Yuga Labs, Offchain Labs Add Execs

Yuga Labs named Chris Fortier its new Vice President of Product and will support the team broadly across Web3, metaverse, NFT and product initiatives.

Fortier previously worked at Rally.io where he oversaw its social token and NFT (non-fungible token) capabilities, while leading its strategic direction and user experience. Fortier also led the development of creator-centric products for Twitch.

“In my new role, I want to help build the next wave of digital experiences – not just for our monkeys, punks, Meebits, Voyagers and Mutants, but for the entire web3 industry, which is an incredible opportunity,” Fortier said in a statement.

Fortier’s appointment comes about a week after Yuga Labs hired Danny Greene to fill his newly created role of brand manager for Meebits after Greene spent the last eight months as general manager of MeebitsDAO.

Offchain Labs employee Andrew Saunders as its first CMO as the company seeks to expand its reach with Ethereum scaling solutions.

Saunders joins Amazon’s global brand marketing team, where he helped build its first entertainment and culture marketing practice. Before that, he was global head of brand strategy and marketing for the media company Tastemade.

Offchain Labs is developing Arbitrum, a so-called optimistic rollup scaling solution for Ethereum. The appointment comes after the company launched Arbitrum Nova, a blockchain for the development of games and social applications.

“Arbitrum has become a leading destination for Web3 builders around the world, and we look forward to bringing Andrew into the group to expand its global reach and rapid adoption to date,” Offchain Labs CEO Steven Goldfeder said in a statement.

Marc Boiron, the former legal director of dYdX, has left the company to take the same role as Ethereum’s scaling platform developer Polygon.

In addition to his experience at dYdX, Boiron worked at the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, where he advised companies on blockchain technology-related issues and developed approaches to address regulatory issues adopted across the Web3 ecosystem.

“With increasing regulatory pressures worldwide, having in-house legal counsel to help you navigate and embrace web3’s ever-evolving regulatory landscape is integral,” Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal said in a statement.

UK based crypto company B2C2 wise Zeke Vince from the traditional world of finance to lead its US sales efforts.

Vince was previously the Global Head of Electronic Currency Sales at Bank of America Securities. He joined Bank of America in 2017 from JPMorgan, where he spent six years as part of the electronic currency sales team. Before JPMorgan, Zeke worked in the same unit at Credit Suisse.

Crypto exchange Unizen appointed Michael Healya co-founder of Unit Network, as head of strategy.

Healy worked for Wikileaks and helped build the Android application in 2010. After donations via Visa and Mastercard were disabled, he brought bitcoin payments to the organization.

He also previously worked at London-based venture capital firm Wellington Partners, investing in companies such as Spotify during his tenure.

The hiring comes after Unizen received $200 million from Global Emerging Markets in June to accelerate the development of its trade aggregation system.

Alternative asset manager Black stone employee Adam Whiteformer Bakkt and Coinbase manager, as senior advisor.

He will focus on advising within the company’s growth equity investment platform as Blackstone seeks to invest in services and infrastructure that support the digital asset ecosystem. Blackstone participated in a $100 million funding round last year for Chainalysis, which provides blockchain data and compliance software.

White joins Blackstone after working as president and chief operating officer of Bakkt since 2018. Before that, he was vice president and general manager of Coinbase.

Crypto.com named Chin Tah Ang as managing director for Singapore after the company received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore for its principal payment institution licence.

Ang most recently served as CEO of Digital Industry Singapore. Before that, he worked for the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The hiring comes after sources told Decrypt that Crypto.com is set to lay off more employees after cutting 260 employees in June.

A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.

Meanwhile, crypto social trading network BingX revealed on Friday that it is looking to fill about 200 positions globally, including public relations managers, as well as product development and customer service staff.

“This so-called crypto winter presents a rare chance for us to tap into some of the industry’s best talent, and we want to take advantage of it,” BingX communications director Elvisco Carrington said in a statement.

In case you missed it

Singapore-based cryptocurrency lender Hodlnaut decided to reduce its workforce by 80%, or around 40 employees. The retained team is required to perform key functions, it said.

The firm said in an update on Friday that it is handling inquiries from Singapore’s attorney general and the police force, but did not provide further details.

Crypto broker Genesis named a number of new leaders as CEO Michael Moro is set to step down. Subsidiary Digital Currency Group named Chief Operating Officer Derar Islamwho joined Genesis in 2020, to serve as interim CEO while the company searches for a full-time CEO.

The crypto brokerage also revealed to Bloomberg that it is cutting 20% ​​of its 260-person workforce.

Citi added two crypto-focused executives to its Treasury and Trade Solutions unit.

Ryan Ruggwho has experience from Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and IBM, joined as the division’s global head of digital assets. David Cunninghamformerly Commercial Director at LexTego, is now Citi’s Director of Strategic Partnerships for Digital Assets.

21Shares hired Sherif El-Haddad, former head of asset management at Al Mal Capital, to lead the firm’s Middle East expansion.

The world’s largest issuer of crypto-exchange-traded products (ETPs) also revealed on Wednesday that former Barclays CEO Marina Baudéan has joined the company as head of France, Belgium and Luxembourg. In addition, Oliver Schäfer, who previously worked at JPMorgan Asset Management for 15 years, is the company’s new head of Germany.

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