Coinbase gears up to jump through regulatory hoops with new CFO and other big hires

The Coinbase hiring spree continues. In the last week and a half, the company has picked up a new CTO, a new VP of communications, a global head of inclusion and now a new CFO. In a blog post today, the company announced the addition of Alesia Haas, who joins the team from New York-based alternative asset management firm Oz Management. Previously she held roles with Merrill Lynch and General Electric.

“I’m incredibly excited to have Alesia join Coinbase as our new CFO. She brings deep financial services experience to our growing company,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said of the hire.

“As a fintech company, finance is core to everything that we do. We plan to continue bringing the best and brightest from both finance and technology companies to help create an open financial system for the world.”

Coinbase’s other very recent hires:

• Balaji Srinivasan, Chief Technology Officer (April 16). Srinivasan joins through the company’s acquisition of Earn.com, where he served as CEO.
• Rachael Horwitz, Vice President of Communications (April 9). Horwitz was a partner at Spark Capital.
• Tariq Meyers, new Coinbase Global Head of Belonging & Inclusion, formerly the head of diversity and inclusion at Lyft.

But that’s not all for Coinbase’s recent staff-up. The company also recently brought on board: Emilie Choi, Vice President of Corporate and Business Development; Tina Bhatnagar, Vice President of Operations and Technology; and Eric Scro, Vice President of Finance. In a blog post, the company noted that it was “working quickly to expand our executive team” during the current period of extreme growth. While it’s certain that the company is undergoing some major growth, it’s also girding for potential regulation.

Earlier in April, Coinbase reportedly approached the SEC about the possibility of registering as a licensed brokerage firm and electronic trading venue. Such a move would allow Coinbase to invite into its elite ranks coins currently under scrutiny for looking like securities. If that comes to pass, the company could see a major expansion beyond the four coins (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin) that trade on the platform now, particularly a move toward bringing ERC20 tokens into the fold as the company signaled it would in late March.

Disclosure: The author holds a small position in some cryptocurrencies. Regrettably, it is not enough for a Lambo.

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