Who he is
Adam Todd is a British former pit trader turned crypto entrepreneur. He began his career as a futures trader at LIFFE in London, specialising in high-frequency scalping, before moving to betting trading on Betfair, where he created a successful software "trading ladder" (RacingTraders). In 2018, through an ICO, he launched Digitex Futures, a Bitcoin futures platform that promoted zero-commission trading thanks to its native DGTX token. The project, however, ended up in the crosshairs of the US CFTC: accused of operating an unregistered derivatives platform and of attempting to manipulate the price of the DGTX token, Todd received a civil judgment in 2023 with multi-million-dollar penalties and a permanent ban. Digitex is no longer operational.
Current role
Digitex Futures is no longer operational and Todd does not appear to hold public roles in the crypto sector (Verified: September 2026). As a result of the Florida federal court order (July 2023, CFTC action), Todd and his companies are permanently banned from trading on CFTC-regulated markets and from registering with the agency. No established public evidence has emerged of professional activity by Todd outside the US perimeter.
Career path
- 1990s-2009 — Futures trader at LIFFE in London, then trader on Betfair (2002-2009) and founder of RacingTraders (2004-2009), trading ladder software for betting.
- 2018 — ICO of Digitex Futures and the DGTX token; development of the "zero commission" futures platform in the following years.
- 2022-2023 — CFTC action (September 2022) and federal court order (July 2023): penalties of more than $15.6 million and a permanent ban. Operational end of the Digitex project.
Recent developments and controversies
- CFTC action (30 September 2022) — The CFTC accused Todd and his companies (operating as "Digitex Futures") of running, from Florida between 2020 and 2022, a digital asset derivatives platform without the required registrations, without KYC/AML programmes, and of attempting to manipulate the price of the DGTX token through a bot configured to buy more tokens than it sold on third-party exchanges.
- Court order (July 2023) — The federal court for the Southern District of Florida ordered Todd to pay back $3,912,220 (disgorgement) plus a civil penalty of $11,736,660, with a permanent ban on trading on CFTC-regulated markets and on registering with the agency (Verified: September 2026, CFTC filings).
FAQ
Does Digitex Futures still exist? No. The platform is no longer operational: after the CFTC action and the 2023 court order, the project effectively ceased and its founder is permanently banned from operating on US regulated markets.
What happened between Adam Todd and the CFTC? In 2022 the CFTC sued him for operating an unregistered derivatives platform, lacking KYC/AML safeguards, and for attempting to manipulate the DGTX token with a bot. In July 2023 a federal court ordered him to pay more than $15.6 million in disgorgement and penalties (Verified: September 2026).
See also
Verified sources
- https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8748-23
- https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/07/12/digitex-founder-ordered-to-pay-16m-to-resolve-c
- https://www.theblock.co/post/239316/digitex-ceo-ordered-to-pay-more-than-15-million-over-c
- https://blockworks.co/news/cftc-digitex-platform-ban
