Genesis named Matthew Johnson chief technology officer on August 17, 2022. It announced the hire in a press release. The same release named Chief Operating Officer Derar Islim interim chief executive officer1. Johnson had served as chief technology officer of Bakkt, "a platform for the management of digital assets," the release said. Before Bakkt, he co-founded Digital Asset Custody Company and served as its chief product officer. Bakkt bought that firm in 2019.
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 |
Trading Venues & Brokerage led executive hires in 2022, with six
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified in 2022, by the sector of the company
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 |
|---|---|
| Trading Venues & Brokerage | 6 |
| Capital Markets & Treasury | 4 |
| Bitcoin & Mining | 4 |
| Layer 1s & Infrastructure | 3 |
| Institutional Custody & Asset Management | 3 |
| Stablecoins & Payments | 2 |
| DeFi Protocols | 2 |
| Wallets & Consumer Apps | 2 |
The move
Genesis's release called Johnson “a fintech executive with twenty years of experience in technology administration and development” who “has worked with some of the world's largest hedge funds revolutionizing their technology stacks”1. Crowdfund Insider's report on August 17, 2022 named him among three new hires: “Chief Risk Officer Michael Patchen, Chief Compliance Officer Michael Patterson, and Chief Technology Officer Matthew Johnson have joined Genesis.”2
Islim, newly named interim CEO, framed the hires around client service. “Our clients look to Genesis to provide integral capital and execution services across their digital asset portfolios,” Islim said in the release. “The changes and investments we're announcing today affirm our commitment to operational excellence as we continue to expand our services to meet the needs of our clients today and into the future.”1 Genesis tied the hires to "strengthening the company's overall risk management" alongside its sales and trading teams.
Genesis before and after
Both sources treat Johnson's arrival as a fresh hire rather than a handoff, each silent on who held the post before him12. Genesis built a full leadership slate that same day. Tom Conheeney joined as senior advisor and board member. Michael Patchen took the chief risk officer post, Michael Patterson became chief compliance officer, Alice Chan became chief financial officer and Arianna Pretto-Sakmann became chief legal officer. Crowdfund Insider reported that Genesis was cutting 20 percent of its workforce, about 52 employees, around the same announcement. Genesis still had dozens of open jobs listed, many in compliance and security.
What came next
Genesis Global Capital, Genesis Global Holdco and Genesis Asia Pacific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 19, 2023, CoinDesk reported3. That was five months after Johnson's hire. The filing landed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. CoinDesk said the case followed Three Arrows Capital's collapse and FTX's November 2022 bankruptcy. More than 100,000 creditors held claims. Liabilities ran between $1 billion and $10 billion. By then, CoinDesk reported, Genesis had already cut its headcount to 145 employees.
Sources
- Genesis, "Genesis Announces New Leadership Team," Business Wire, August 17, 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/20230112095539/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220816005936/en/Genesis-Announces-New-Leadership-Team
- JD Alois, "Digital Asset Prime Brokerage Genesis Announces Leadership Shake Up," Crowdfund Insider, August 17, 2022, https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2022/08/194902-digital-asset-prime-brokerage-genesis-announces-leadership-shake-up/
- Stephen Alpher, Danny Nelson, "Genesis' Crypto Lending Businesses File for Bankruptcy Protection," CoinDesk, January 19, 2023, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilgFBVV95cUxOSGw4elA5Ti05YnBvcmdJZ2NxT25IZ0ZOc3d2dFhxNC1MQ0xxQndPRzZZT1hzOUpnSmRJU1ZVOTBXU2NUbnRlMHp0bnV4bmYxRHVER1Nld3hiN0J5eE9BOE91ckpFdkVVeDlXTnJlN2xnTWpwU1NPMFoxSTFycmhUaGtyWFp1QXlIV2hsc0NUMDhoYjh6VVE?oc=5