Crypto Hiring: Crypto Council for Innovation adds Circle and Solana, stocks up on policy hires

Elsewhere, Axie Infinity’s developer gets its first CEO and 1inch DAO lawyers up

share

The Crypto Council for Innovation brought on two new policy-related hires this week while also announcing Circle and the Solana Foundation as new members.

The council is an industry alliance that is involved in the policy realm — from anti-money laundering (AML) rules in Europe to Coinbase’s ongoing feud with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Circle and Solana join an alliance of firms that includes stalwarts like Andreessen Horowitz and Fidelity Digital Assets. 

The Crypto Council for Innovation is based in Washington DC, according to Crunchbase. 

The organization brought on Ryan Eagen as associate director of government affairs and Patrick Kirby as policy counsel. Eagen previously worked in the office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Kirby came from a government relations job at the law firm Dentons. 

Read more: EU comes to provisional agreement to expand AML to crypto 

The policy and government affairs hires come as US crypto advocates score a win with spot bitcoin ETFs gaining SEC approval. It’s also a presidential election year, though crypto-focused GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy recently dropped out of the race. 

Read more: House Republicans offer rare praise to SEC after bitcoin ETF approval 

“As part of @crypto_council, the Foundation looks forward to collaborating on responsible innovation, advocating for sensible Web3 regulations, and advancing blockchain for social good,” the Solana Foundation wrote on X. 

“We are proud to join @crypto_council and share our perspective and commitment to responsible growth of open money,” Circle said

Company behind Axie Infinity taps CFO

Ellen Gormley has been named the first chief financial officer of Sky Mavis, the blockchain game developer behind the popular title Axie Infinity

Gormley has a track record in Web3, most recently serving as chief financial officer of DeFi platform Radix after spending four years at blockchain technology firm Bitfury. 

“My role is to ensure that Sky Mavis has the best financial framework for sustainable growth and leverage my experience to optimize operational efficiency,” Gormley said in a press release reviewed by Blockworks.

Sky Mavis survived a $625 million hack of the Ronin Bridge in 2022. It has continued to develop new games, releasing the card-battling game Apeiron in December. Despite the hack and woes with its tokenomics, Axie Infinity remains popular, seeing the most volume of any blockchain game over the past 30 days, according to DappRadar.

Other notable hiring news


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (2).png

Research

We’re bullish on the PUMP token. We believe Pump.fun's brand strength, existing integrations, product roadmap, and strategic levers justify PUMP's TGE valuation, and expect the token to re-rate meaningfully higher in the months ahead.

article-image

Big blockers wasted a bitcoin fortune trying to prove a point

article-image

Coinbase’s newest acquisition includes the CEO and Head of Research from Opyn

article-image

Crypto’s highest purpose might be to make markets better by making them bigger

article-image

The non-profit’s “Project Open” seeks to let stocks trade directly on Solana

article-image

The acquisition is Pump.fun’s first, and comes just days before its planned ICO

article-image

As Trump’s tariff war reignites, everyone is assuming the dollar will continue its path lower. But the journey might be bumpy