Share this article
CFTC Taps Coinbase Lawyer to Head Division Overseeing Bitcoin Futures
New CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert has named Coinbase general counsel Dorothy DeWitt as the agency's new director of market oversight.
By Nikhilesh De
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 11:27 a.m. Published Sep 17, 2019, 1:56 p.m.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has just named Coinbase vice president Dorothy DeWitt as its new market supervisor.
CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert announced in a press release Tuesday that DeWitt, who is also the exchange's general counsel for business lines and markets, will be the new director of the Division of Market Oversight (DMO), the group responsible for overseeing derivatives platforms and products, including the young market for bitcoin futures.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
DeWitt has also spent time at Citadel Securities, S&P Global and Davis Polk & Wardwell, and has previously been a portfolio manager.
Her new role will see her evaluating and potentially approving new bitcoin derivatives products in the U.S. DMO has examined CME, Cboe and Bakkt's various bitcoin futures proposals in the past.
She succeeds former DMO director Amir Zaidi, who oversaw the first bitcoin futures contracts as they entered the crypto space in late 2017.
In a statement, Tarbert thanked Zaidi "for his more than nine years of service at the CFTC," saying:
"[DeWitt] brings to the CFTC more than 20 years of private sector experience in the financial services and legal fields. Her strong investment, risk, legal, and compliance background and familiarity with distributed ledger technology, including crypto assets, will be invaluable as the agency looks to develop a holistic approach to regulating 21st century commodities."
Former DMO director Vince McGonagle has been serving as acting director of the division during the transition period.
Tarbert first took office in July 2019, after Congress confirmed him in June. The former Treasury Department official succeeded Christopher Giancarlo, who was famously dubbed "Crypto Dad" after advocating for a "do no harm" approach to regulating the crypto space before Congress.
Since leaving the agency, Giancarlo has joined the advisory board to the Chamber of Digital Commerce, a trade association focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency policy in Washington D.C.
Dorothy DeWitt image via CoinDesk archives
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin’s Deep Correction Sets Stage for December Rebound, Says K33 Research
K33 Research says market fear is outweighing fundamentals as bitcoin nears key levels. December could offer an entry point for bold investors.
需要了解的:
- K33 Research says bitcoin’s steep correction shows signs of bottoming, with December potentially marking a turning point.
- The firm has argued that the market is overreacting to long-term risks while ignoring near-term signals of strength, like low leverage and solid support levels.
- With likely policy shifts ahead and cautious positioning in futures, K33 sees more upside potential than risk of another major collapse.
Top Stories
