Jameel Nazarali, CEO of EDX Markets, is bullish about crypto – even amid a bearish market, he says it is the right time to start trading as the sector prepares itself for the next bull run.
While the crypto exchange began operations in June following a September launch with backing from Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities and Fidelity Digital Assets, it is now moving ahead with increasing staff.
EDX Markets, which currently has a team of about 20 people in the US, is looking for candidates for a range of roles, including chief information security officer, head of risk assessment and a software engineer, according to its LinkedIn page.
Nazarali, who joined as CEO in September from Citadel — where he was global head of business development, and senior advisory and execution services — said that hiring crypto talent is tough during a bullish market.
“The kind of money people were asking for really made it difficult for us. Lots of crypto people had equity in companies with skyrocketing valuations. But after a few months of crypto winter, valuations dropped dramatically and a lot went underwater,” Nazarali pointed out. financial news,
The market meltdown meant a different push for potential candidates.
“Then people started looking for new opportunities as their companies were struggling. In bad market conditions, you can hire really good people without weird bidding,” he said.
Reading CoinShares CEO: ‘Lack of diversity is a serious challenge in crypto’
EDX Markets, which is headquartered in New Jersey, closed a new funding round in June, which also includes a strategic investment from Miami International Holdings, the parent firm of MIAX Exchange Group.
The push into the cryptoasset sector comes amid regulatory action on crypto firms in the US driven by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which began targeting exchanges in June. The agency sued Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao on June 5 for operating an unregistered exchange. On June 6, the SEC sued Coinbase for operating as an unregistered securities exchange and a clearing agency.
These moves have not derailed edX’s plans, but have brought into focus the need for regulatory clarity.
“I appreciate the fact that the UK and EU are developing crypto regulatory frameworks and I look forward to seeing some of those frameworks being developed in the US,” Nazrali said.
Reading Coinbase Legal Head: We Are ‘Fully Prepared’ for a Battle With Regulators
Some of the company’s confidence stems from the fact that its financiers are market veterans – Nazarali said that backing from traditional financial firms means clients take edX Markets “more seriously”.
“One of the hardest things to do when building a new business is getting someone to come to your meeting because they get all these sales calls all the time. But when you say, ‘I’m backed by Citadel, Fidelity, Virtu’, they get a meeting with you, they want to hear your story,” Nazrali explained. FN,
“All investors at EDX Markets have been in this market for decades. They are all used to cyclical market conditions and they understand that sometimes when the market is toughest it really is the best opportunity to invest,” he said.
He added that the market is full of exciting crypto talent, including young people and executives with strong backgrounds in traditional financial firms.
“What I’ve seen in the crypto market is that a lot of people in senior-level positions come from traditional finance backgrounds because crypto hasn’t been around for very long,” Nazrali said.
To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email Bilal Jaffer
Source: www.fnlondon.com
