UK-based bitcoin exchange Coinfloor has appointed a former managing director from both Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse as its executive chairman today.
The new hiring, Adam Knight, has served as a managing director of the investment banking division of Credit Suisse and as global head of metals within the commodities group at Goldman Sachs.
The exchange’s co-founder and CEO Mark Lamb said:
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Adam Knight as our executive chairman. His experience in growing and managing massive commodities markets and expertise of regulatory compliance, risk and governance procedures will be invaluable in establishing Coinfloor as the most trusted bitcoin exchange in the world.”
Coinfloor says the new hire is part of its commitment to create a “the world’s first trustworthy and fully compliant bitcoin exchange”.
Watching bitcoin
Knight told CoinDesk that he had been tracking bitcoin’s progress for a year or so and had been impressed with how robust it had proved over “significant shocks”, including the Mt. Gox affair. He added:
“Having been severely tested and yet continue to grow, I decided to start allocating a proportion of my savings to bitcoin and began looking for bitcoin infrastructure companies to invest in.”
Knight’s career trading commodity markets has provided him with a good understanding of the exchange, clearing house and storage models, he said. Consequently, he wanted to find a team building a platform in this area “with the right skills and approach to build a robust global bitcoin financial services business.”
This search led him to Coinfloor, which he said is “building a bitcoin exchange and storage company that will become a leader in the sector […] because [it is] focused on the key principles of trust, security and transparency.”
Industry trend
Coinfloor’s appointment is the latest in a series of senior hirings in the cryptocurrency space, as maturing bitcoin startups seek to boost confidence in their companies and bring valuable experience on board from finance or tech sector giants.
In June, BitPay hired ex-Visa executive Tim Byun as its chief compliance officer. In May, both CoinBase and itBit hired senior staff from the likes of Facebook, PayPal and Amazon.
Coinfloor also made headlines last month after announcing it would accept domestic deposits via local bank transfer to accelerate its UK payments services.
Currently, the UK has limited options for bitcoin exchanges that provide fiat payment options other than relatively expensive foreign transfers, so Coinfloor is competitively positioned.