Grayscale named Sebastian Pulido its first Managing Director and Head of Onchain Asset Management on July 21, 2026, pulling him from Aave Labs to build products for institutions moving assets onto blockchains1. His newly created role reports to Steve Vanourny, Grayscale's Head of Index.
The second executive hire at Grayscale Investments on the record since 2025
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Grayscale Investments, by year
- 2026: 2
- 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
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 |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 | 2 |
45 executive hires on the record in 2026 so far
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2026: 45
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
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
Grayscale's own announcement described Pulido's job as leading “the development of products and strategies that meet evolving institutional demand for onchain investment solutions”1. CryptoBriefing called it a response to "rising institutional demand for tokenized assets and DeFi-based solutions"2.
Vanourny framed the hire around a specific skill. Pulido, he said, moves between two worlds that rarely share one executive. “Sebastian brings the rare ability to connect market structure, tokenization, and decentralized finance with the expectations of institutional investors,” Vanourny said. “His perspective will help us thoughtfully expand Grayscale's asset management capabilities while continuing to deliver products that are accessible, durable, and built for the long term.”1
Pulido answered with the moment he saw in the market. “I am thrilled to join Grayscale at a time when institutional interest in digital assets continues to accelerate,” he said. “Grayscale has the scale, expertise, and track record to help define the next phase of this market, and I look forward to working with Steve and the broader team to further strengthen Grayscale's role at the intersection of traditional and onchain finance.”1
Before and after the hire
Pulido most recently served as Director of Institutional and DeFi Business at Aave Labs. Grayscale's release said he led the firm's institutional capital markets strategy and launched Aave Horizon, an onchain lending market for tokenized assets1. Before Aave, he worked on blockchain strategy at Onyx by J.P. Morgan, since renamed Kinexys. He spent 12 years before that at Goldman Sachs, leading regulatory and market structure transformation initiatives. CryptoBriefing counted his total experience at "more than 15 years across blockchain strategy, tokenization, and financial markets"2.
He joined a firm riding its own run. Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF, ticker BTC, ranked first in year-to-date inflows among US Bitcoin ETPs as of the announcement. That put it ahead of products from the largest traditional asset managers, the release said1. Grayscale also led all digital asset ETPs in run-rate revenue. Its lineup by July included a Sui staking ETF and a Hyperliquid staking ETF. By July 21, 2026, the Hyperliquid fund had passed $100 million in assets under management, about three weeks after its launch.
What to watch
Pulido's mandate is to build products. The test is what his division ships, and whether institutional clients use it. CryptoBriefing noted the appointment “follows a period of expansion for Grayscale, which reported strong growth across its digital asset products and launched new offerings including staking-focused ETFs”2. Watch Grayscale's own newsroom for the first product carrying Pulido's name. Compare its assets under management against the $100 million the Hyperliquid staking ETF reached in its first three weeks.
Sources
- Grayscale Investments, "Grayscale Investments Appoints Sebastian Pulido as Managing Director, Head of Onchain Asset Management," GlobeNewswire (Grayscale Investments), Jul. 21, 2026, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/07/21/3330504/0/en/grayscale-investments-appoints-sebastian-pulido-as-managing-director-head-of-onchain-asset-management.html
- Editorial Team, "Former Goldman Sachs and Aave executive joins Grayscale to lead onchain products," CryptoBriefing, Jul. 21, 2026, https://cryptobriefing.com/grayscale-appoints-sebastian-pulido-onchain-asset-management/