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Ex-Citadel Attorney Picked for Top Market Oversight Job at CFTC

Ex-Citadel Attorney Picked for Top Market Oversight Job at CFTC

(Bloomberg) -- A former lawyer for Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities LLC and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been tapped to lead the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission unit that monitors derivatives markets and reviews new products.

Dorothy DeWitt, who served in senior legal and compliance roles for Citadel, will oversee the CFTC’s division of market oversight, the regulator said in a statement on Tuesday. She has been a top attorney at Coinbase since last November, according to her LinkedIn profile.

“I am excited Dorothy will soon be joining our team,” CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert said in a statement. “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.”

DeWitt’s hiring is another signal that Tarbert will continue the CFTC’s focus on cryptocurrency products in addition to overseeing a large chunk of the $544 trillion global derivatives market. Upon taking over in July, Tarbert hired Andrew Ridenour from Coinbase to serve as a senior counsel to him.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Bain in Washington at bbain2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jesse Westbrook at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net, Gregory Mott

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