Moves of 2021
Markets & VenuesBoard Seats
Rain Management Names Talal Al Zain to Its Board
Talal Al Zain, the former chief executive of Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, joined the board of crypto exchange Rain Management on December 29, 2021, four years after four co-founders launched the company.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Justin Sun Trades the TRON Foundation for Grenada's WTO Seat
TRON's founder gave up the Foundation's CEO role on December 17, 2021 to become Grenada's WTO ambassador.
Markets & VenuesExits and Removals
Katie Haun Leaves A16z Crypto to Launch Her Own Fund
Katie Haun told a16z crypto's team on December 15, 2021, that she would launch her own crypto and web3 fund in early 2022, ending four years as a general partner at the firm.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Immutable Names Gill Findlay Chief Operating Officer
Immutable appointed Gill Findlay to the newly created role of chief operating officer on December 9, 2021, pulling her from venture firm AirTree as the NFT platform reached a $12 billion token valuation.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Immutable Names Katherine Rau Chief People Officer
Immutable hired Katherine Rau from Culture Amp as its first chief people officer on December 9, 2021, the same day it named two other senior executives during its IMX token launch.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Celsius Network Names Tushar Nadkarni Growth and Product Chief
Tushar Nadkarni, who had built growth teams at Facebook and Uber, became Celsius Network's Chief Growth & Product Officer on November 2, 2021, seven months before the lender froze customer withdrawals in June 2022.
Payments & ConsumerBoard Seats
Circle Names Danita Ostling to Board, Audit Chair
Circle Internet Financial appointed retired EY partner Danita Ostling to its board of directors and named her chair of the audit committee on Oct. 21, 2021.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
David Washburn Departs as nChain Chief Executive
nChain replaced David Washburn as chief executive with Hakan Yuksel on October 20, 2021, thanking Washburn for launching the Kensei data integrity platform during his two and a half years.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
nChain Appoints Hakan Yuksel Chief Executive Officer
nChain named Hakan Yuksel chief executive officer on October 20, 2021, bringing in a 20-year enterprise software veteran of Oracle and SAP to succeed David Washburn in Zug, Switzerland.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Alameda Research Names Caroline Ellison Co-Chief Executive
Alameda Research named Caroline Ellison and Sam Trabucco co-chief executive officers on Oct. 12, 2021, as founder Sam Bankman-Fried shifted his time to running FTX.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Binance.US Promotes Brian Shroder to Chief Executive
Binance.US promoted president Brian Shroder to chief executive on Oct. 8, 2021, after predecessor Brian Brooks left following four months in the job, and named Eric Segal interim chief financial officer the same day.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Flexa Hires Michelle Gitlitz as General Counsel
Flexa named Michelle Gitlitz general counsel effective Oct. 1, 2021, bringing in a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience to lead its legal and regulatory work.
Markets & VenuesBoard Seats
Bit Digital Appoints Brock Pierce to Board of Directors
Bit Digital named Bitcoin Foundation chairman Brock Pierce to its board on Sept. 28, 2021, effective Oct. 31, 2021, and shareholders reelected him nearly five years later.
ProtocolsExits and Removals
Sushi's 0xMaki Steps Down Into Advisory Role
Sushi core contributor 0xMaki announced on September 18, 2021, that he was leaving day-to-day operations at the decentralized exchange for an advisory role.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Shayne Higdon Becomes the HBAR Foundation's First CEO
Hedera named Shayne Higdon first CEO of the HBAR Foundation on September 16, 2021. He left in August 2024, and the Foundation's grants, funds and on-chain activity followed a separate path.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Jump Trading Names Kanav Kariya President of Jump Crypto
Jump Trading Group named Kanav Kariya president of its newly launched Jump Crypto division in September 2021, The TRADE reported on Sept. 15, four years after he joined the firm as an intern.
ProtocolsExecutive Hires
Injective Labs Names Brandon Ferrick First General Counsel
Injective Labs hired Sullivan & Cromwell associate Brandon Ferrick as its first general counsel, Bloomberg Law reported Sept. 3, 2021, giving the decentralized trading protocol its first in-house lawyer.
ProtocolsBoard Seats
BlockFi Names Ellen-Blair Chube to Board
BlockFi announced on September 1, 2021, that William Blair managing director Ellen-Blair Chube had joined its board of directors, taking the seat left by former CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo.
ProtocolsBoard Seats
Christopher Giancarlo Steps Down From BlockFi Board
BlockFi said on September 1, 2021, that former CFTC chairman Christopher Giancarlo was leaving its board after four months, replaced by William Blair executive Ellen-Blair Chube.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Bitso Names Vaughan Smith Its First Chief Operating Officer
Bitso hired former Facebook executive Vaughan Smith as its first chief operating officer, CoinDesk reported on August 30, 2021, to help drive its expansion into Brazil after a $250 million funding round.
Markets & VenuesBoard Seats
Fireblocks Adds Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton to Advisory Board
Fireblocks named Jay Clayton to its seven-member advisory board on Aug. 19, 2021, a month after the custody firm raised $310 million at a $2 billion valuation.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Brian Brooks Resigns as Binance.US Chief Executive
Brian Brooks announced on X on August 6, 2021, that he had resigned as Binance.US chief executive after four months, citing differences over strategic direction.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Canaan Names James Jin Cheng Chief Financial Officer
Canaan appointed James Jin Cheng chief financial officer effective immediately on Aug. 2, 2021, filling a seat its previous finance chief had vacated in February.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Gala Games Names John Osvald President of Games
Gala Games hired former Electronic Arts product head John Osvald as president of games on June 10, 2021, as the blockchain gaming platform worked to onboard 15 titles.
ProtocolsBoard Seats
Jillian MacNab Succeeds Nathan Kaiser as Cardano Foundation Chairperson
A Swiss financial lawyer took the Cardano Foundation Council's chair on June 9, 2021, and by Sept. 8 the members who preceded her had recruited their own successors.
Markets & VenuesExits and Removals
Wei Zhou Leaves Binance as Chief Financial Officer
Wei Zhou, Binance's chief financial officer, left the exchange on June 9, 2021, after nearly three years.
ProtocolsExecutive Hires
Ava Labs Names Lee Schneider Its First General Counsel
Ava Labs hired Lee Schneider, the former general counsel of Block.one, as its first general counsel on May 27, 2021, to run legal matters and government affairs for the Avalanche blockchain.
Markets & VenuesExits and Removals
Lee Schneider Departs as Block.one General Counsel
Lee Schneider's move from Block.one's general counsel to the first general counsel at Ava Labs became public on May 27, 2021, in Ava Labs' own Medium post.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Bittrex Global Names Stephen Stonberg Interim CEO
Bittrex Global's boards named chief financial officer and chief operating officer Stephen Stonberg interim chief executive on May 18, 2021, the same day Tom Albright stepped down from the role.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Bittrex Global's Tom Albright Steps Down as CEO
Bittrex Global's boards announced on May 18, 2021, that Tom Albright had stepped down as chief executive, with CFO and COO Stephen Stonberg named interim CEO the same day.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
FTX.US Names Brett Harrison Its First President
West Realm Shires Services said on May 13, 2021, that it had appointed Brett Harrison, a former Jane Street and Citadel Securities technologist, as the first president of FTX.US.
Payments & ConsumerBoard Seats
Rosie Rios Joins Ripple's Board as Kristina Campbell Becomes CFO
Ripple named Rosie Rios to its board and Kristina Campbell as chief financial officer on May 4, 2021, five months into a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit over XRP.
Markets & VenuesBoard Seats
Galaxy Digital Names Michael Daffey Chair of the Board
Galaxy Digital named former Goldman Sachs Global Markets chairman Michael Daffey as senior advisor and chair of its board on April 16, 2021, ahead of a planned U.S. stock listing.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Cipher Mining Names William Iwaschuk Chief Legal Officer
Cipher Mining Technologies announced on March 18, 2021, that it had hired William Iwaschuk, who spent more than seven years at Tower Research Capital, as chief legal officer ahead of its Nasdaq listing.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Bitwise Names Katherine Dowling General Counsel
Bitwise Asset Management's hire of former federal prosecutor Katherine Dowling as general counsel became public on March 3, 2021, as the crypto fund manager passed $1 billion in assets.
Payments & ConsumerBoard Seats
Stripe Welcomes Mark Carney to Its Board of Directors
Stripe added Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, to its board of directors on Feb. 21, 2021, citing his experience in sustainable finance.
Markets & VenuesExits and Removals
Canaan CFO Quanfu Hong Resigns, Cites Personal Reasons
Canaan Inc. announced on February 9, 2021, that Chief Financial Officer Quanfu Hong had resigned for personal reasons, with Tong He stepping in as acting CFO the same day.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Riot Blockchain Names Board Member Jason Les Chief Executive
Riot Blockchain's board elevated director Jason Les to chief executive on Feb. 8, 2021, and returned Jeff McGonegal to the finance post he held from 2003 to 2019.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Hut 8 Names Tanya Woods General Counsel
Hut 8 appointed Tanya Woods as general counsel and executive vice president of regulatory affairs on January 26, 2021, effective February 1, reporting to newly named chief executive Jaime Leverton.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
BitGo Names Jeff Horowitz Chief Compliance Officer
BitGo hired Jeff Horowitz, Coinbase's former chief compliance officer, on Jan. 13, 2021, weeks after BitGo paid $93,830 to settle 183 apparent sanctions violations with the U.S. Treasury.
Markets & VenuesExits and Removals
Dan Larimer Resigns as Block.one's Chief Technology Officer
Dan Larimer left the job on December 31, 2020, and announced it on January 10, 2021, calling the EOS block producer elections a system of kickbacks.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Barry Silbert Steps Down as Grayscale CEO
Barry Silbert, Grayscale's founder, handed the chief executive job to seven-year veteran Michael Sonnenshein on January 7, 2021, as the firm's assets under management passed $20 billion.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Grayscale Names Michael Sonnenshein Chief Executive Officer
Grayscale promoted seven-year veteran Michael Sonnenshein to chief executive on January 7, 2021, succeeding founder Barry Silbert as the firm's assets topped $20 billion.
