The Crypto Council for Innovation named Ji Hun Kim chief executive officer on July 24, 2025, the organization's board announced1. CCI's release said the Board of Directors made the appointment and that it “arrives at a pivotal moment for global digital asset policy, particularly in the U.S.”. Cryptonews reported the same day that CCI had “tapped its chief legal and policy officer, Ji Hun Kim, to lead the organization as CEO”2.
The second CEO appointment at Crypto Council for Innovation on the record since 2022
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 |
|---|---|
| Jan. 31, 2022 | Warren became CEO. Sheila Warren was named Chief Executive Officer of Crypto Council for Innovation |
| July 26, 2022 | Jeng became Chief Global Regulatory Officer. Linda Jeng was named Chief Global Regulatory Officer and General Counsel of Crypto Council for Innovation |
| Dec. 13, 2024 | Warren left as CEO. Sheila Warren left as Chief Executive Officer of Crypto Council for Innovation |
| July 24, 2025 | Kim became CEO. Ji Hun Kim was named Chief Executive Officer of Crypto Council for Innovation |
35 CEO appointments on the record in 2025, the most of any year
CEO appointments CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 35
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 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 | 8 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 17 |
| 2024 | 26 |
| 2025 | 35 |
| 2026 | 18 |
The move
Kim answered the appointment by naming the people around him rather than describing a new agenda. “I'm honored by the Board's trust and deeply grateful for the support of my colleagues. I am energized by the important work ahead,” he said in CCI's release1. Cryptonews reported that Kim's elevation came "after Sheila Warren departure," pointing directly to the vacancy CCI had been filling since Warren's exit2.
Why promote from inside? Kim had already held CCI's top legal and policy post. Before that he ran legal and policy work at Gemini, the digital asset exchange, as General Counsel and Head of Policy & Regulatory Affairs1. The same release said CCI added SoFi as a member the same day, pairing the leadership announcement with a membership win.
Before and after at CCI
CCI had been operating under Ji Kim as acting CEO since Warren's planned Dec. 13, 2024 announcement that she would leave effective Jan. 6, 2025. Kim's appointment to the permanent role closed that interim period seven months after it began. CCI's release called the moment "pivotal" for U.S. digital asset policy, a general description that left the specific bill or rule unnamed1.
What came next
Kim's CCI kept building new policy coalitions under his leadership. On June 5, 2026, the organization announced it had launched a Vault Coalition anchored by Galaxy and Morpho, with participation from a16z, the Avalanche Policy Coalition, BitGo and Sharplink, to press regulators for clarity on how onchain vault structures should be treated under existing securities rules3. “That is the right foundation for regulatory clarity, and it is why CCI convened this effort,” Kim said in the announcement, by then nearly a year into the CEO role.
Sources
- Crypto Council for Innovation, "CCI Appoints Ji Hun Kim Chief Executive Officer, Adds SoFi as Member," PR Newswire, July 24, 2025, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cci-appoints-ji-hun-kim-chief-executive-officer-adds-sofi-as-member-302512861.html
- Julia Smith, "Crypto Council For Innovation Names Ji Hun Kim As CEO After Sheila Warren Departure," Cryptonews, July 24, 2025, https://cryptonews.com/news/crypto-council-for-innovation-names-ji-hun-kim-as-ceo-after-sheila-warren-departure/
- Crypto Council for Innovation, "CCI launches the Vault Coalition Anchored by Galaxy and Morpho to Advance Regulatory Clarity," June 5, 2026, https://cryptoforinnovation.org/cci-launches-the-vault-coalition-anchored-by-galaxy-and-morpho-to-advance-regulatory-clarity/