Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has appointed Jeff Horowitz from BNY Mellon’s Pershing as the firm’s new head of compliance.
Horowitz had previously served as Pershing’s managing director and global head of compliance, supervising the firm’s regulatory and compliance programs. Prior to this, he held roles as chief compliance officer, and global head of anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance programs at the BNY Mellon-owned firm.
He has also held various compliance and AML-related roles at Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers, as well as serving as a banking regulator with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
“As Coinbase — along with the cryptocurrency space as a whole — grows and matures, continued regulatory compliance across all the varying jurisdictions globally will be critical. Jeff’s appointment builds on the foundation laid by our chief legal and risk officer, Mike Lempres, who will now focus his resources exclusively on leading our government relations efforts,” said Coinbase president and chief operating officer, Asiff Hirji.
“Hiring Jeff is recognition on our part that navigating compliance complexities on a global scale requires a concerted, cross-functional effort, guided by leaders with experience that spans policy, financial services, and corporate governance.”
Hirji commented that the appointment of Horowitz is the latest step in the exchange’s growth plans following the launch of Coinbase Custody at the start of July and its acquisitions of a broker-dealer license (B-D), an alternative trading system license (ATS), and a registered investment advisor (RIA) license.