Crypto Hiring: Avalanche Developer Adds Execs Amid Asia-Pacific Push

Ava Labs hired Justin Kim and Roi Hirata to lead its businesses in South Korea and Japan, respectively, in new roles created as part of the Avalanche blockchain developer’s push into the Asia Pacific region. 

Kim was previously an investment banker at Korea Development Bank for more than 13 years. 

“As Korea is home to multinational conglomerates, leading gaming companies and highly crypto-native demographics, we have so many opportunities on the horizon,” Kim said in a statement. 

Hirata previously founded two startups and was working in an advocate role with Chainlink Labs in the Japan and Singapore regions until January.

He joins as Japan’s number of on-chain transactions doubled year over year from July 2021 to June 2022 relative to the previous year, according to Chainalysis.

Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs for blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, was named vice chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Technology Advisory Committee.

The new committee is tasked with taking on issues at the intersection of technology, law, policy and finance. Redbord will give opening remarks in the decentralized finance section of the committee’s inaugural meeting on March 22.

Redbord was assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia at the Department of Justice from 2008 to 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile. He went on to become senior advisor to the under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Department of the Treasury. 

“Contributing to conversations that serve to develop crypto-related regulatory standards and encourage a more open financial system while thwarting bad actors and illicit activity is our primary focus,” he said in a statement.

The announcement came as TRM Labs added Chris Brummer as a senior adviser. 

Brummer, a Georgetown law professor with a focus on how policy makers and industry can build regulatory frameworks for DeFi and blockchain-based technologies, is set to help the company find ways to make finance more inclusive.

TRM Labs’ new senior adviser is an advisory council member for blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal. He is also a senior adviser at crypto-focused investment firm Paradigm, as well as a board member of K2 Integrity and Fannie Mae.

Execs formerly at Crypto.com, Coinbase move to exchange

Crypto platform Okcoin has appointed new leaders as part of global expansion efforts. 

The company hired Erald Ghoos as general manager of Okcoin Europe and David Renold as CEO of OKG Payments, the company’s Ireland-based affiliate.

Ghoos previously was chief operating officer and chief compliance officer at Crypto.com — a dual-role he was in from 2017 to 2020. He started his career at AXA Bank Europe as an engineer and then program manager.

Renold formerly held leadership roles at Coinbase, including operations lead of e-money up until last month. The executive also spent about 20 years at UBS, ending his tenure there in 2018 as head of international payments and cash management.

Blockchain firm Enjinstarter hired Vasseh Ahmed as a managing director for the Middle East and North Africa region. 

Founded in 2021, the Singapore-based company has launched more than 50 Web3 projects. It now seeks to add more, with a focus on complementing the UAE’s focus on impact and sustainability initiatives, the company said.

Up until January, Ahmed worked as head of digitization strategy at Dubai-based digital bank Zand.

Anthony Tsivarev joined the TON Foundation as director of developer relations. 

He joins the foundation from First Stage Labs, a venture builder for TON-based projects. Tsivarev is set to lead the development of the TON ecosystem across DeFi, dApps and social applications.

Blockchain analytics firm Crystal appointed Jordan Alexander as its new associate director of product.

The Amsterdam-based company builds products that look to streamline crypto compliance operations and aid investigations into financial crime. Alexander’s hire signals the firm’s effort to enter the US market, according to the company.

Alexander was previously a product lead at cybersecurity software company Avast, where he designed solutions to identify and combat security threats.

---

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

• Blockworks Daily: Unpacking crypto and the markets.
• Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
• Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
• 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox.
• Lightspeed: All things Solana.
• The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
• Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.