Blockchain startup FQX, known for its eNote, a blockchain-based debt instrument, has appointed James H. Freis, Jr. as their new Regulatory Technology Officer. Mr. Freis draws upon his experience from the public and private sectors in Europe, the United States, and globally, to promote the integrity of the financial markets and advise on FinTech innovations.
From 2014 through 2020 he served as Managing Director and Group Chief Compliance Officer for Deutsche Börse Group, the international financial markets infrastructure provider based in Germany.
In June 2020, he was appointed to the management board of the German payment provider Wirecard, where he promptly uncovered internal fraud, was appointed CEO, and initiated a global restructuring.
From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Freis was Director (CEO) of the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the lead U.S. Government official overseeing anti-money laundering regulation and also the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
From 1999 through 2005 he was based in Basel, Switzerland as Senior Counsel to the Bank for International Settlements, supporting investment of monetary reserves, as well as the international financial standard-setting bodies. He received his Juris Doctor from Harvard University, a degree in Economics from Georgetown University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.
James Freis commented: “I am pleased to help guide FQX in applying innovative technology together with an internationally recognized foundation in law to deliver concrete products, which I have found truly differentiates the FQX founders from other good thinkers who nonetheless are still struggling to articulate specific use cases.”
FQX
FQX is a blockchain startup based in Zurich, Switzerland. Their primary offering is the eNote.
An eNote™ is an unconditional promise to pay a specific sum to another party at a specific future date and can be modularly structured to fit any financing purpose. The eNote™ is based on blockchain technology and can be easily transferred to any third party (i.e. an investor).
When compared to other financing tools, eNotes™ excels through its modularity and global transferability, based on a standardized legal framework. With this, eNotes can improve CeFi and DeFi-lending.
Single eNotes are stored as NFTs on a blockchain. By issuing multiple eNotes as SFTs, an issuer can obtain financing in a way comparable to commercial papers.
Benedikt Schuppli, FQX Co-CEO stated: “We’re honored to have James Freis join our team. With his unique combination of skills at the intersection of regulation, financial market infrastructure, and technology he is ideally positioned to work on FQX’s RegTech Engine to enable programmable debt securities and compliance by design.”