Backpack US appointed former SEC commissioner and acting chairman Michael S. Piwowar to its board of directors as the crypto exchange prepares for a more regulated phase of US market expansion.

Piwowar served as an SEC commissioner from 2013 to 2018 and was acting chairman of the agency in 2017. His appointment gives Backpack US a senior regulatory voice as digital asset firms position around clearer rules for crypto trading, tokenized equities, and derivatives.

The hire also strengthens Backpack’s Washington profile. Backpack US President Mark Wetjen is a former acting chairman of the CFTC, giving the company former leadership experience from both major US market regulators.

The timing is important. The CFTC approved Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract in late May, marking a major step toward bringing a product long dominated by offshore crypto venues into a regulated US framework. Coinbase and Kalshi have also announced plans to offer regulated perpetual crypto futures to US investors.

Perpetual futures are derivatives with no traditional expiration date, allowing traders to hold positions without rolling contracts. They have become one of the biggest products in global crypto trading, but their high leverage and offshore history have kept many US institutions away.

Backpack is trying to enter that market from a compliance first position. The company has already built perpetual futures products outside the US and has been expanding from its wallet roots into a broader trading platform that includes stock trading and tokenized equities.

Backpack’s bet is that the next phase of crypto derivatives in the US will reward firms that build inside the rules rather than around them. Adding Piwowar to the board gives that strategy more regulatory weight at a critical moment for the market.