Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_63405c27fafaf" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Citi Ventures’ director of blockchain and digital assets joins Six Digital Exchange</li>
 <li>Crypto ETP issuer taps Hive Blockchain Technologies founder as new CEO</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



2020 Democratic presidential candidate <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewyangvfa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andrew Yang</a> joined Pool Data as a strategic adviser as he seeks to transform the data economy via Web3 technology.



Pool Data is deploying Web3 to build infrastructure in an effort to allow people to monetize and control their online data. Yang said in a statement that the data economy is on the verge of a once-in-a-generation shift.



“Individual consumers are massively outgunned and out-resourced by trillion-dollar tech companies,” Yang said. “It makes sense for consumers to come together, pool their data, and form data unions that can negotiate collectively and command a fair share of the data economy for all.”



Yang has brought the issues of data control and monetization onto the political agenda through the <a href="https://www.datadividendproject.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Data Dividend Project</a>, which aimed to establish data-as-property rights under privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act.



The political figure and entrepreneur <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/andrew-yang-we-must-avoid-politicizing-crypto-web3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Blockworks in an interview</a> earlier this year that crypto and Web3 advocates need to get more politically involved. He <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/andrew-yang-turns-to-dao-in-web3-lobbying-push/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed Lobby3 DAO</a> in February — designed to fund policy advocacy and educate lawmakers about the positive potential of Web3.



Bitcoin company NYDIG promoted Tejas Shah and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-conrad-41b0b4173/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nate Conrad</a> to become the firm’s CEO and president, respectively.



The move comes as the company said its bitcoin balances hit an all-time high during the third quarter. Shah and Conrad will focus on picking up the pace on NYDIG’s investments in its mining solutions and platform technology businesses.



The two are set to replace CEO Robert Gutmann and President Yan Zhao, who will remain at NYDIG parent company Stone Ridge Holdings Group, which they co-founded with Ross Stevens in 2012.



Shah was most recently NYDIG’s global head of institutional finance, while Conrad worked as global head of payments. Prior to joining NYDIG in 2020, Shah had a nearly 20-year career at Goldman Sachs. Conrad joined Stone Ridge in 2016 and NYDIG in 2020 after also beginning his career at Goldman Sachs.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrekech/?originalSubdomain=ch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alexandre Kech</a>, who is leaving his role as director of blockchain and digital assets at Citi Ventures, is set to join Six Digital Exchange.



“This week is my last at Citi Ventures, more than a year after launching the Blockchain &amp; Digital Asset Studio practice,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post. “This may seem like a short tenure, and it is. But sometimes, an exceptional opportunity comes along.”



Before joining the Citigroup subsidiary in September 2021, Kech was a head of securities and foreign exchange markets at SWIFT and later co-founded Onchain Custodian, where he worked as CEO.&nbsp;



The founder and former president of crypto miner HIVE Blockchain Technologies took a new position as the CEO of Valour, an issuer of crypto ETPs.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/olfrancois/details/experience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Olivier Roussy Newton</a>, who also co-founded Valour, replaces Russell Starr, who is set to re-assume the role of head of capital markets and maintain his role as executive chairman.



“My role was never intended to be permanent and having someone with Olivier&#8217;s pedigree step in is testimony to the quality of Valour as a company and the global team supporting Valour&#8217;s vision of being the dominant ETP player in the world,&#8221; Starr said in a statement.



Roussy Newton is a partner at investment fund Latent Capital and currently sits on the board of SEBA Bank AG.



Software development company Alluvial appointed a former Coinbase Cloud executive as its chief growth officer as the company continues its focus on building secure liquid staking solutions.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mara-schmiedt-506862124/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mara Schmiedt</a> joins Alluvial as its chief growth officer after serving as Coinbase Cloud’s head of sales, a role in which she oversaw customer relationships, strategic partnerships and corporate growth initiatives.



Prior to joining Coinbase, she managed business development at blockchain-based infrastructure company Bison Trails, which Coinbase bought in February 2021. Schmiedt also previously worked as a strategy manager at blockchain tech company ConsenSys from 2018 to 2020.



Crypto exchange LMAX Digital hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanchristian1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bryan Christian</a> as director of US sales and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-cox-33271313/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cassandra Cox</a> as director of institutional sales in Europe.&nbsp;



Christian and Cox will oversee the growth and expansion of the company’s crypto product pipeline and lead sales coverage for institutional clients in the US and Europe, respectively.&nbsp;



A former head of exchange at crypto exchange CrossTower, Christian was also previously a managing director at Nasdaq and head of US sales at Cboe Global Markets. Cox was at Société Générale from 2012 until September 2021, where she was a managing director focused on institutional foreign exchange and emerging market sales.



Maple, a platform where pooled capital is lent to crypto firms, brought aboard <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-walls-65527211/?originalSubdomain=uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chad Walls</a> as the company’s new capital markets director and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/limdaniel100/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daniel Lim</a> as an associate director of capital markets.&nbsp;



Walls was previously an institutional business development director of Celsius, a crypto lender that <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-to-file-for-bankruptcy-imminently-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> in July. Lim most recently held product strategy roles at HPS Investment Partners and Riverstone Holdings, and also previously worked on Goldman Sachs’ cross-asset sales team.



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: Andrew Yang To Advise Web3-Focused Firm

<div id="highlights-block_62ed4217464ae" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Another 21Shares staffer moves over to competing ETP issuer Valour</li>
 <li>Legal and compliance executive goes from Figure to Wave Financial</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Binance tapped co-founder Yi He to lead the crypto exchange’s venture arm and incubator. The move comes after ex-Binance Labs lead Bill Qian <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bill2022_dear-community-members-and-buidlers-i-am-activity-6938766732631101440-7Tba/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disclosed</a> he was leaving the company to “move on to a new chapter.” Qian’s next move isn’t known. 



Binance Labs manages $7.5 billion in assets, comprising more than 200 portfolio companies. It has incubated projects such as Polygon, FTX, Certik, Nym and Dune Analytics and closed a <a href="https://www.binance.com/en/blog/ecosystem/binance-labs-closes-$500m-investment-fund-to-boost-blockchain-web3-and-valuebuilding-technologies-421499824684903944" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$500 million investment fund</a> in June. 



Set to lead the business’s global strategy and day-to-day operations, He will also focus on supporting infrastructure projects and improving utility in innovative crypto and blockchain projects.&nbsp;



The “unparalleled opportunity” to identify projects that will thrive in tough market conditions makes it a perfect time for He to take the helm of the company’s venture business, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said.



“As a leading player in the space, my goal is to help define the industry standard by identifying and supporting sustainable projects and building an ecosystem of quality blockchain solutions that empowers the entire industry,” He said in a statement.



Valour, a tech company that offers <a href="https://valour.com/products" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a range of crypto ETPs</a>, hired Elaine Bühler as a product manager to help expand its product lineup.



Previously a product manager for Switzerland-based 21Shares, Bühler was responsible for its crypto ETP (exchange-traded product) launches into the Swiss and European markets.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermaerkl/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Peter Märkl</a>, meanwhile, formerly 21Shares’ head of legal, became Valour’s general counsel at the beginning of the month. Valour also hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-infuso/?originalSubdomain=ch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marco Infuso</a>, an ex-managing director and head of Germany at the crypto fund manager, to lead global sales.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellycchapman/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kelly Catherine Chapman</a> has joined crypto fund manager Wave Financial as head of legal and chief compliance officer.



Chapman will provide legal advice as it relates to Wave’s expansion, including managing outside counsel on fund formation work, active fund management, institutional investor work, venture deals and mergers and acquisitions.



Kelly most recently served as product counsel for securities-related products for Figure, and in-house counsel and chief compliance officer for related funds and registered investment advisers.&nbsp;



Singapore-based blockchain gaming and entertainment company Digital Entertainment Asset (DEA) appointed <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryohei-nuka-88803920/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ryohei Nuka</a> as chief financial officer.



Nuka joined Goldman Sachs in 2009 and was in charge of product control operations for equity and derivatives trading desks. He was more recently a senior controller in the finance department of Goldman Sachs Japan.



DEA’s previous CFO, Kyuzaburo Suzuki, will continue to help develop the company’s financial strategy as a senior advisor.



Web3 game development and distribution company Thirdverse hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/isao-moriyasu-a525882b/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Isao Moriyasu</a> as its executive producer of Web3 games. 



The former CEO of DeNA, one of Japan&#8217;s largest IT providers in mobile games, Moriyasu is set to help further drive Thirdverse’s growth in the metaverse and Web3.



Crypto platform BitGo promoted <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenfang/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chen Fang</a> to chief operating officer and appointed <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-tsou-9456/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Victor Tsou</a> to vice president of engineering.



Fang and Tsou will focus on driving BitGo’s operational strategy as the company continues to offer custodial, trading and finance solutions to investors, fintech firms and crypto native platforms that own digital assets.&nbsp;



Fang most recently worked as BitGo’s chief product officer. Prior to joining BitGo, he co-founded Lumina, a portfolio management suite for digital assets that was acquired by BitGo in early 2020.



Tsou was most recently senior director of engineering at Affirm, where he led efforts in loan servicing, payments processing, international expansion and consumer products. He has also led engineering teams at Block.



Web3 and Metaverse infrastructure company InfiniteWorld hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alank9/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alan Krassowski</a> as chief technology officer. He replaces Lucas Henning, who will become chief technology officer at Suku, InfiniteWorld’s Web3 partner.



Prior to InfiniteWorld, Krassowski served in the roles of CTO, chief architect, vice president of technology, and senior director of engineering at companies such as ConsenSys Capital, Intel Security, Symantec, Cylance and Kiva.&nbsp;



Crypto banking and payments company BVNK hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-cumberlidge-b927731a/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jonathan Cumberlidge</a> to lead foreign exchange growth. He will work with brokers and funds to design digital asset banking and payment solutions that help service demand from active traders in particular.



“Traders want increased access to crypto liquidity, for both spot and derivative products, custody solutions, platforms, banking and payments,” Cumberlidge said in a statement. “With their loyal, active trader customer bases, brokers are ideally positioned to satisfy these demands and diversify into crypto as an emerging asset class.”&nbsp;



The executive most recently worked as a sales director Finalto During his career, Cumberlidge has also held senior sales positions at companies including Saxo Bank, GAIN Capital and GFT.



Robinhood announces more layoffs



Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev revealed on Tuesday that the company would be <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/robinhood-lays-off-23-of-staff-a-day-before-earnings-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reducing the company’s headcount</a> by 23% in the wake of reduced customer trading activity and assets under custody.



The layoffs are set to decrease Robinhood’s workforce to 2,600 staffers. Severance and restructuring costs as a result of the <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/robinhood-layoff-costs-q2-losses-wont-delay-crypto-product-launches/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">job cuts are estimated to cost between $45 million and $60 million</a>, executives said during the company’s earnings call Wednesday. 



Sam Wellalage, founder of <a href="https://workincrypto.global/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WorkInCrypto.Global</a>, said he expects about a third of the layoffs to stem from digital asset-focused roles.



“Most people who are losing jobs in crypto are snapped up by fintech and TradFi [companies],” Wellalage told Blockworks. “We also see a lot of hyper-growth startups snapping up these candidates.”



The market environment and resulting layoffs are also tough on boutique headhunting firms, like Wellalage’s company. He said his crypto recruiting firm, which averaged about 10 placements per month, is now doing less than half of that.



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: Binance Co-founder Takes Helm of Exchange’s Venture Arm

<div id="highlights-block_62d17d16f7672" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>MoonPay’s new executives bring experience from Block, Coinbase and others</li>
 <li>OpenSea became the latest to announce job cuts as crypto downturn lingers</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto payment service MoonPay has filled several C-suite and senior management roles, including the addition of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesaesposito/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jim Esposito</a> as chief operating officer and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/akashdgarg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Akash Garg</a> as chief technology officer.&nbsp;



Esposito was formerly the head of operations for Block’s <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/cash-app/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cash App</a> and the president of Cash App Investing. Garg previously worked as vice president of engineering at Block and was a CTO at Afterpay.



MoonPay is also bringing aboard <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/asiff-hirji/details/experience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Asiff Hirji</a>, a president at Figure and ex-president of Coinbase, and an ex-operating adviser at a16z, as a senior adviser to the CEO; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettmcmanus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Garrett McManus</a> as head of marketing; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-capone-53903b86/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tom Capone</a> as head of MoonPay Studios; and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/abmav/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Abhay Mavalankar</a> as head of corporate development.  



The executives are set to join a MoonPay team with roughly 300 employees. MoonPay is planning to double its headcount between now and the end of the year.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermaerkl/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Peter Märkl</a> is set to join Valour&#8216;s asset management team next month as its general counsel, becoming the latest to jump ship from 21Shares.&nbsp;



Märkl is currently the head of legal for the crypto fund issuer. Prior to his role at 21Shares, he worked in the Zurich office of law firm Heuking, where he concentrated on the fintech and private banking business. Märkl also previously held management positions at UBS in Germany and Switzerland.



DeFi Technologies subsidiary Valour, a technology company seeking to bridge the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cardano-polkadot-etps-hit-frankfurt-stock-exchange/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has a range of crypto ETPs</a>.



Märkl’s move comes after <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-infuso/?originalSubdomain=ch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marco Infuso</a>, who also left 21Shares as its head of Germany, joined Valour to lead the global sales of the firm’s ETPs (exchange-traded products), the company <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/latest-in-crypto-hiring-binance-us-hires-cfo-to-help-it-chart-ipo-path/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed</a> earlier this month.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dina-ellis-rochkind-95bb26a/details/experience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dina Ellis Rochkind</a> joined the advisory board of crypto startup Earnity, a crypto platform and marketplace where users can share, buy, gift or create collections of crypto.&nbsp;



Rochkind has worked on every major piece of financial regulation over the last two decades, according to Earnity. She is a legal adviser to fintech, crypto and blockchain clients at law firm Paul Hastings.



In addition to working with senators and other members of Congress, she worked as deputy assistant secretary for consumer affairs and community policy at the Treasury Department from 2001 to 2002, according to her LinkedIn profile.



&#8220;Clear guidance and regulation will be critical to the evolution of the crypto industry,&#8221; Earnity CEO Dan Schatt said in a statement. &#8220;We are thrilled to be working with Dina, whose reputation for getting things done in Washington and reading the tea leaves on what is going on in DC, will further Earnity&#8217;s ability to provide valuable services and insights to its community of customers, professionals and the overall crypto industry.”



NFT Technologies appointed <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adecata/?originalSubdomain=au" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adam De Cata</a> as its new CEO after the company revealed Thursday that it is set to acquire blockchain, metaverse and NFT development studio Run It Wild. He replaces <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-nawfal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mario Nawfal</a>, who will continue working as a strategic adviser for the company.



De Cata founded Australia-based Run It Wild in 2021 and was head of partnerships at virtual reality platform Decentraland since March 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile. In the latter role, he was responsible for establishing the presence of brands such as Sotheby&#8217;s, Coca-Cola, ConsenSys and Bored Ape Yacht Club within Decentraland.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“They’ve established themselves as the only publicly-traded company focused on extending real-world utility and value in NFTs to mainstream adoption,” De Cata said of NFT Technologies in a statement. “As an industry, we are only scratching the surface of what can be achieved.”



ORIGIN Metaverse, a company focused on streamlining metaverse real estate NFT transactions, added <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-kumarsi/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom&amp;originalSubdomain=ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mo Kumarsi</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/globalresourcebroker/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adam Russell</a> to its team.



Russell and Kumarsi are co-founders of REV3AL — which offers artists, creators and intellectual property owners protection and authentication of digital assets in Web3 and the metaverse. They work as the company’s chief revenue officer and CEO, respectively.



Layer-2 blockchain infrastructure provider Bosonic hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-briand-80a097133/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom&amp;originalSubdomain=uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julie Briand</a> as head of client success and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarthakjain1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sarthak Jain</a> as regional manager of institutional sales.



Briand, with experience in client onboarding and service, was previously responsible for several of the largest institutional clients while at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.



Sarthak joins Bosonic after selling institutional enterprise solutions in the UK and Europe for Bloomberg and, most recently, crypto exchange Binance.&nbsp;



In case you missed it, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer revealed on Twitter Thursday that the NFT marketplace would be <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/opensea-lays-off-20-of-staff/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cutting its staff by 20%</a>. The news followed similar announcements by <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/gemini-joins-growing-list-of-crypto-exchanges-cutting-staff-amid-downturn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gemini</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-com-parts-ways-with-nft-head-following-layoffs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto.com</a>, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cryptocurrency-lender-blockfi-set-to-cut-staff-by-a-fifth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BlockFi</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-cut-workforce-ceo-wary-of-potential-recession/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a> in recent weeks.



“The reality is that we have entered an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability, and we need to prepare the company for the possibility of a prolonged downturn,” Finzer wrote.



Meanwhile Fidelity Digital Assets, which <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/fidelity-digital-assets-to-double-headcount/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">laid out plans in May</a> to double its headcount by the end of the year, remains on pace to hit those hiring goals, a spokesperson told Blockworks.



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: MoonPay Adds Range of Senior Execs

<div id="highlights-block_62c8564c6a8d9" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>A 21Shares executive jumps to competing crypto ETP issuer</li>
 <li>Algorand’s former chief marketing officer joins digital asset management firm</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Binance.US appointed <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-lee-1b441014/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jasmine Lee</a> to be its chief financial officer. She joins from micro-investing app company Acorns, where she was chief financial officer and chief operating officer.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Before Acorns, she was CFO and COO for the consumer product group at PayPal. She held various leadership roles during her eight years at the company, which she helped grow through its strategic partnerships, pricing initiatives and acquiring new businesses.&nbsp;



“Jasmine is a rare talent who possesses more than 20 years of deep knowledge in both fintech and high growth startup environments,” <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/binance-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance.US</a> CEO Brian Shroder said in a statement. “Her experience at PayPal, a public Fortune 500 company, in particular, will be invaluable as we chart our path to an [initial public offering] in the coming years.”



A Binance.US spokesperson declined to comment on any specific plans to go public.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-lin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ted Lin</a>, who was chief growth officer at <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/binance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance</a> — the larger, global sister to Binance.US — left the crypto exchange after about five years at the company. He shared in LinkedIn and Twitter posts on July 1 that he wants to spend more time with his family, but noted that he looks to continue advancing the ecosystem through angel investing and mentorship.



“The past 5 years have been the busiest yet most intellectually rewarding years of my career,” Lin wrote. “The experience has been eye opening and humbling. Having bootstrapped multiple teams and initiatives on the rocket ship taught me many valuable lessons in business and in life.”&nbsp;



Before becoming Binance’s head of international markets in September 2017, Lin was a general manager of sales and marketing for Infortrend Technology, according to his LinkedIn profile.



A Binance spokesperson did not immediately comment on Lin’s replacement.



The Algorand Foundation added two executives this week, one of which spent more than 20 years at JPMorgan.&nbsp;



The organization, which helps run the Algorand blockchain’s monetary supply economics, decentralized governance, and open-source ecosystem, named <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-wragge/?originalSubdomain=uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Wragge</a> its global head of business development and capital markets. Additionally, it appointed <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnalanwoods/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Woods</a> as chief technology officer.&nbsp;



Wragge spent about two decades at JPMorgan, most recently working as a managing director in structured finance and head of asset-backed securities for Northern Europe. In addition to leading global initiatives and strategic partnerships in traditional capital markets and decentralized finance in his new role, Wragge will chair the Algorand Foundation’s investment committee.



As CTO, Woods is set to focus on removing friction from developers’ user experience and improving education for those users, as well as adding tools and resources for building applications on Algorand.



Meanwhile <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/keli-callaghan-b589303/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Keli Callaghan</a>, who most recently worked as Algorand’s chief marketing officer, has joined Arrington Capital as a partner.&nbsp;



The firm, which has more than $1 billion in assets under management, has invested in digital assets and Web3 since 2017. It was founded that year by TechCrunch and Crunchbase founder Michael Arrington and former TechCrunch CEO Heather Harde.



Callaghan is set to help grow the fund through increased brand awareness, community engagement and supporting the Web3 companies in Arrington’s portfolio.



Switzerland-based Crypto ETP issuer Valour hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-infuso/?originalSubdomain=ch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marco Infuso</a> to lead the global sales of its ETPs as chief sales officer.



Infuso has worked in a range of asset management roles over the past two decades, including at DZ Bank, Pioneer Investments Lombard Odier and Commerzbank. He was most recently a managing director and head of Germany at <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/21shares/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">21Shares</a>, the world’s largest crypto ETP issuer.



In addition to Infuso’s addition, the company announced that <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianabiggs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Diana Biggs</a> is stepping down from her role as chief strategy officer to pursue other opportunities. Biggs told Blockworks she will remain in the position until the end of October. She declined to comment on where she is headed.



Crypto exchange Gate.io named an executive vice president who has previously driven global brand operation and management at companies including Google and WeWork.



Tom Yang will focus on enhancing Gate.io&#8217;s market share in key and emerging markets around the world, increasing its brand presence and strengthening the exchange&#8217;s relationships with users and partners, he said in a statement.



Brazil-based fintech company and digital bank Neon hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andr%C3%A9-madeira-04857910/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">André Madeira</a> as chief technology officer.&nbsp;



Madeira sold his artificial intelligence-powered fintech startup Meemo last year to Coinbase, where he recently oversaw consumer-facing data products. He has also built and led engineering and data efforts and teams for nearly a decade at Google and Snap, where he was a senior staff software engineer and director of engineering, respectively.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">In case you missed it</h3>



As Blockworks previously reported, Jason Fung, TikTok’s former head of gaming, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tiktoks-ex-head-of-gaming-starts-blockchain-company-meta0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">started blockchain infrastructure company Meta0</a>, which aims to connect different metaverses.



Celsius Network <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-reorganizes-board-of-directors-amid-liquidity-issues/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">added finance executives</a> David Barse and Alan Jeffrey Carr as directors, according to a Wednesday filing. The crypto lender also recently terminated Gilbert Nathan, John Stephen Dubel and Laurence Anthony Tosi as directors.



Layoffs around the industry also persisted.



Compass Mining <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/compass-mining-searches-for-direction-after-top-execs-resign/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">is eliminating staff</a> after former CEO Whit Gibbs and CFO Jodie Fisher resigned. The firm’s recently appointed interim CEOs Thomas Heller and Paul Gosker said the size of the team would be reduced by 15%, admitting that Compass Mining “grew too quickly.”



Peng Zhong, CEO of Cosmos blockchain developer Ignite, <a href="https://twitter.com/zcpeng/status/1542891986188902404" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> last Friday that he had formally left the firm. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cosmos-developer-ignite-sees-mass-exodus-and-layoffs-as-ceo-exits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The company’s headcount</a> has been reduced by over 50%, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/07/01/cosmos-builder-ignite-cuts-headcount-by-more-than-50-ex-employees-say/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoinDesk</a> reported.



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: Binance.US Hires CFO To Help It Chart IPO Path

<div id="highlights-block_622b5d8ed55dc" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Steve Sadin is set to help build FTX’s new unit focused on gamers to earn, buy, sell, lend, borrow and trade game assets</li>
 <li>Travelocity co-founder seeks to help HOKK Finance transform from a meme token to a DeFi ecosystem</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto exchange FTX named Steve Sadin its head of gaming partnerships as the company seeks to build out its <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-to-launch-gaming-unit-to-support-mainstream-crypto-adoption/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new gaming division</a>.



In the newly created role, Sadin will collaborate with major gaming brands to help developers launch tokens and own digital assets using FTX’s upcoming crypto-as-a-service platform. FTX Gaming will focus on offering developers the crypto infrastructure needed to enable players to earn, buy, sell, lend, borrow and trade game assets inside and outside the games.



Sadin most recently led WB Game’s Boston studio, where he launched the mobile real-time strategy title, Game of Thrones: Conquest.



London-based crypto custodian firm Copper.co appointed Sabrina Wilson as its new chief operating officer.



Wilson was most recently global co-head of Citi’s futures, over-the-counter clearing and foreign exchange prime brokerage business. She has also served in various roles at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank.



“We need individuals like Sabrina who have experience across world leading traditional financial institutions to align our operations even closer with the needs of accredited investors, so it can best contribute to the evolution of global financial infrastructure,” Copper.co CEO Dmitry Tokarev said in a statement.



Valour, an issuer of digital asset ETP, hired John Sjöberg as its chief information officer. The Switzerland-based firm, which offers products focused on Solana, Polkadot, Cardano, Uniswap and others, has said <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/cardano-polkadot-etps-hit-frankfurt-stock-exchange/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">it plans to roll out</a> more single-asset, crypto basket and thematic ETPs (exchange-traded products) this year.



Sjöberg joins from Swedish stock exchange Nordic Growth Market where he served as chief technology officer and head of market data.



Blockchain infrastructure company Blockdaemon acquired crypto API company Gem, welcoming its CEO, Micah Winkelspecht, and a team of engineers and product professionals.



“Our united teams and products will be a formidable combination to serve both institutional and retail users of cryptocurrency,” Winkelspecht said.



The acquisition follows Blockdaemon’s recent Series C funding round of $207 million, giving it a post-money valuation of $3.25 billion.



Crypto-focused asset management firm Hashdex hired Nicole Dyskant as its global head of legal and compliance.



Dyskant founded law firm Dyskant Advogados, which represented more than 100 asset managers and investment advisers clients. She also co-founded Compliasset, a regulatory compliance software offering for the Brazilian fund industry.



HOKK Finance appointed Lawrence Hutson as its chief technology officer as it seeks to transform from a meme token to a DeFi ecosystem. The company recently launched an Ethereum aggregator and a range of yield-earning non-fungible tokens (NFTs).



Hutson co-founded and worked as chief technology officer for travel website Travelocity before Expedia acquired it for $280 million in 2015.



Vincent Berk has joined Quantum Xchange as its chief revenue and strategy officer. He was formerly the chief technology officer and chief security architect for Riverbed Technologies.



Quantum Xchange CEO Eddy Zervigon said in a statement that Berk joins the company at the beginning of a multiyear cryptographic transition that will require nearly all organizations to replace their classic encryption with quantum-safe solutions.



Symbiont, a fintech company using blockchain technology, hired Silvia Davi as its chief marketing and communications officer and Tom DeJarnette as its chief people officer.



Davi has held leadership roles at firms such as Nasdaq, Edelman, Instinet and Marsh McLennan. She more recently worked for fintechs Thesys Technologies and 280 CapMarkets and serves on the advisory board of the Museum of American Finance.



DeJarnette is a former consultant for the Voluntary Employee Benefits Association and was also a lead tactical planner and ground force commander during multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: FTX Adds Gaming Partnerships Lead

<div id="highlights-block_620a95f664cea" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Valour CEO says firm is “only at the beginning” of bringing crypto products to regulated exchanges</li>
 <li>Launches come amid a spree of altcoin ETP launches from competing companies 21Shares and CoinShares</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



DeFi Technologies subsidiary Valour has introduced two more exchange-traded products (ETPs) on Frankfurt’s stock exchange, this time launching offerings focused on Cardano and Polkadot.&nbsp;



The latest launches follow the exchange, the Boerse Frankfurt Zertifikate AG, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/defi-technologies-subsidiary-gets-nod-to-list-solana-etp-on-frankfurt-exchange/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">giving</a> Valour approval to list an ETP tracking the price of Solana (SOL) earlier this month.



Cardano’s native token, ADA, has a market capitalization of about <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/prices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$33 billion</a>. ADA is the seventh-largest crypto coin by market cap — behind XRP and ahead of SOL.



Meanwhile, Polkadot’s (DOT) market cap sits at about $20 billion, which is 10th highest — ahead of Avalanche (AVAX) and trailing Terra (LUNA).



In addition to the Cardano, Polkadot and Solana ETPs, Valour offers a Uniswap (UNI) fund, as well as its fee-free Bitcoin Zero and Ethereum Zero products.



Valour CEO Tommy Fransson told Blockworks in an email that the firm decided to list the new products in Frankfurt following the demand it saw for its Cardano and Polkadot ETPs in the Swedish market.



The executive noted that investor utility of a particular asset is more important than its market cap when choosing to launch a single-asset product.



Valour intends to bring these products to other countries, Fransson said, including Switzerland and Austria.



“We are looking into bringing more single-asset products but also baskets, themes and indices,” the CEO explained. “We think that we are only at the beginning of the amount of crypto offerings on regulated exchanges.”



The ETP launches are the latest in a series of ETP launches outside the US focused on assets beyond bitcoin and ether.



<a href="https://21shares.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">21Shares</a>, the world’s largest issuer of crypto ETPs, has launched products in recent weeks focused on Aave (AAVE), Chainlink (LINK), UNI, Decentraland (MANA) and FTX Token (FTT).



The company’s CEO, Hany Rashwan, previously <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/21-shares-expands-crypto-etps/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Blockworks</a> that the firm is looking to have ETPs supporting what it considers to be the top 50 cryptocurrencies by the end of 2022.



CoinShares last month <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinshare-launches-new-etps/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> Polkadot and Tezos ETPs in Germany that are designed to share staking rewards with investors.&nbsp;



Digital asset investment products saw inflows of $75 million last week, according to a CoinShares report published Monday. Recently created altcoin offerings tracking Terra, Tezos and Cosmos had inflows of $2.2 million, $900,000 and $600,000, respectively.



New York-based Grayscale <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/grayscale-considers-25-new-digital-assets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a> a list of 25 new digital assets it is considering investing in, including Algorand (ALGO), Axie Infinity (AXIE), Cosmos (ATOM), Fantom (FTM) and Helium (HNT). The firm had most recently added payment network Amp (AMP) to its investment mix.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



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Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.