Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_6311ddb986884" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Law firm Brown Rudnick adds four partners for its digital commerce practice</li>
 <li>Crypto exchange Rain Financial and social media company Snap reveal layoffs</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto-focused financial services firm EQONEX appointed a chief investment officer and head of investment research with extensive traditional finance backgrounds.&nbsp;



CIO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-goodman-b46426/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Simon Goodman</a> most recently co-founded crypto investment firm PSG Digital and blockchain digital asset allocator Peregrine. Earlier in his career, the executive spent more than 15 years building out hedge fund Marshall Wace&#8217;s presence in Asia. 



Investment Research Head <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-nudel-3744275b/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Benjamin Nudel</a> previously spent nine years in investment banking at HSBC, Société Générale and BNP Paribas.



The hires to boost the company’s asset management business come after EQONEX <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/eqonex-latest-to-leave-crowded-crypto-exchange-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed last month</a> that it would close its crypto exchange to focus more on its asset management and cryptocurrency custody business lines.



Blockchain privacy startup Nym named Andrés Arauz, a former director of Ecuador’s central bank and 2021 presidential candidate, as an advisor.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Nym is a decentralized platform that protects privacy at the network level of any application, wallet or digital service — including against traffic pattern analysis and metadata surveillance.



While leading the Central Bank of Ecuador, Arauz <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666143821000107" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in 2011 headed</a> the first pilot of a central bank digital currency, which was fully deployed in 2014.



“For too long, countries across the world have been subjected to cybercolonialism and mass surveillance of their financial transactions,” Nym Technologies CEO Harry Halpin said in a statement. “While El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender is an interesting initial experiment, we’re happy Arauz has joined Nym to help develop an even more ambitious plan for financial freedom and privacy across Latin America.”



Galaxy Digital has hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewlace/?originalSubdomain=uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andrew Lace</a> as a vice president of institutional sales within its trading division, a company spokesperson confirmed. 



Lace joins the company from Elwood Technologies, where he was a sales director since July 2021. He has also previously worked at London Stock Exchange Group, Refinitiv and Thomson Reuters.



Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz said during the company’s earnings call last month that there was “selective shrinking” of the Galaxy team during a second quarter, in which it <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/galaxy-digitals-stock-rises-despite-posting-555m-q2-net-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suffered a $555 million net loss</a>. Still, he added at the time that Galaxy intends to increase its headcount from 375 to more than 400 staffers by the end of the year. 



Law firm Brown Rudnick has added <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephendpalley/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stephen Palley</a>, Matthew Richardson, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/prestonbyrne/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Preston Byrne</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/haileylennon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hailey Lennon</a> as partners in its digital commerce practice. They are joined by associate Jeff Karas.



The four new partners join from law firm Anderson Kill. Palley, who was founder and chair of the technology, media and distributed systems group there, is set to co-chair Brown Rudnick’s digital commerce practice with Clara Krivoy.



“Our clients are increasingly in the digital asset space as founders, investors, or traditional corporate entities looking to use technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies as part of their business,” Brown Rudnick CEO Vince Guglielmotti said in a statement. “This team of supremely talented lawyers brings the type of insights and skills that will benefit our clients by enhancing our ability to offer an end-to-end experience, particularly for those in the technology space.”



Rain Financial, a crypto exchange in the Middle East, has cut staff to reflect “operational needs and market conditions,” <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/coinbase-backed-crypto-firm-rain-financial-cuts-jobs-1.1813256" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported</a> Thursday.



The company raised $110 million in January from Paradigm, Kleiner Perkins, Coinbase Ventures and other investors. It did not reveal the number of workers it slashed.&nbsp;



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/snap-web3-team-apparent-victim-of-20-downsize/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In case you missed it</a>, Snap revealed this week it would be cutting about 20% of its workers as it seeks to restructure the company to reduce costs. Some of those staff were focused on the social media company’s Web3 initiatives.



Most recently working as a research and development program manager for Snap, Jake Sheinman said in a tweet Wednesday that the company decided to “sunset” the Web3 team he co-founded last year.



Though augmented reality is one of three strategic priorities for Snap going forward, sources familiar with the company’s efforts told Blockworks that early Web3-related projects didn’t contribute to that focus. Only a few people were involved in exploring Web3 at Snap, the sources added.



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: Crypto Firm Taps TradFi Vets For Asset Management Business

<div id="highlights-block_62fa68c1b357e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Declining trading volumes as a result of market volatility a reason for the exchange shutdown, EQONEX CEO Jonathan Farnell says</li>
 <li>The company added former Jefferies and Royal Bank of Scotland executives to its asset management business last month</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



<a href="https://eqonex.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EQONEX</a> is the latest crypto exchange to close its doors during tough market conditions. 



The digital asset-focused financial services company <a href="https://eqonex.com/news/product/eqonex-exchange/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said Monday</a> it’s shifting its focus to its asset management and cryptocurrency custody business lines. The firm revealed that a new structured product business is also in the works.



The Nasdaq-listed company’s exchange is slated to close trading Aug. 22 and halt withdrawals on Sept. 14.



Closing the exchange will reduce operating costs and allow the company to grow where it has larger competitive strengths, CEO Jonathan Farnell said in a statement.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Farnell called the crypto exchange space “crowded,” adding that the industry has nearly 300 spot exchanges.&nbsp;



&#8220;The recent extreme market volatility and trading volumes have added to the headwinds being felt by exchange operators,” Farnell said. “We take a realistic view that our exchange will not move the needle for us financially over the near-to-medium term.”



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/coinbase/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>, for example, reported a net loss of $1.1 billion in the second quarter as <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/coinbase-stock-down-about-5-after-missing-projections-again/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">its net revenue fell by 31%</a> from the prior quarter. The publicly traded exchange’s total quarterly trading volume was $217 billion, about a 30% decrease from the previous quarter, which the exchange attributed to market conditions in its <a href="https://s27.q4cdn.com/397450999/files/doc_financials/2022/q2/Q2-2022-Shareholder-Letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shareholder letter</a>.



An EQONEX spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">A focus on structured products</h3>



EQONEX’s asset management business comprises investment products, structured products, a fund of crypto hedge funds and a lending division. The company <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eqonex-launches-its-first-crypto-linked-exchange-traded-product-301583665.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launched</a> a bitcoin exchange-traded note on the Deutsche Börse XETRA Exchange last month.



Digivault, the group&#8217;s digital asset custody business, is registered with the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority and recently became the first <a href="https://digivault.com/news/digivault-becomes-first-custody-partner-poundtokenio-first-british-isles-regulated-and-100-backed-gbp-stablecoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">custody partner of stablecoin poundtoken.io</a>.



EQONEX&#8217;s principal place of business will move from Hong Kong to the UK due to its asset management and custody operations being primarily based in the latter region.&nbsp;



In addition to focusing on its asset management and custody businesses, EQONEX is laying the groundwork for a structured products unit to offer professional investors and institutions exposure to bespoke crypto investments.&nbsp;



The move follows <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/latest-in-crypto-hiring-algorand-others-appoint-new-ceos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the company’s hire</a> of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-cogswell-22119a8/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nick Cogswell</a> as head of sales for its asset management business last month and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/franklin-heng-5a87a021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Franklin Heng</a> as head of asset management in Asia.



Cogswell previously worked on equity structured product sales at Jefferies and has held senior roles at Santander and Lehman Brothers. Heng joins EQONEX after spending 11 years at Springboard Capital and also formerly worked as head of equity derivatives and structured products distribution for The Royal Bank of Scotland.



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<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Forward Guidance</a>: Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin.</li>



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EQONEX Latest To Leave ‘Crowded’ Crypto Exchange Space

<div id="highlights-block_627eaa8f4a75f" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Blockchain platform Infinite Arcade hires Visa’s former senior director of global marketing</li>
 <li>Bitstamp promotes its Europe chief executive to global CEO</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Binance hired Joshua Eaton, a former deputy US attorney in the Northern District of California, as its deputy general counsel.



Before becoming an attorney at the Department of Justice, Eaton was a line prosecutor and senior staff advisor in the US Army. In both roles, he offered counsel on a range of complex operations, investigations, litigation and policies.&nbsp;



Eaton said he became interested in crypto while working at the US attorney’s office, where he realized the importance of preventing bad actors from abusing blockchain technology for personal gain.



He will now lead the largest crypto exchange’s legal affairs group, supporting global compliance, investigations and law enforcement coordination activities.&nbsp;



Binance also revealed its appointment of Jarek Jakubcek as the company’s head of intelligence and investigations for the Asia Pacific region.&nbsp;



Jakubcek previously worked for seven years as a cryptocurrency specialist in Europol Cybercrime Centre’s dark web team. Prior to Europol, he spent about five years at An Garda Siochana, Ireland’s National Police and Security Service.



At Binance, Jarek will work with law enforcement agencies to coordinate the takedown of malicious crypto actors.



The US affiliate of crypto exchange FTX hired Marissa MacDonald to be the chief compliance officer of FTX Trust Company — FTX.US&#8217;s New York division that’s pending regulatory approval.&nbsp;&nbsp;



FTX.US also disclosed it applied for a trust charter with the New York Department of Financial Services to operate in the state.



MacDonald most recently worked as chief compliance officer at Fidelity Digital Assets. She began her career at Ernst &amp; Young.



Metaplex Studios hired former Paxos interim chief marketing officer Julie Mossler as its chief marketing officer to expand the range of projects built on the <a href="https://www.metaplex.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metaplex protocol</a>. 



In less than a year, the Metaplex protocol has been used to mint more than 11 million NFTs, which have generated $2.6 billion in sales, according to the organization.



Before working at crypto company Paxos, Mossler was head of global marketing and brand at Waze and also served as head of global communications at Groupon.



Crypto exchange Bitstamp appointed JB Graftieaux as its new global CEO after he joined the company in May 2021 as its Europe chief executive.



He succeeds Julian Sawyer, who decided to pursue other opportunities, the company said Monday.



Graftieaux previously held executive roles at eBay and PayPal. He was also Bitstamp’s chief compliance officer between 2014 and 2016, helping the company obtain regulatory licenses. &nbsp;



Asia-based digital asset financial services group HashKey Group appointed David Leahy as chief operating officer of the company’s exchange business and WK Chim as senior advisor to the board.



Leahy joins from JPMorgan in Hong Kong, where he was most recently a managing director and head of the Financial Sponsors Group for Asia. He previously worked in senior alternative investments roles at Credit Suisse.



Chim, who will focus on providing independent assessment and advice on the risk frameworks and policies across HashKey, currently serves as independent non-executive director of OCBC Wing Hang Bank and chairs the bank’s risk management committee.



Blockchain platform Infinite Arcade, which is focused on bringing the mobile games industry into the metaverse, appointed Andrew Dubatowka as a core contributor of product marketing.&nbsp;



Dubatowka previously spent four years as a senior director of global marketing at financial services giant Visa and has also worked in senior roles at IPG Mediabrands and AdColony. He has worked with brands and clients such as Intel, Johnson &amp; Johnson, Google, Pandora, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo.



“The project is all about a firm belief in two things: the benefits that blockchain technology can bring to the games industry; and, through these benefits, that gaming will be the ramp that onboards hundreds of millions of people into web3,” Dubatowka said in a statement.



Canada-based virtual currency brokerage Secure Digital Markets (SDM) said this week Wall Street veteran Alan Mittleman joined the firm on May 2 as chief operating officer.



Mittleman most recently worked at NatWest Markets as its global head of USD fixed income trading. From 2011 to 2015, he was global head of USD rates trading for Société Générale. He held other roles at Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse First Boston and Price Waterhouse.



Zachary Friedman, SDM’s co-founder and former COO, is now the company’s chief strategy officer.



Crypto financial services company EQONEX hired Daniel Ling as chief financial officer and a member of its executive committee.



The move comes as Paul Ewing, the company’s previous CFO, was appointed as chief operating officer (COO) following former COO Andrew Eldon’s resignation to pursue other opportunities.



Ling had recently been appointed to EQONEX’s board of directors as part of the company’s strategic partnership with payments technology company Bifinity, where Ling was director of strategy.&nbsp;



Before Bifinity, he was CFO at Pujiang International Group and also previously worked at Bridgewater Associates, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Singapore Exchange and ShoreVest Capital.

Eqonex