Crypto Hiring: Copper, OKX name new executives

Crypto firm Copper.co named a new CEO earlier this week as it says it seeks to build on regulatory wins in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, and expand further.  

Amar Kuchinad replaces Copper.co founder Dmitry Tokarev, who spent the last seven years as the company’s chief executive. Tokarev will remain as a director on the board.

The new CEO began his career at Credit Suisse before becoming head of US portfolio credit trading at Goldman Sachs. Kuchinad moved on to be a senior policy adviser at the Securities and Exchange Commission and then founded Electronifie in a bid to enhance bond trading via digital innovation.

Read more: Crypto Hiring: Coinbase, Bybit see changes; leaders step away

“[Amar’s] skill sets and experience provide the perfect complement to Dmitry’s technical strengths as we deploy our industry-leading technology to support global financial institutions to trade and safeguard digital assets of all kinds,” Copper.co Chair Lord Hammond said in a statement.

Then there’s crypto exchange OKX, which appointed Yuri Mushkin as its chief risk officer.

Mushkin spent two years at BlockFi — a crypto lender that went bankrupt last year. He then spent about a year as head of SMA, liquidity and counterparty risk at McKinsey & Company subsidiary MIO Partners.

The executive will be based in Singapore, where OKX’s local entity received a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license last month.

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Komainu appointed Edward Marlow to help lead the company’s efforts in Africa under its ambassador program. 

A former British Army officer, Marlow was also previously an investment banking managing director at Deutsche Bank and a head of Sub-Saharan Africa at Credit Suisse.

Abra, a crypto prime services and wealth management platform, nabbed David Streltsoff to lead institutional sales.

Streltsoff previously held a similar role at Anchorage Digital, and prior to that was head of systematic trading sales at FalconX.

In case you missed it, Andrew Hinkes joined law firm Winston & Strawn in their Miami office as a partner in its division focused on digital assets and blockchain technology. 

Hinkes is an associate adjunct professor at NYU’s business and law schools. He co-wrote a textbook — Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology: US Law and Regulation — with Winston & Strawn attorneys Kim Prior and Dan Stabile.

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