Monthly Mint — 12.2023
A curated selection of hires and promotions from across crypto and web3. If you would like to sign up to receive this newsletter, please visit our website.
We’re Following
Another year has wrapped, and, my, what a time it has been. 💫 From spot Bitcoin ETF speculation and never-ending regulatory tumult to C-suite Russian spies 🕵️ and AI everything everywhere all at once 🎇, we’ve experienced more ups and downs than Elon Musk (*adds biography to reading list*).
Just a few weeks ago, digital asset investment products saw $176M of inflows 📈, hitting a 10-week total of $1.76B, the highest seen since October 2021’s bull-market peak. 🎢 This month alone, we’ve seen new product launches from powerhouses like PayPal (time-constrained crypto payments ⏳), Coinbase (sending USDC on messaging apps & a smart-contract-powered digital asset platform) and Block (hardware Bitcoin wallet Bitkey 🔑). New entrants are also gaining steam 🚂, with fundraises from crypto data platform Shadow, Bitcoin staking project Babylon, non-custodial wallet company Dynamic Labs and crypto derivatives trading venue GFO-X. In the words of another 2023 MVP, it’s all been a marvelous Blur. 🌪️
Looking ahead at what’s to come (we’ll stick with 2024 for now, but feel free to ponder what’s next for humanity…🫣), we can’t help but be excited. On the back of Deputy Secretary Adeyemo’s comments at the Blockchain Association Policy Summit, the crypto industry organizing its giving muscles 🧑⚖️and all the stuff that these folks did, we’re eagerly anticipating what next year has in store.
What are we looking forward to in ‘24? We’ll be playing more games with Colleen Sullivan 🎮, changing the global economy with Dante Disparte 🌍 and entering a new era of decentralization with the a16z crew. We want to see more jobs 💼, fewer hacks and continued strength in crypto hiring and compensation practices. 🤑 Much like Time’s Person of the Year, we’ve licked our wounds 🐱(had to include a cat reference for Mother) and are ready to keep this bull charging 🐂.
Wishing you all a wonderful start to the New Year. 🍾🎉
The Intersection Crew
We’re Backing
This month we were thrilled to sit with our friend Heath Tarbert, one of the most influential legal and policy leaders in crypto. Heath joined Circle six months ago as Chief Legal Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs. We spoke to Heath about his decision to move into crypto, what has surprised him the most and much more.
You have one of the more impressive backgrounds of anyone we’ve had the honor of recruiting — first person in your family to go to college, Law Clerk on the United States Supreme Court, Associate Counsel to the President of the United States and Chairman of the CFTC, among many other accomplishments. Why did you choose to embrace financial technology and join Circle?
I’m lucky to have had such an interesting career thus far at the intersection (pun intended!) of law, finance, and public policy. I think digital dollars–specifically what we at Circle call “payment stablecoins”–will deliver a much-needed technological upgrade to our national currency as well as the infrastructure that moves money globally.
My role at Circle is particularly exciting because the goals that have motivated my career in public service–namely enhancing financial markets to bring benefits to working Americans–merged with the values of Circle and our visionary founder, Jeremy Allaire. While joining the digital assets ecosystem in the middle of a deep crypto winter may seem odd, for me it was a mission-driven decision, similar to the motivations for taking many of the other jobs you previously mentioned.
I’ve also learned that spring always comes after winter–the world of digital assets and blockchain will be no exception!
You’re coming up on six months with Circle. What has been the single biggest surprise?
I’ve been most surprised by just how passionate all our employees are about the Circle’s mission: to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value. When you’re united by a common goal and understand that succeeding will bring significant benefits to people around the world, it’s a pleasure to get up and go to work every day. That sense of passion and excitement comes through whenever I meet a Circler for the first time!
You’ve dedicated a considerable portion of your career to being a public servant, working within the Federal government. Why do you think our policymakers are struggling to reach consensus and deliver meaningful crypto regulation, particularly regarding stablecoins? And do you think this lack of clarity is posing a credible risk to the US?
The good news is that–at least on stablecoins–there is a growing consensus building around a sound regulatory framework that would be beneficial to the U.S. digital assets sector as well as tradfi. But as you note, we’re not quite there yet.
Why not? I think it’s because digital assets represent the coalescing of the tech and financial services industries and, by extension, a merger of two distinct mentalities. The financial services industry is typically highly regulated and often slow to innovate. In tech, the attitude is that we must “move fast and break things.” But when you’re talking about an update to the U.S. dollar, there’s simply no room to “break things,” because what’s at stake is the very future of finance. So policymakers in Washington are naturally cautious.
Circle has always taken a “regulation-first” approach as well as sought to establish standards that aren’t yet legally required of us to manage the risks associated with issuing a digital dollar. At the same time, we have been providing technical assistance to policymakers on the Hill and in the agencies to help bring needed regulatory clarity. Except for perhaps the extremes on both the Far Left and Far Right, most in Congress understand the need for clear yet sound regulation. They want America to lead in fintech generally and blockchain specifically –and right now we are falling behind.
What are you most excited about when you think about the future of this ecosystem?
I believe that the momentum behind private sector-led digital dollars will help bring about responsible innovations that help businesses and people solve real-world problems. Just as the advent of email and the internet has increased the gross volume of human communication and thus human creativity, I believe secure, regulated digital dollars will increase the overall volume of transactions and lead to widespread growth and economic development both at home and abroad. At the same time, it will bring new use cases and the development of the Web3 economy more broadly.
Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Bears, or Bulls?
- Blackhawks — MOST DEFINITELY! My cousin-in-law, Adam Burish, played on the 2010 team that brought the Stanley Cup back to Chicago after nearly 50 years!
- Bulls — Absolutely. I’ve been a Bulls fan since my high school days in Maryland. When I earned Eagle Scout 32 years ago, Michael Jordan sent me a congratulatory letter that I still have in my collection.
- Cubs/White Sox — I respect both of Chicago’s baseball teams. That said, I live on the North Shore and therefore support the team at Wrigley Field.
- Bears — No way on this one: Green Bay Packers all the way! The Bears are the one Chicago team I’m unable to support. My wife–and love of my life–was born and raised in Green Bay, WI. Nuff said!
We’re Tracking
Bastion: Caroline Friedman was promoted from Head of Operations to Chief Operating Officer. Link
Blockchain.com: Curtis Ting joined as SVP, Global Business Operations and Managing Director, EMEA. Curtis was previously VP and Head of Global Operations at Kraken. Link
Chamber of Digital Commerce: Derek Khanna joined as Counsel, Head of Development and Strategy. Derek was previously General Counsel at Kaddex. Link
Circle: Sarah Wilson Hienton joined as Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Sarah was previously Chief Legal Officer at Duly Health and Care. Coralie Billmann joined as Managing Director of France. Coralie was previously COO of Europe at 3S Money. Link and Link
Elwood: Chris Lawn joined as CEO. Chris was previously Head of Coremont Digital at Coremont. Link
Grayscale: Mark Shifke joined as Chairman. Mark is currently Chief Financial Officer at Digital Currency Group. John Hoffman joined as Managing Director, Head of Distribution and Partnerships. John was previously Head of Americas, ETFs and Indexed Strategies at Invesco. Link and Link
OKX: Rifad Mahasneh joined as General Manager for MENA. Rifad was previously VP of Public Policy and Communication at Rain. Link
Polygon: Jonathan Tamblyn joined as Chief People Officer. Jonathan was previously Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer at Skolem Labs. We loved partnering with Marc Boiron and Rebecca Rettig on this assignment.
Robinhood: Brad Michelson joined as Senior Product Marketing Manager, Crypto. Brad was previously Head of U.S. Marketing at eToro. Link
VersiFi: Sol Zlotchenko joined as Chief Product and Technology Officer. Sol was previously Chief Product and Technology Officer at Hazeltree. Daniel Zayfman joined as Chief Information and Security Officer. Daniel was previously Chief Information Officer at Hazeltree. Link
Intersection Growth Partners is the leading executive search firm in crypto and frontier fintech. We connect our clients with game-changing talent and invest our own capital for true alignment.
