Who he is
Brett Harrison is an American financial technology executive, educated at Harvard (BA and MS in computer science). He built his career in traditional algorithmic trading: many years at Jane Street — where he led the development of algorithmic trading systems and met Sam Bankman-Fried — then Headlands Technologies and Citadel Securities, where he was Head of ETF Technology and Head of Semi-Systematic Technology. From May 2021 to September 2022 he was president of FTX US, FTX's regulated American arm. He left before the group's bankruptcy (November 2022) and was not accused of wrongdoing in the investigations that followed the collapse. In January 2023 he founded Architect Financial Technologies, of which he is CEO.
Current role
- Founder and CEO of Architect Financial Technologies (Verified: September 2026), an institutional trading infrastructure company covering derivatives, equities, futures and digital assets.
- On 23 December 2025 Architect closed a 35 million dollar Series A (lead: Tioga Capital and Miami International Holdings/MIAX, with Galaxy Ventures, ARK Invest, VanEck, Trumid, Geneva Trading) at a valuation of 187 million; in November 2025 it launched AX, a perpetual futures exchange on traditional assets (Verified: September 2026).
Career path
1. Jane Street / Citadel Securities (until 2021) — development of algorithmic trading systems across options, ETFs, OTC and ADRs for two of America's leading quantitative firms. 2. FTX US (May 2021 - September 2022) — president of FTX's US arm; announces his resignation in August 2022 and leaves before the group's collapse. 3. Architect (January 2023 - today) — founds Architect Financial Technologies; in 2025 launches the AX exchange and closes the 35 million dollar Series A.
Recent developments and controversies
- Departure from FTX US (2022): Harrison publicly described (January 2023, a thread on X) the deterioration of his relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried and disagreements over management, which led to his resignation months before the bankruptcy. Outcome: he is neither under investigation nor charged in the legal proceedings over the FTX collapse (Verified: September 2026).
- Architect/AX (2025): launch of the AX exchange for perpetual futures on traditional assets and a 35 million round with institutional investors — the most concrete sign of his second, post-FTX career.
FAQ
Is Brett Harrison still the president of FTX US? No. He left FTX US in September 2022, around two months before the group's bankruptcy, and was not accused of wrongdoing. Today he leads Architect Financial Technologies.
What is Architect Financial Technologies? A company founded by Harrison in 2023 that builds institutional trading infrastructure across derivatives, equities and digital assets; in November 2025 it launched AX, a perpetual futures exchange on traditional assets.
See also
Verified sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Harrison
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/architect-financial-technologies-raises-35m-in-se
- https://www.marketswiki.com/wiki/Brett_Harrison
- https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/former-ftx-us-president-brett-harrisons-architec
