In a regulatory environment of shifts, crypto companies are expanding their US footprint and increasing employment through policy, compliance and market roles.
Companies looking to capitalize on US opportunities not only employ policy and compliance professionals, but also are leaders focused on “to-market” strategies, recruiters told BlockWorks.
WinterMute is the latest to unveil its new US headquarters on Thursday. The New York office, a crypto-centric trading company, will focus on business development and partnerships, a spokesman told Blockworks, with managing director David Mickley leading those efforts.
Ron Hammond, former director of government relations at the Blockchain Association, will lead Winter Mute policy engagement in the US.
WinterMute currently employs around 100 people in London and 25 people in Singapore. The expected US personnel this year is 10 years old, and Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy tells Blockworks that he plans to add New York’s policy, legal and compliance leaders.
“The US is a crucial moment in shaping the digital asset market structure,” Geboy said. “We remain policy agnosticists, but this is part of the conversation and a time of fitting to provide our expertise.”
On the commercial side, being “on the ground” allows WinterMute to directly engage with new and existing counterparties, the CEO explained.
While London and Singapore have historically provided a clearer cryptographic regulatory framework than the US, the new office “follows greater openness in countries where digital assets innovation and large financial institutions accelerated adoption of asset classes,” Gaevoy added.
The announcement of Wintermute’s New York office comes weeks after Maunpay said Manhattan’s new 5,000-square-foot space would become a “central hub” for growing US staff.
Moonpay currently has around 70 people in the United States, accounting for around 20% of the global workforce. This is second only to the UK, which opened its largest office last year.
Keith Grossman, MoonPay’s Enterprise President, will lead the New York City office. Accounting for Vice Presidents of Business, ESPI Elio and Derek Yu will also be based there alongside directors in Social Media, Engineering, Solutions Engineering, Partnerships and Accounting.
The New York office will be the foundation of various Moonpay legal experts, including two vice presidents. The company is looking to fill the position of senior product director, which also focuses on Stablecoins.
“We will be hiring across a range of roles, including product, compliance, operations, engineering,” the representative added.
Just as WinterMute and MoonPay cited US regulatory developments as the reason for opening new sites, Crypto.com also opened a new Washington, DC office last week. The location focuses on public and government work, the company said in a May 7 release.
In a statement, Matt David, the company’s North American president and chief corporate affairs officer, called the US market “the most exciting frontier in our entire industry.”
The new office follows the Crypto platform, which created its North American headquarters in Tyler, Texas last year.
A company spokesman declined to comment further.
Build the US workforce
WorkIncrypto.Global Foundersam Wellalage said many of his European clients are thinking about ways to boost their presence in the US.
“The perception that Trump-era policies and ongoing deregulation have allowed crypto companies to be founded in the US and attracted more quickly both retail and institutional customers,” he said.
Wellage added: “It is also widely recognized that the United States has access to the best crypto-man talents around the world.”
Wellalage’s most common role was what clients called “go to the market” positions. These include sales directors, commercial directors and revenue role directors.
“Marketing roles such as growth marketing and digital marketing are also in high demand,” he said.