers. These milestones highlight Architect's strategic evolution from a regulated brokerage to an innovative platform commoditizing computing power, reflecting a broader trend of merging crypto mechanisms with traditional assets.
Brett Harrison (Founder & CEO): Former President of FTX US and Head of Semi-Systematic Technology at Citadel Securities; founded Architect in 2023 to build digital asset trading infrastructure.
Michael Creadon (Head of Sales): Previously Co-Founder & CEO of Traditum Group and Shareholder at Inveniam; brings over two decades of capital markets and sales leadership.
Mo Yang (Chief Financial Officer): CPA with experience as CFO at Fuel Labs and Convoy Finance; previously led finance at Polymath and served as Director at CoinFlip, specializing in Web3 and blockchain financial operations.
Architect recently expanded its team with two key hires: Ishanee Nagpurkar joined as GTM in June 2026, and Doruk Işmen came aboard as EMEA BD Lead in March 2026. Meanwhile, Ignacio Martínez Guimerá, who had served as Institutional Sales Lead - EMEA since January 2026, departed in June 2026. These changes reflect a strategic push to strengthen business development and market coverage in the EMEA region.