Moves of 2023
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Josh Swihart Named Electric Coin Company Chief Executive
Electric Coin Company's parent board announced on December 18, 2023, that Josh Swihart would replace Zooko Wilcox as chief executive, a move Blockchain.News confirmed two days later.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Zooko Wilcox Steps Down as Electric Coin Company CEO
Electric Coin Company's parent board named Josh Swihart chief executive on December 18, 2023, ending Zooko Wilcox's eight years running the firm behind Zcash.
ProtocolsBoard Seats
Hedera Council Names Charles Adkins President
The Hedera Council appointed Charles Adkins president on December 13, 2023, bringing in an executive with prior roles at Aptos, Polygon Labs and the U.S. Treasury Department.
Markets & VenuesBoard Seats
CZ Steps Down as Binance.US Board Chairman
Changpeng Zhao stepped down as chairman of Binance.US's board of directors on Nov. 28, 2023, days after settling criminal charges with the U.S. Justice Department over Binance's global exchange.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Richard Teng Replaces Changpeng Zhao as Binance Pleads Guilty
Binance named Richard Teng CEO on Nov. 21, 2023, the day Changpeng Zhao stepped down and both pleaded guilty.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
CZ Steps Down as Binance Chief Executive
Changpeng Zhao stepped down as Binance CEO on November 21, 2023, naming Richard Teng as his successor the same day he pleaded guilty to U.S. criminal charges.
ProtocolsLayoffs
Emin Gün Sirer Cuts 12 Percent of Ava Labs Staff
Ava Labs founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer confirmed a 12 percent staff cut on November 7, 2023, calling it a move to double down on growth.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Illia Polosukhin Replaces Chris Donovan as NEAR Foundation CEO
NEAR's co-founder became Foundation CEO on Nov. 7, 2023 and Chris Donovan moved to COO.
Markets & VenuesExits and Removals
Fred Ehrsam Steps Down as Paradigm Managing Partner
Paradigm co-founder Fred Ehrsam stepped down as managing partner on October 24, 2023, moving to a general partner role to spend more time on science.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
The Sandbox Names Nicola Sebastiani Chief Content Officer
The Sandbox announced on October 17, 2023, that it had hired former PlayStation and Apple executive Nicola Sebastiani as chief content officer to lead its creator economy push.
Payments & ConsumerCEO Changes
Tether Promotes Paolo Ardoino to Chief Executive
Tether named Paolo Ardoino chief executive on October 13, 2023, handing him the role as outgoing CEO Jean-Louis van der Velde moved into an advisory position.
ProtocolsExits and Removals
Polygon Co-Founder Jaynti Kanani Steps Back
Jaynti Kanani told followers on Oct. 4, 2023, that he had quietly left Polygon's day-to-day work about six months earlier, closing out his run as one of the network's three founders.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Galaxy Digital Names Leon Marshall CEO of Europe
Galaxy Digital created a new Chief Executive Officer of Europe role on September 21, 2023, and gave it to Leon Marshall, its global head of sales, as the firm pushed to scale operations in the U.K. and continental Europe.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Chris Donovan Takes Over NEAR Foundation From Marieke Flament
Chris Donovan, NEAR Foundation's general counsel, became CEO on September 21, 2023, the day Marieke Flament resigned, and held the job 47 days before NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin replaced him on November 7, 2023.
Payments & ConsumerExits and Removals
Alyssa Henry Retires as Square CEO, Dorsey Returns
Block told the SEC on September 18, 2023, that Square CEO Alyssa Henry would leave on October 2, handing the merchant business back to co-founder Jack Dorsey after a two-day payment outage that began September 7.
Payments & ConsumerCEO Changes
PayPal Names Intuit's Alex Chriss as Next CEO
PayPal's board announced on August 14, 2023, that it had appointed Intuit executive Alex Chriss as president and CEO, effective September 27, 2023, succeeding retiring CEO Dan Schulman.
LeadershipLeadership & Talent
Ryan Dennis Pitches TON to Telegram's 800 Million Users
A court blocked Telegram's Gram tokens in 2020; from 2023, Ryan Dennis spoke for the TON Foundation as a TON wallet opened inside Telegram.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Core Scientific Names Adam Sullivan Chief Executive
Core Scientific promoted President Adam Sullivan to chief executive officer on August 4, 2023, while the bitcoin miner worked through Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Stripe Names Steffan Tomlinson Chief Financial Officer
Stripe hired Steffan Tomlinson away from Confluent as chief financial officer on Aug. 2, 2023, pulling in a finance chief who had already taken three companies through an IPO process.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
DCG Names Mark Shifke Chief Financial Officer
Digital Currency Group hired Mark Shifke as chief financial officer on July 31, 2023, filling the role Michael Kraines left open in April and later naming him Grayscale's board chairman too.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Chris Amani Replaces Do Kwon as Terraform Labs CEO
Chris Amani became Terraform Labs CEO in March 2023, the news broke July 19.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Binance Names Eleanor Hughes General Counsel
Binance appointed Eleanor Hughes general counsel on July 13, 2023, putting her in charge of an 85-lawyer legal team as the exchange faced what Bloomberg Law called a web of regulatory probes.
Payments & ConsumerLayoffs
Roham Gharegozlou Cuts 51 More Jobs at Dapper Labs
Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou confirmed the company's third round of layoffs in eight months on July 13, 2023, calling the result leaner.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Marc Boiron Replaces Ryan Wyatt as Polygon Labs CEO
Polygon Labs promoted its chief legal officer to CEO on July 7, 2023, and by 2026 the company called itself a payments business while a token holder asked what holders own.
Markets & VenuesExits and Removals
Patrick Hillmann Leaves Binance Eight Days Before 1,000 Jobs Go
Patrick Hillmann, Binance's chief strategy officer, announced his exit on July 6, 2023, and CoinDesk reported on July 14 that the exchange had cut more than 1,000 jobs.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
Jayson Hobby Takes Over Compound Labs From Robert Leshner
Compound Labs' VP of Product became CEO on June 28, 2023, the day founder Robert Leshner announced Superstate.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Circle Names Heath Tarbert Chief Legal Officer
Circle Internet Financial named former CFTC chairman Heath Tarbert as chief legal officer and head of corporate affairs on June 8, 2023, succeeding general counsel Flavia Naves.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Gate Names Kevin Lee Chief Executive Officer of Gate.HK
Gate Group named Kevin Lee, a former BNP Paribas director, chief executive officer of its Hong Kong exchange Gate.HK on May 30, 2023, after eFinancialCareers reported the hire eight days earlier.
Payments & ConsumerBoard Seats
Ripple Appoints Warren Jenson to Its Board of Directors
Ripple named former Nielsen CFO Warren Jenson to its board on May 19, 2023, and made him chair of the audit committee overseeing the firm's financial reporting.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Argo Blockchain Appoints Jim MacCallum Chief Financial Officer
Argo Blockchain named Jim MacCallum chief financial officer on April 4, 2023, with a start date of April 5, as the miner reported a 10 percent drop in Bitcoin mined during March.
ProtocolsCEO Changes
IOG Names Eran Barak Chief Executive of Midnight
Input Output Global named Eran Barak, formerly chief operating officer at Symphony, as chief executive of Midnight on March 27, 2023, handing the Cardano builder's new data-protection blockchain its first dedicated leader.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Luno Elevates COO James Lanigan to Chief Executive
James Lanigan, Luno's chief operating officer for five years, became chief executive on March 22, 2023, as founder Marcus Swanepoel moved to executive chairman to court investors for a future listing.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Luno's Marcus Swanepoel Steps Down as Chief Executive
Luno co-founder Marcus Swanepoel moved into an executive chairman role on March 22, 2023, and Chief Operating Officer James Lanigan, with the company for five years, became CEO.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
Cipher Mining Promotes William Iwaschuk to Co-President
Cipher Mining Inc. promoted chief legal officer William Iwaschuk to co-president alongside Patrick Kelly on March 20, 2023, while keeping both men in their existing executive roles.
Payments & ConsumerCEO Changes
FDIC Names Greg Carmichael CEO of Signature Bridge Bank
The FDIC named former Fifth Third Bancorp chief executive Greg D. Carmichael CEO of Signature Bridge Bank on March 12, 2023, the day New York regulators closed Signature Bank and placed it under federal receivership.
ProtocolsBoard Seats
Stellar Development Foundation Names Asiff Hirji to Its Board
The Stellar Development Foundation appointed MoonPay president Asiff Hirji to its board of directors on March 9, 2023, adding a former Coinbase president and chief operating officer to the nonprofit's governance.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Immutable Names David Bicknell Chief Financial Officer
Immutable announced on March 8, 2023, that David Bicknell, a former Meta and Twitter finance leader, was its chief financial officer, alongside a new chief marketing officer from Ava Labs.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Immutable Names Devon Ferreira Chief Marketing Officer
Immutable announced on March 8, 2023, that it had hired Avalanche's former marketing chief Devon Ferreira as chief marketing officer, alongside a new chief financial officer and a promoted chief commercial officer.
Markets & VenuesInstitutional Custody & Asset Management
Donald Verrilli Wins Grayscale's Bitcoin ETF Case
Verrilli argued Grayscale v. SEC on March 7, 2023, and spot bitcoin ETFs later drew $57.2 billion net while $27.9 billion left Grayscale's fund.
ProtocolsExecutive Hires
Algorand Names Matthew Commons Chief Financial Officer
Algorand named Matthew Commons its first chief financial officer on March 1, 2023, effective Feb. 22, giving the Harvard Business School graduate and Cambridge Blockchain co-founder control of day-to-day finances and capital management.
Markets & VenuesBoard Seats
Anchorage Digital Bank Adds Julie Williams to Its Board
Anchorage Digital Bank named Julie L. Williams, twice the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, to its board on Feb. 28, 2023, her first seat on a privately held company's board.
Payments & ConsumerExits and Removals
Joseph DePaolo Steps Down as Signature Bank President
Signature Bank announced on Feb. 16, 2023, that co-founder Joseph J. DePaolo would transition out of the president role into a senior advisor position, with Chief Operating Officer Eric Howell succeeding him.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Signature Bank Names Eric Howell President
Signature Bank named Chief Operating Officer Eric R. Howell its president on Feb. 16, 2023, succeeding co-founder Joseph DePaolo, who planned to move into a senior advisor role during 2023.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall Steps Down
Argo Blockchain announced on February 9, 2023, that Peter Wall was stepping down as chief executive and interim chairman after three years, with chief operating officer Seif El-Bakly named interim CEO.
Payments & ConsumerCEO Changes
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman to Retire at Year-End
PayPal announced on February 9, 2023, that President and CEO Dan Schulman would retire on December 31, 2023, after eight and a half years leading the company since its split from eBay.
ProtocolsExecutive Hires
Polygon Labs Names Rebecca Rettig Chief Policy Officer
Rebecca Rettig left Silvergate Bank's board on Feb. 9, 2023, to become Polygon Labs' first chief policy officer, the same day the bank told regulators her exit was an amicable one.
Markets & VenuesBoard Seats
Sarah Gow Resigns From Argo Blockchain Board
Sarah Gow stepped down from Argo Blockchain's board on Feb. 9, 2023, the same day CEO Peter Wall's resignation became public and eight days after CFO Alex Appleton's, as the Bitcoin miner faced a shareholder lawsuit.
Markets & VenuesExecutive Hires
FalconX Hires Baris Cetinok as Chief Product Officer
FalconX named Baris Cetinok chief product officer on Feb. 7, 2023, pulling a 25-year product veteran from Robinhood's brokerage platform into the institutional crypto broker.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
SEBA Bank Names Amy Yu Chief Executive for Asia-Pacific
SEBA Bank, the Swiss crypto bank now called AMINA Bank AG, named Amy Yu chief executive of its Asia-Pacific division on February 7, 2023, after she led regional sales at the collapsed lender Genesis Trading.
Markets & VenuesExits and Removals
Argo Blockchain CFO Alex Appleton Resigns
Alex Appleton resigned as Argo Blockchain's chief financial officer on Feb. 1, 2023, after the Bitcoin miner closed the sale of its Helios mining facility to Galaxy Digital for debt relief.
Markets & VenuesLayoffs
Luno Cuts 35 Percent of Its Staff in Crypto Winter
Luno chief executive Marcus Swanepoel told employees on January 25, 2023, that the exchange would cut 35 percent of its roughly 960-person staff, following layoffs at sibling firm Genesis and rivals Kraken and Coinbase.
Payments & ConsumerExecutive Hires
Circle Names Brian Christman Chief People Officer
Circle Internet Financial hired Brian Christman as its first Chief People Officer on Jan. 24, 2023, pulling him from supply chain technology company Transfix.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
Frank Holmes Hands HIVE's CEO Role to Aydin Kilic
HIVE Blockchain Technologies named Aydin Kilic president and chief executive on January 17, 2023, ending Frank Holmes's run as interim CEO and moving him to executive chairman.
Markets & VenuesCEO Changes
HIVE Digital Technologies Names Aydin Kilic Chief Executive
HIVE Blockchain's board appointed Aydin Kilic president and chief executive on January 17, 2023, promoting him from the chief operating officer role he had held since 2021.
Payments & ConsumerCEO Changes
Trezor Names Matěj Žák Chief Executive
SatoshiLabs announced on January 12, 2023, that Matěj Žák would succeed co-founder Marek Palatinus as chief executive of the hardware wallet maker Trezor.
