Apollo Global Management Hires its First Head of Digital Assets Strategy

key takeaways

Moy will be key in Apollo’s strategy to invest in innovative digital asset companies and founders
The executive recently helped JPMorgan become the first bank to launch a virtual lounge in the metaverse

Former JPMorgan Managing Director Christine Moy is set to join Apollo Global Management to lead its digital asset strategy as the firm created the role to delve deeper into the segment.

Founded in 1990, Apollo is an alternative asset management business with roughly $500 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2021. Moy is slated to start at the company in mid-May.

“Christine will lead digital asset strategy across the firm, exploring more ways to apply blockchain technologies to our business,” an Apollo spokesperson told Blockworks. “She’ll also play a key role in our strategy to invest in the most innovative digital asset companies and founders, with a specific focus on those transforming the financial services sector, where Apollo can serve as a validator and enabler of new technologies.”

The hire marks a continuation of the firm’s efforts to fund companies, protocols and other projects in the segment.

Apollo, for example, agreed to collaborate with fintech company Figure on a series of blockchain-enabled initiatives last year and invested in the company’s $200 million Series D funding round.

Moy will take on the new role after spending 18 years at JPMorgan. She most recently oversaw the company’s blockchain, crypto and metaverse strategy, which included leading initiatives in digital assets, tokenized payments, internet-of-things, digital identity, digital collectibles and virtual worlds, according to her LinkedIn profile.

She also led blockchain network Liink, a data marketplace that enables cross-border payments for financial institutions and corporates.

At JPMorgan, Moy led the launch of a virtual lounge in blockchain-based world Decentraland in February, becoming the first bank to do so. The “Onyx lounge” was unveiled along with a report from the bank outlining metaverse-related growth opportunities for businesses and causes for its “explosive interest.”

The bank noted in the report at the time that the metaverse will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years and estimated the market opportunity to be more than $1 trillion in yearly revenues.

Though JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has criticized crypto in recent years — calling bitcoin “worthless” — he recognized the potential of blockchain technology in a recent shareholder letter. Dimon noted the bank’s use of Liink to enable banks to share complex information, as well as its use of a blockchain to move tokenized US dollar deposits with JPM Coin.

“Decentralized finance and blockchain are real, new technologies that can be deployed in both public and private fashion, permissioned or not,” he wrote. “We believe there are many uses where a blockchain can replace or improve contracts, data ownership and other enhancements; for some purposes, however, it is currently too expensive or too slow to be deployed.”

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