Ripple co-founder backs exchange founded by Gillibrand’s son

Chris Larsen, co-founder and executive chair of Ripple Labs, was among investors backing American Perpetuals Exchange Corp. (APEC), a derivatives platform founded by Theodore Gillibrand, the senator’s son. The disclosure comes while the senator is engaged in negotiations over ethics language in the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act.

APEC raised roughly $30 million, with most backers contributing between $5,000 and $10,000 each. Larsen’s individual contribution was not disclosed. Requests for comment to APEC were not immediately answered.

Kirsten Gillibrand has been involved in talks over ethics provisions in the CLARITY Act, legislation that would establish market-structure rules and definitions for digital assets in the United States. The bill is expected to affect a range of crypto firms, including Ripple.

A spokesperson for the senator pointed to a June 18 statement in which Gillibrand described her son as “a grown adult starting his own independent business” and said she had “no involvement in it whatsoever.”

In May the senator warned: “[T]he truth is, is that we cannot allow members of Congress, senior administration officials, presidents or vice presidents, to get rich off of these industries because of their insider status. It is the worst form of pay for play.”

Senate Republicans, who hold a narrow majority, have indicated plans to advance the CLARITY Act and expect to move it through the chamber in July. Passage would likely require some Democratic support to reach the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Senator Cynthia Lummis has told colleagues negotiators are working on ethics language as well as rules for decentralized finance and illicit finance issues.

Senators are due back in Washington on July 13 and face another month-long recess in August, narrowing the window for final votes before the November elections. That calendar tightens the timeframe for resolving contested provisions in the bill.

Ripple and other digital-asset firms have followed the CLARITY negotiations closely because the legislation’s definitions and market-structure rules could change how trading, custody and derivatives are regulated in the United States. Larsen’s investment in APEC has drawn attention because of his public profile in the crypto industry and the timing of the disclosure during the ethics talks.