Bittrex Global announced on November 12, 2020, that it had hired Jeff Baron, a former Bermuda government minister, as chief compliance officer for its Bermuda entity1. Baron was set to start in December 2020, working alongside Ashton Easton, who had already joined as a compliance analyst.
Five leadership moves at Bittrex Global on the record since 2020
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 |
|---|---|
| Nov. 12, 2020 | Baron became Chief Compliance Officer. Jeff Baron was named Chief Compliance Officer of Bittrex Global |
| May 18, 2021 | Albright left as CEO. Tom Albright left as Chief Executive Officer of Bittrex Global |
| May 18, 2021 | Stonberg became Interim CEO. Stephen Stonberg was named Interim Chief Executive Officer of Bittrex Global |
| June 27, 2022 | Stonberg left as CEO. Stephen Stonberg left as Chief Executive Officer of Bittrex Global |
| June 27, 2022 | Linch became CEO. Oliver Linch was named Chief Executive Officer of Bittrex Global |
12 executive hires on the record in 2020
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2020: 12
- 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
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 |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
The move
Bittrex Global's statement named Baron's political background directly. “Prior to joining Bittrex Global, Jeffrey Baron held a number of executive positions including Head of Compliance for a Bermuda-based digital asset and investment business company, Head of Financial Crime Threat Mitigation at HSBC Bermuda, Minister of National Security, and Field Advisor at the United Nations,” the statement read1. The Royal Gazette's Scott Neil added the dates behind that record. Baron “served as a senator during the One Bermuda Alliance administration from 2012 to 2017, and was Minister for National Security from 2016 to 2017,” Neil wrote2. He was elected to Parliament in 2017 and left politics in April 2018.
Stephen Stonberg held both chief operating officer and chief financial officer titles at the time. He framed the hire around the industry's standing. “The cryptocurrency industry has come a long way in the last decade in terms of credibility and mainstream acceptance, however much work remains to be done before it fully reaches its potential,” Stonberg said1. He named Baron's specific task. “Jeff Baron's appointment to the role of CCO is testimony to the high priority on compliance and regulation that the team at Bittrex Global place in providing assurances to potential retail and institutional investors interested in this sector,” Stonberg said.
Before and after at Bittrex Global
Bittrex Global's compliance function, ahead of Baron's arrival, ran through Siegfried Herzog in Liechtenstein, and the company's statement said Herzog would "work closely with the Bermuda team" once Baron started1. The announcement linked the hire to the company's push into Bermuda. Bittrex Global held a license to operate a cryptocurrency exchange on the island and was examining the potential for a digital token backed by Bermuda dollars, The Royal Gazette reported2. Baron brought an MSc in criminology from the University of Leicester and a selection that March as an Edward S. Mason Fellow at Harvard, the statement said.
What came next
Baron remained at the company through its final year. A Royal Gazette photo caption from the Bermuda Tech Summit identified him as a panelist alongside chief executive Oliver Linch in 2023, the same year Bittrex Global shut down3. Bittrex Global told customers on Nov. 20, 2023, that it would wind down operations. An announcement on its website said, “It is with great regret that we announce that Bittrex Global has decided to wind down its operations,” and trading was set to stop on Dec. 4, 2023. Baron's run in the compliance seat lasted three years, from December 2020 until the exchange stopped trading in December 2023.
Sources
- Bittrex Global, "Bittrex Global Appoint Jeff Baron As CCO," Bernews, November 12, 2020, https://bernews.com/2020/11/bittrex-announces-appointment-jeffrey-baron/
- Scott Neil, "Former minister Baron joins Bittrex Global," The Royal Gazette, November 12, 2020, https://www.royalgazette.com/business/article/20201112/former-minister-baron-joins-bittrex-global/
- Duncan Hall, "Bittrex Global to fold," The Royal Gazette, November 22, 2023, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiowFBVV95cUxQNExoWWFKMjBYSkRoVjVfc01oSXhMbVRQRzlkU0toNUdpcFNMSWdMUHJhT1Bzbkg0MUJiRnlXdDZKTWtXU0tucVB6NzJNcXFKUWtncm9OSW5WMUxfOTRlRTM0VVprR1Y2bHVfYndZQkpSWnVaMlZOUXdPLVRtV1piblNKVmhmazY2REtVOHhLSEttYnIzRThlVFVLb3JUVkgwRUNV?oc=5