Digital Currency Group named Mark Shifke chief financial officer on July 31, 20231. DCG announced the hire on X. Shifke filled a post that had sat open since April 2023, when former CFO Michael Kraines stepped down2. Chief Strategy Officer Simon Koster ran DCG's finance department on an interim basis in the months between, CoinDesk reported on July 31, 2023. DCG had lost $1.1 billion in 2022 as crypto prices fell and its Genesis lending unit headed toward bankruptcy, CoinDesk reported.
Two leadership moves at Digital Currency Group on the record since 2023
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 |
|---|---|
| July 31, 2023 | Shifke became CFO. Mark Shifke was named Chief Financial Officer of Digital Currency Group |
| April 25, 2024 | Killeen became CLO. Aimie Killeen was named Chief Legal Officer of Digital Currency Group |
20 executive hires on the record in 2023
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2023: 20
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 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
DCG's own post welcomed Shifke directly. “Today we're thrilled to announce that Mark Shifke has joined DCG as our new Chief Financial Officer, bringing nearly four decades of financial and fintech experience. Welcome to DCG, Mark!” the company wrote on X at 5:30 p.m. UTC on July 31, 20231. DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert called it the result of a search2. “Following a comprehensive search for DCG's next finance leader, I'm proud to welcome Mark Shifke as our new CFO,” Silbert said, in a statement CoinDesk quoted.
Shifke answered in similar terms. “DCG has long stood out to me as the leading and most well-respected operator, investor, and backer of the brightest minds in the digital asset space,” Shifke said in a statement CoinDesk carried2. He called the moment exciting. “As the industry matures and digital assets continue to gain momentum from institutional stalwarts, I can't think of a more exciting opportunity,” he said.
Shifke's background and DCG's position
Shifke had served as CFO at Billtrust, an accounts-receivable software company2. He also held the CFO role at Green Dot, a mobile-banking and payments platform used by Apple, Walmart and Intuit, CoinDesk reported. DCG is the parent company of CoinDesk, Grayscale Investments and the bankrupt Genesis lending arm. DCG's finance department had gone three months on an interim chief before Shifke's July 31, 2023 arrival.
What came next
DCG handed Shifke a second title on December 26, 2023, five months after his hire. Grayscale Investments said on December 26 that Barry Silbert had resigned as chairman3. Shifke, still DCG's CFO, would replace him effective January 1, 2024, a CoinDesk report said, citing an SEC filing that left the reason for the change unstated. DCG president Mark Murphy resigned from the Grayscale board on December 26, 2023, as well. Grayscale added two more DCG and Grayscale executives to its board alongside Shifke. A Grayscale spokeswoman framed it as continuity. “Grayscale and our investors will benefit from their respective experiences in the financial services and asset management industries as we prepare for Grayscale's next chapter,” the spokeswoman said, CoinDesk reported.
Sources
- "DCG on X," DCG (@DCGco), July 31, 2023, https://x.com/DCGco/status/1686066751555969024
- Ian Allison, "Digital Currency Group Appoints Mark Shifke as Chief Financial Officer," CoinDesk, July 31, 2023, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/07/31/digital-currency-group-appoints-mark-shifke-as-chief-financial-officer
- Sheldon Reback, "Barry Silbert Resigns as Grayscale Chairman, to Be Replaced by Mark Shifke," CoinDesk, December 26, 2023, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiugFBVV95cUxQWjJHS0dzcEFNQVR5b0xLUG05dVh4MkVVWk9BSW5DV3FzOXdPeGU3dDR4WmZVX3VvV3BrR1FnZm5Rc28tR0d5YlBzWTNVWjdCa0J1OXNxWHE3b2RLNHFzR185OGNhNm1yUlZEVkVjVWljZ21jWk9TSEJsSGdnNjk5ZGxmVm9jeWRFRmVGQ1NIY1FVaU53Z2xEZXZuaUg4WktyXzc3S2VSWlY2WXVtU2ltN0VfMUNFXzhLbGc?oc=5