Amber Group named Benjamin Bai its chief legal officer on July 4, 2022, hiring a 25-year legal veteran out of Ant Group to run compliance at the Singapore-based digital asset platform1. The appointment carried a second title. Compliance Week reported on July 6, 2022, two days later, that Bai would serve as "chief legal officer and global head of compliance"2.
The second executive hire at Amber Group on the record since 2021
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Sept. 20, 2021 | Kavvathas became Chief Strategy Officer. Dimitrios Kavvathas was named Chief Strategy Officer of Amber Group |
| July 4, 2022 | Bai became CLO. Benjamin Bai was named Chief Legal Officer of Amber Group |
| Aug. 21, 2025 | Wang became President. Vicky Wang was named President of Amber Group |
37 executive hires on the record in 2022
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2022: 37
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
The move
Amber Group's own announcement named the jobs Bai had left behind. “An industry veteran, Benjamin joins from Ant Group where he served as its Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property (IP) and International Litigation Counsel,” the company wrote1. Compliance Week named two of Bai's earlier jobs. Bai had also been a partner at Jones Day and Allen & Overy, "where he focused on high-stake IP litigation and licensing"2.
Bai framed the hire as a continuation of his own record. “I look forward to working with the team to continue to uphold the highest standards of regulatory compliance, in all of the jurisdictions it operates in,” he said1. Compliance Week described his mandate in plainer terms. Bai would "spearhead the development of risk management frameworks and approaches" and "provide business-enabling legal and compliance guidance" to Amber Group's leadership2.
Before and after the hire
Amber Group had just closed a $200 million Series B+ round led by Temasek before Bai arrived. The round valued the company at $3 billion, the company's own July 20 release said3. That release also said Amber Group had secured five types of Securities and Futures Commission license in Hong Kong, through its acquisition of Celera Markets Limited. It had arranged more than $100 million in wallet insurance coverage, too, through Lloyd's of London underwriter Arch Syndicate 2012.
Bai's prior IP litigation counsel role gave him a specific credential the company highlighted on his arrival. He had “led a global team to secure the largest blockchain patent filings and grants globally” at Ant Group, the July 20 release said3. His courtroom work for Jones Day and Allen & Overy came before that.
What came next
Amber Group placed Bai's appointment inside a broader compliance push on July 20, 2022, 16 days after the hire. Its July 20 release said Amber Group ranked among the top five firms scored by Risktrail, a crypto-focused anti-money-laundering platform, with a score above 90 in the financial services category3. Amber Group listed 12 regulatory licenses and registrations across five jurisdictions as evidence. Those included Hong Kong, Canada's FINTRAC, the United States' FinCEN, Australia's AUSTRAC and the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority, plus membership in Switzerland's VQF association. The release called Bai's hire part of the company's "lasting commitment to compliance, security, and most importantly, investor protection".
Sources
- Amber Group, "Amber Group taps ex-Ant Group veteran for chief legal officer," Amber Group (via Finextra), Jul. 4, 2022, https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/93231/amber-group-taps-ex-ant-group-veteran-for-chief-legal-officer
- CW Staff, "Amber Group appoints global head of legal and compliance," Compliance Week, Jul. 6, 2022, https://www.complianceweek.com/uncategorized/amber-group-appoints-global-head-of-legal-and-compliance/
- Amber Group, "Amber Group focuses on growth and strengthens its commitment to security and compliance amid market downturn," Amber Group (PR Newswire), Jul. 20, 2022, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi9wFBVV95cUxQZTlTQTM0VTdJbGRITHNtcFRpdnZMTUgtYlVMQjFPQUZxcEpfTE1uSzFMMG11azJvaWVMSWRkbkk0MHcxRjVxUlRGVWJqN2V5RjJCa0c3VzJvbDdMNVJjeUhIYlJHLTR3QkIwczd4OHZENW40OVpYV2tPT0dMVFVBY1dSSEtrWjhSV056SnJaLTg4dTlkMUVmWmZMVUxycWE0X0NRdno0OHAxdjBEN3QtSzJfMTV6VFc5dFhNOUVEZjgyTzd1cG5TeWZMOFY5Tzc2VkhVTVVNUTFrdm1FV1JTbmxJb2JjTEdjbTFBRUxvZ1FWN25VcktF?oc=5