Flexa hires blockchain and digital assets veteran Michelle Ann Gitlitz as General Counsel
Michelle brings over 20 years of experience spanning traditional financial services, digital assets, and blockchain technology.
NEW YORK — Flexa, the leading pure-digital payments network, is pleased to announce that Michelle Gitlitz will join the firm as General Counsel effective October 1. Michelle brings over 20 years of experience to Flexa and has been actively working on matters driving the digital assets industry since 2018. In this role, Michelle will be responsible for advising Flexa on legal, regulatory and risk management matters surrounding payments, digital assets and blockchain technology, and helping the company continue its rapid growth trajectory.
Michelle replaces Daniel C. McCabe, co-founder, as General Counsel, as he is promoted to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer, complementing his existing responsibilities as Chief Compliance Officer of Flexa. The realignment and enhancement of Flexa’s management team reinforces its position as the fastest, most fraud-proof payments network in the world, and will help Flexa continue to scale as consumers increasingly demand digital currencies as a method of payment.
“We are thrilled to welcome a professional of Michelle’s caliber to Flexa as we continue to help merchants navigate the complex realities of a nascent industry,” said Tyler Spalding, co-founder and CEO of Flexa. “Michelle is truly a trailblazer in the blockchain and digital assets world and we look forward to learning from her and working with her as we continue to find ways to provide a seamless and safe user experience for merchants across the globe.”
Michelle is a sought-after leader, speaker, and writer who frequently collaborates with federal and state regulators and legislators on blockchain and digital asset issues. Previously, Michelle served as the Global Head of Crowell & Moring’s Blockchain and Digital Assets practice, and co-led Crowell & Moring’s Financial Services Practice. In this role, she regularly advised emerging and established companies on how to best bring blockchain technology applications to market, raise capital, list tokens on digital currency exchanges and platforms, establish new blockchains and nodes, and navigate state and federal money transmission and payments laws.
Michelle brings extensive experience with virtual currency money transmission to Flexa, and most recently authored “An Introduction to Virtual Currency Money Transmission Regulation” in Global Legal Insight’s Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Regulation treatise. She is a board member of the MIT Computation Law Report and a member of and contributor to the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance and the Digital Chamber of Commerce. She also founded and serves as president and director of Diversity in Blockchain, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to creating equal, open, and inclusive opportunities in the blockchain industry, as well as the Art & Antiquities Blockchain Consortium (AABC), a non-profit committed to reimagining cultural heritage solutions through the use of blockchain technology and its guiding principles. In recognition of her leadership, the National Law Journal and New York Law Journal have named Michelle a Trailblazer and Crain’s New York Business has recognized her as a Notable Woman in Law.
“Flexa has established itself as a true pioneer in enabling the adoption of cryptocurrency and digital money globally, and I am delighted to join the deep bench of talented and innovative professionals who are leading the charge to a better, more financially inclusive future,” said Gitlitz. “Flexa’s superior technology and zero-fraud guarantee should alleviate concerns that impede the broader institutionalization of digital currency as a medium of exchange. I welcome the opportunity to bring my experience in payments, virtual currency money transmission and blockchain technology to bear as we bring digital asset acceptance to merchants and consumers across the globe.”
Since the launch of its payments network just two years ago, Flexa has experienced tremendous growth alongside the rapid adoption and widespread integration of digital currencies into financial networks. In addition to Michelle, Flexa plans to hire several dozen more employees over the next year to accommodate this expansion.
“I am humbled by the growth we’ve witnessed since founding Flexa in 2018,” said McCabe, Flexa co-founder, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. “Flexa is uniquely poised to help merchants enable new types of financial products with digital assets, and I look forward to working closely with Michelle and the rest of the Flexa team in this new role as we enable the adoption of cryptocurrency and digital money globally.”
About Flexa
Flexa is the global leader in pure-digital payments. We provide merchants and developers with simple integrations for digital currency acceptance that are fast, affordable, and completely fraud-proof. Founded in 2018, Flexa’s mission is to make payments more efficient and accessible for people all over the world.