Commissioner Bart Chilton left us this past Saturday. This larger than life figure brought passion to everything he did, from standing up for minority investors and their hopes and dreams to supporting his family and friends. The Bart Chilton style was all substance and his impact on people’s lives is a legacy that will endure for decades to come.
The former CFTC Commissioner was an out-sized voice for protecting consumers with thoughtful, colorful and intelligent advocacy and analysis. The presentation of the ideas mattered, because if no one was listening and no one understood, then what was the point? On stage at Fintech Week 2017 in Hong Kong, he proclaimed himself the world’s best – and worst – financial poet and busted out a regulator’s rap for the ages. Movie and pop culture references vied for airtime with rock’n’roll clips of all decades to make his most important messages incisive and memorable.
The showman was always driving home ideas to inspire people to create, demand and live by, better rules for finance. He understood the impact it had on people’s daily lives and their future hopes and dreams. Bart came by that knowledge honestly, starting his career in a steel mill and working in government with farmers and ranchers before ascending to run the Commodities and Futures Trade Commission for eight years, a Democrat appointed by Republican President Bush. His watchful eye was firmly fixed on some of the most innovative – and some would say wooliest – dimensions of the financial sector and he never stopped pushing for greater protection for minority investors who may be at the mercy of hucksters and market manipulators.
At NexChange, it was personal. Our Chairman and founder, Juwan Lee was a close friend and he invited Bart Chilton to join the Advisory Board. He took on the role with gusto. Fintech and blockchain were deep in Bart’s wheelhouse; he was always looking to the future. Encomiums to him are not only in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, but also in cryptocurrency publications like Cointelgraph. From his post-regulator platform, RT television show Boom Bust, he provided insight and forceful advocacy for investors in modern financial instruments including digital assets.
Juwan Lee knew the real Bart like up close. He says, “What you saw on stage and on television was just how he was in real life. It was genuine, 200% Bart Chilton all the time. I will miss him dearly.”
An outlier among regulators, he spoke with as much passion and clarity when he was in office as when he was in media, a sharp contrast to hypercautious and cryptic regulators of today. He was the same in person, always a gentleman who lived up to his commitments and whose unique style and warmth co-existed with a natural and endearing politeness that favored personal gestures over formality.
One commitment he was unable to keep, due to health issues, was appearing at the inaugural Hong Kong Blockchain Week in early March. In true Bart fashion, he delivered a 30-minute personalised, cutting edge, RT studio-crafted address just for this audience in Asia with a bamboo analogy, Bohemian Rhapsody, and personal shout outs.
This presentation is quickly becoming a legend in the blockchain world. Unfortunately, it proved to be his last keynote address to an audience hanging on every word. He was only 58 when he left this world due to pancreatic cancer on Saturday, April 27, 2019.
He is sorely missed by everyone that encountered him. Family, friends, colleagues, and millions who loved his extraordinary blend of passion, wisdom and style are in mourning for a champion of the little guy who brought heart, soul and rock’n’roll to us all.