Architect Financial Technologies, Inc. ("Architect" or "the Company") today announced its expansion into derivatives brokerage services after its subsidiary, Architect Financial Derivatives, LLC, received regulatory approval from the NFA to operate as an Independent Introducing Broker in CFTC-regulated derivatives. The Company's new brokerage will enable clients to trade the full range of listed derivatives products – futures, index options, futures options, trade-at-settlement futures, future spreads, and event contracts – on CFTC-registered exchanges. Architect will partner with US Futures Commission Merchants including Wedbush Securities, StoneX Financial Inc., and Straits Financial to provide related clearing services.

DeFi is still nascent and developing, with many of its components still to be refined in the coming years. Yet, if we are being honest with ourselves, there are also parts of the stack we should spend more time challenging.

At Jia, we’re all about empowering hardworking entrepreneurs around the world to realize their business ambitions. This mission has introduced us to countless communities of ambitious, savvy individuals; sari-sari stores in the Philippines especially embody this ‘negosyante’ (business-minded) ambition.

This article is part of a series spotlighting local partners providing valuable services in their communities, powered partly by Jia’s financing.

The Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) in Paris last month brought together thought leaders and innovators driving cryptocurrency toward mass adoption. Our intern John Böllhoff was in the middle of the action, gaining firsthand insights on the future of crypto in emerging markets. Here are his reflections on the conference as he wraps up his summer internship with us.

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