Crypto industry executive reshuffle in July: 30 key figures take new roles, traditional finance experts join en masse

By: Tim Copeland, The Block

Translation: Felix, PANews

Hiring momentum remained steady in July, as cryptocurrency firms continued to recruit seasoned operations professionals from traditional finance and the broader tech sector. Multiple teams made strategic senior hires across trading, revenue, legal, and growth functions, reflecting efforts to formalize operations and prepare for a more regulated market environment. Hiring activity spanned DeFi, stablecoins, on-chain infrastructure, and RWA platforms.

A clear hiring surge emerged around stablecoin and tokenized asset initiatives. Bastion brought on two senior executives for finance and revenue roles as it builds its NYDFS-regulated infrastructure. As treasuries and tokenized products gain traction among fintech and asset management firms, Veda and the Stellar Development Foundation also hired new leaders for legal, growth, and marketing functions. Chainlink, NEAR, and ReserveOne followed suit with hires focused on ecosystem expansion and institutional positioning.

On the regulatory front, personnel changes were more pronounced this month. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested that Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Chair Erica Williams resign, while appointing a new Comptroller of the Currency. Meanwhile, several prominent crypto operators transitioned into advisory roles or departed for new opportunities, signaling a slow but ongoing talent reshuffle as the industry adapts to evolving compliance requirements, market structures, and capital demands.

New Hires

Bastion: Vince Tejada joined as Head of Finance and Strategic Finance. He previously worked at Ripple, where he helped lead global payments and stablecoin initiatives, including the launch of RLUSD. Earlier in his career, he held positions at JPMorgan Chase and IBM.

Bastion: Jared Klee joined as Head of Revenue. He previously served as Head of Sales at Vouch, where he launched the company's Web3 business. He co-founded Triple Point Liquidity and earlier held various roles at IBM, including leading IBM Blockchain’s digital assets practice.

Blockdaemon: Alex Zinder joined as Chief Product Officer. He previously served as Chief Product Officer at Reya Labs.

CEA Industries: David Namdar joined as CEO. He was previously a co-founder at Galaxy Digital.

Chainlink Labs: Jordan Calinoff joined as Head of Stablecoins and RWA. He previously served as Vice President of Strategy and Revenue at Horizen Labs.

Coinbase: Acquired Opyn through a talent acquisition, bringing on CEO Andrew Leone and Research Lead Joe Clark. The Opyn team is known for pioneering DeFi options, inventing Power Perpetuals, and launching Squeeth. This marks Coinbase’s sixth acquisition this year.

Coinbase: Alex joined Coinbase as its first "CT Leader." Previously, he led social media and community at Binance, where he claims to have grown the company’s following by 20 million across platforms. He will work closely with Coinbase’s executive team to lead crypto-native marketing initiatives.

dYdX: Eddie Zhang joined dYdX as President following the acquisition of Pocket Protector, where he previously served as CEO and co-founder. Kaiser Kinbote also joined dYdX as Head of Growth, having led strategy and growth at Pocket Protector.

Ethereum Foundation: David Wals joined as Head of Enterprise. He previously served as Head of Ecosystem at Alluvial.

G-Knot: Wes Kaplan joined as CEO. He previously served as CEO of Cointelegraph.

GSR: Frank Chaparro joined as Head of Content and Special Projects. He was previously Contributing Editor at The Block and host of The Scoop.

M0: Thomas Scott joined as General Counsel. He previously served as Chief Legal Officer at Tools for Humanity.

M11 Fund: Thomas Rep joined as Portfolio Manager. He previously served as Head of Trading and Business Development at a Dutch cryptocurrency platform.

Multicoin Capital: Brian Strugats joined as Chief Trader. He previously served as Head of Trading at FalconX and held senior roles at Glenhill Capital, XN, Balantrove, and Fortress.

NEAR Protocol: George Xian Zeng joined as Chief Growth Officer. He previously served as COO at dYdX.

Paxos: Linnea Perelli-Minetti joined as Head of Global Dollar Network. She previously served as Head of Product and Artists at TIDAL (Block).

ReserveOne: Sebastian Bea joined as President and Head of Investments. He previously served as President at Coinbase Asset Management.

Robot Ventures: Anirudh Pai joined as Investment Partner. He was previously a partner at Dragonfly.

RWA Summit: Foster Wright joined as CEO. He previously served as President at CoinDesk.

SharpLink: Joseph Chalom assumed the role of Co-CEO starting July 24. He previously served as a senior executive at BlackRock, where he led digital finance initiatives including the launch of the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA).

Stellar Development Foundation: Jose Fernandez da Ponte joined as President and Chief Growth Officer. He previously led blockchain, crypto, and digital assets at PayPal. Jason Karsh also joined as Chief Marketing Officer. He previously served as Head of Business at Block and held roles at Blockchain.com.

Veda: TuongVy Le joined as General Counsel. She brings extensive legal and policy experience from the SEC, Anchorage Digital, and Bain Capital Crypto. She will lead Veda’s legal, compliance, and policy efforts as the firm expands its treasury infrastructure platform.

Promotions

PayPal: Frank Keller’s responsibilities expanded to include leadership of blockchain, crypto, and digital currency initiatives.

SharpLink: Rob Phythian transitioned from CEO to President and will remain on the company’s board of directors.

Uniswap Labs: Mary-Catherine Lader moved from CEO and COO to an advisory role, preparing for new business development initiatives.

Exits

Variant: Derek Walkush departed after three years, moving into an operating role at a portfolio company.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: Jonathan Gould was appointed as Comptroller of the Currency. He was previously a partner at Jones Day.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB): Erica Williams will step down as Chair on July 22, following a resignation request from SEC Chair Paul Atkins.