Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-NY) 22-year-old son Theodore has secured investment for his fintech startup from Ripple's billionaire co-founder Chris Larsen, POLITICO reported on July 2. Along
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-NY) 22-year-old son Theodore has secured investment for his fintech startup from Ripple's billionaire co-founder Chris Larsen, POLITICO reported on July 2.
Along with Larsen, hedge fund manager John Griffin, investor Mark Ein, and Anduril Industries founder Palmer are among more than 30 investors who have backed Theodore Gillibrand's venture called the American Perpetuals Exchange Corp. (APEC). The company's spokesperson told POLITICO that the majority of investors put in $5,000 to $10,000 each.
Chris Larsen, chairman and co-founder of Ripple Labs Inc., in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, April 14 2026. Getty Images
APEC aims to become a trading exchange that offers perpetual futures. These financial instruments are futures contracts that let traders bet on an asset's price without the need to hold it directly.
As oil perpetuals offered by the decentralized exchangeHyperliquid have gained immense popularity among retail traders amid the U.S.-Iran war, other platforms also want to emulate the successful model.
APEC's representatives met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff on July 4 and shared a presentation as per which the exchange plans to apply for a Designated Contract Market license with a special exemption to list perpetuals for equities and stock indices, but not cryptocurrencies.
Fortune reported last month that Theodore has raised $30 million in a fundraise led by the venture firm Lux Capital at a valuation of $300 million.
As far as Kirsten Gillibrand is concerned, she is among the few Democratic senators who hold a pro-crypto position.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaks during a Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC.Getty Images
In fact, she was among the lawmakers who first introduced the GENIUS Act that regulates U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins. President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law in July 2025.
The Democrat is also leading the negotiations with Republicans over the inclusion of a government ethics provision in the CLARITY Act to address the conflicts of interests arising from the Trump family's crypto ventures.
It recently emerged that Trump profited $1.2 billion from his various crypto businesses in 2025, including $636 million from the Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin.
In response, Gillibrand renewed her call for Congress to bar all elected officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring their own digital assets.
But when asked about her son's startup, the senator said, “My son is a grown adult starting his own independent business. I have no involvement in it whatsoever... That said, I’m enormously proud of him and wish him nothing but the best.”
As far as Larsen is concerned, he is a serial angel investor who backs several ventures and has previously donated to the Democratic Party.
Related: Ripple co-founder to pour $3.5M to support New York Democrat
