Key Takeaways
- • Hedge fund Millennium Management hired former Bitstamp executive Hunter Merghart as chief operating officer of digital assets to lead its digital asset infrastructure strategy, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
- • Merghart most recently served as venture partner at crypto fund Castle Island Ventures, a role he held since June 2021, and previously was head of operations and head of U.S. at Bitstamp.
- • Millennium, with roughly $53 billion in assets under management, had been expanding into crypto since reports in May 2021 of a crypto-focused trading fund and operations hiring.
- • Millennium declined to comment on the hire.
Summary
Hedge fund Millennium Management has hired former Bitstamp executive Hunter Merghart to lead its digital asset infrastructure strategy, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, as reported by CoinDesk. Merghart will serve as chief operating officer of digital assets and is tasked with building out the firm's crypto infrastructure. Millennium declined to comment on the report.
Merghart most recently was venture partner at crypto fund Castle Island Ventures, a position he had held since June 2021. Earlier, he started and ran Bitstamp US as Head of US, responsible for retail and institutional go-to-market strategy and trading, with his tenure at the exchange running from April 2019 to June 2021. He had also spent a year as head of trading for Coinbase in 2018-19. Per other coverage, Merghart first moved into the crypto sector in 2018 after roughly 12 years at Barclays, RBC Capital Markets and Credit Suisse.
The hire is viewed by CoinDesk as a sign that Millennium is seeking to give its crypto plans fresh impetus. Millennium, which manages more than $53 billion, has been pursuing expansion into the crypto market for some time. Reports the previous May indicated the firm was establishing a crypto-focused trading fund and recruiting for an operations team.
Merghart most recently was venture partner at crypto fund Castle Island Ventures, a position he had held since June 2021. Earlier, he started and ran Bitstamp US as Head of US, responsible for retail and institutional go-to-market strategy and trading, with his tenure at the exchange running from April 2019 to June 2021. He had also spent a year as head of trading for Coinbase in 2018-19. Per other coverage, Merghart first moved into the crypto sector in 2018 after roughly 12 years at Barclays, RBC Capital Markets and Credit Suisse.
The hire is viewed by CoinDesk as a sign that Millennium is seeking to give its crypto plans fresh impetus. Millennium, which manages more than $53 billion, has been pursuing expansion into the crypto market for some time. Reports the previous May indicated the firm was establishing a crypto-focused trading fund and recruiting for an operations team.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.