Binance.US Doubles Down on Compliance

Binance.US hired Josh Wilsusen as its first chief policy officer as it continues its push to become the most compliant crypto exchange in the US.

Wilsusen is tasked with participating in crypto policy debates and will build and lead the business’s government affairs team in Washington D.C. to engage with policymakers on regulation that increases clarity and trust.

The executive previously worked as a managing director for public policy and government affairs for Ally Bank and an executive director of government relations at Morgan Stanley. Prior to that, he was securities counsel to former Rep. Michael Oxley, then chair of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services.

Wilsusen’s appointment follows Binance.US’ hire of former Uber Technologies executive Krishna Juvvadi as its head of legal. 

Jeffrey Blockinger joined Quadrata as the company’s general counsel, bringing 25 years of experience in securities, investment funds, fintech, blockchain and regulation. 

The company’s Web3 passport network seeks to allow traditional financial institutions to become more involved in DeFi and crypto by allowing users to store their know-your-customer (KYC) status and credit reputation on their immutable non-fungible token (NFT) passport. 

Blockinger was previously the CEO of the Association for Digital Asset Markets and chief legal officer for crypto trading platform CrossTower. Prior to entering the blockchain industry, he worked at traditional financial firms, such as Och-Ziff Capital Management, where he served as chief legal officer. 

Chain, a ledger-as-a-service blockchain launched in 2014, hired Mike Herron as its first chief marketing officer. 

Herron joins from crypto technology company Lukka, where he was head of marketing for about a year. He has also held marketing-related roles at U.S. Cellular and Solo Cup Company.

“As we approach new product launches and new versioning in 2022, Mike’s experience will be critical to connecting with clients who need Chain’s private blockchain products to grow their reach globally,” Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal said in a statement.

Crypto platform Connect Financial named Chantel Meeley as its chief marketing officer and chief experience officer.

She has more than a decade of experience in various marketing and user interface and experience design roles, most recently working as CMO for 4Stop.

Stonegate Global Fund Services, a crypto fund administration and advisory firm, added Skyler Steinke as a managing director to its Digital Assets Group. 

Stonegate Global, which services institutional fund clients with roughly $20 billion in assets, reports seeing large growth in the cryptocurrency asset class.

Steinke joins the company after spending two years at Sudrania Fund Services, where he led its expansion into the crypto space. He also spent five years at Gemini Fund Services. 

“We continue to see strong demand for new institutional digital asset funds despite the most recent market hiccup,” Steinke said in a statement. “The true institutional players clearly view these events as speed bumps on the road to broader ecosystem adoption.”

PraSaga, a Swiss foundation focused on building a layer-1 blockchain, appointed Lawrence White as its senior economic advisor of monetary policy.

White has written four books on currency and banking, including “Free Banking in Britain” and “The Theory of Monetary Institutions.” In his new role, he will develop a monetary policy mechanism for PraSaga’s SagaCoin, which the organization hopes will become an attractive alternative to exchange mediums such as the dollar and other fiat currencies. 

In case you missed it, Crypto.com hired former Bittrex executive Kwon Park as a managing director to help guide the business’s Web3 efforts. Prior to joining Bittrex, Park spent more than four years as counsel at US government affairs firm Delta Strategy Group.

Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening. Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter now.