Tokenization platform Securitize has appointed former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official Brett Redfearn as its new president and board member. Redfearn previously served as the SEC’s director of trading and markets and was head of capital markets at Coinbase. His appointment highlights a trend of former regulators moving into the crypto industry, which includes Caroline Pham’s recent move from the CFTC to MoonPay. The hiring comes as Securitize reports managing $3.85 billion in distributed asset value amid growing demand for real-world asset tokenization.
Securitize has named Brett Redfearn as its president, with the former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official also joining its board of directors. The company’s notice said Redfearn previously served as the SEC’s director of its division of trading and markets and worked as Coinbase’s head of capital markets.
He also held various roles over a decade at JPMorgan and was most recently a member of Securitize’s advisory board. Redfearn is the latest former government official to move into the crypto industry, highlighting questions about their roles overseeing digital assets while in office.
Caroline Pham, who served as a commissioner and acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, left the agency in December to join crypto payments infrastructure company MoonPay. He joins Securitize as the tokenization of real-world assets has seen increasing demand in the crypto industry.
According to data from analytics platform RWA.xyz, the company had $3.85 billion in distributed asset value in March. This occurred at a time when tokenized stocks surpassed $1 billion in total value onchain.
Separately, the SEC announced that David Woodcock would become the director of its Division of Enforcement starting on May 4. He replaces acting head Sam Waldon.
Several U.S. lawmakers are calling for answers from SEC Chair Paul Atkins regarding the departure of former enforcement director Margaret Ryan. Members of Congress questioned whether Ryan left due to the SEC’s decision to drop several crypto-related enforcement cases.
