Ethereum Institutional Appoints Duong as Head of US

Non-profit advocacy organisation Ethereum Institutional has appointed David Duong as Head of US, based in New York City.

Duong brings 20+ years in institutional markets research, most recently as Global Head of Investment Research at Coinbase where he led crypto research for the exchange’s institutional clients, covering economic insights, valuation models and market structure. Before Coinbase, he spent 17 years in HSBC, Santander and Deutsche Bank, heading Latin America FX strategy and covering EM rates and sovereign debt.

Tokenovate Taps L’Heveder as CRO

Post-trade settlement specialist Tokenovate has hired William L’Heveder as its Chief Revenue Officer. He brings more than a decade of experience across capital markets, strategy and commercial leadership, with over seven years at BMLL, a provider of historical market data and analytics. He also worked as Boston Consulting Group and as a derivatives trader.

His appointment comes as Tokenovate continues to build traction around Novat, its programmable settlement protocol for tokenised assets. Novat combines digital legal agreements, the FINOS Common Domain Model (CDM) and programmable settlement to automate complex post-trade processes, streamline operations and improve liquidity efficiency in the global capital markets.

Crypto Advocate Hester Peirce Departs SEC for Academia

Hester Peirce has left her Commissioner role at the US Securities & Exchange Commission after an eight-year tenure. During her time at the regulator she consistently advocated for rules and positions that encouraged the advancement of crypto and digital assets.

Peirce also oversaw the SEC’s Crypto Task Force since January 2025, during which time the SEC introduced several rules that provide directions and guidelines for financial markets participants looking to embrace digital assets and tokenisation.

In November, Peirce will join Regent University School of Law as an Associate Professor.

Broadridge Recruits Golden as Head of Tokenised Product

Broadridge Financial Solutions announced the appointment of Theo Golden, CFA, as Head of Tokenised Product, International, a newly created role. Golden will lead tokenised product development across Broadridge’s international markets, helping global clients adopt compliant, interoperable digital asset solutions at scale.

Based in London, Golden will focus on designing, building and bringing to market tokenised products across capital markets, funds and tokenised assets. He will also support Corporate Development with mergers and acquisitions and strategic venture investment activity in digital assets.

“I am excited to join Broadridge at a pivotal time for tokenisation,” says Theo Golden, Head of Tokenised Product, International, Broadridge. “Global markets are moving quickly as frameworks for tokenised funds and securities evolve. Broadridge is exceptionally well positioned to deliver the trusted, resilient and interoperable infrastructure clients need to move from experimentation to real-world adoption. I look forward to helping build solutions that address tangible client needs and unlock the promise of global, 24/7 market rails.”

Golden joins Broadridge from Baillie Gifford, where he served as Head of Digital Assets and built the firm’s digital asset capability from the ground up. He designed its digital asset strategy, operating model and key external relationships, and launched Baillie Gifford Enhanced Yield (BAGEY), the United Kingdom’s first fully native tokenised fund. Issued on Ethereum and Solana, BAGEY uses on-chain books and records as the legal source of truth while maintaining investor protections, governance and ownership rights.

Apex Group Taps Ouaknine as Global Head of Digital Markets Infrastructure & Wealth Distribution

Apex Group has appointed Jørgen Ouaknine as Global Head of Digital Markets Infrastructure & Wealth Distribution. Based in New York City and reporting to Georges Archibald, CEO of Apex Distribution Ouaknine will oversee the firm’s strategy across digital markets infrastructure and wealth distribution. In this role, he focuses on expanding relationships with digital exchanges, financial market infrastructures, and intermediaries to connect fund managers with new distribution channels and capital sources, while supporting Apex’s capabilities in digital assets and tokenisation.

Ouaknine joins Apex from Euroclear, where he most recently served as Global Head of Innovation & Digital Assets and Head of Products Americas. During his tenure at Euroclear, he established the company’s digital assets practice and led the launch of its initial digital market infrastructure. His professional background also includes several senior leadership positions at BNP Paribas focusing on strategy, transformation, and digital innovation.

“Capital markets are moving toward a more connected model, where infrastructure, distribution and access to capital increasingly converge,” says Ouaknine. “Apex Group is uniquely positioned at that intersection, with capabilities spanning distribution, technology and operations. I’m very excited to join the team and work with clients and partners to open new distribution channels, connect investment opportunities with new pools of capital and help build the market infrastructure needed to support them at scale.”

DataFi Appoints Flannery to Lead Institutional Markets and Ecosystems

DataFi Grouph has appointed Heather Leigh Flannery as its new Head of Institutional Markets and Canton Network/Ethereum Ecosystems. In this role, Flannery is tasked with leading the company’s commercial launch, expanding its footprint in the US market, managing strategic partnerships and driving policy and regulatory engagement across the institutional finance sector. The appointment serves as a strategic extension of an existing alliance between DataFi Group and AI MINDSystems Impact, where Flannery will continue to concurrently serve as Co-Founder, Board Chair, and CEO.

DataFi Group is a specialist in blockchain-based quantitative market infrastructure, risk engine design, and automated market making (AMM) protocols. The company specialises in providing capital-efficient, agent-native volatility and risk management tools. Its core offerings include the GM! Index family (which delivers continuous benchmark pricing across crypto and tokenised commodities), a proprietary quantitative Probability Density Foundation Model, and the Multi-Sector x402 Agent Suite – a set of automated API protocols that allow AI agents and smart contracts to autonomously price and settle risk under strict compliance structures.

The company’s technology is deeply intertwined with decentralised finance (DeFi) and digital assets by serving as a critical pricing and settlement layer for the rapidly growing perpetual futures (“perps”) market. Traditionally popular in DeFi for offering 24/7 trading and high capital efficiency, perps have suffered from oracle manipulation risks and fragmented liquidity. DataFi Group bridges this gap by bringing its unmanipulable, probability-density-backed continuous markets to both the public Ethereum EVM DeFi ecosystem and the private institutional rails of the Canton Network, effectively merging decentralised liquidity with institutional-grade clearing rails.

Through Flannery’s dual leadership, DataFi Group will also help connect these universal digital asset mechanics with new real-world asset classes. Specifically, AI MINDSystems will utilise DataFi’s index feeds to power its institutional data market, showcasing how advanced blockchain infrastructure can bring safe price discovery, liquidity and financialisation to tokenised personal and health data estates.

Accenture Taps Bob Zeglarski as Principal Director – Digital Assets

Consulting firm Accenture has recruited Bob Zeglarski as Principal Director – Digital Assets. He was most recently Associate General Counsel and Executive Director for Digital Assets at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC). In his new role, Zeglarski will help to guide institutions “through complex regulatory landscapes while designing and implementing scalable, future-proof digital asset and tokenisation strategies.”

Former SEC Commissioner Roisman Joins Fireblocks

Blockchain infrastructure provider Fireblocks has appointed former Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Elad Roisman as its new Chief Regulatory and Policy Officer and General Counsel, Regulatory.

In this Washington, D.C.-based role, Roisman will oversee the company’s global regulatory strategy and lead policy engagement with lawmakers. His appointment comes as Fireblocks expands its services past digital asset custody into tokenisation, payments, stablecoins and trading infrastructure for traditional finance and FinTech corporations alike.

Between his time at the SEC and joining Fireblocks, Roisman was a Partner at the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

Jason Rozovsky Expands Clifford Chance’s Digital Assets Team

Global law firm Clifford Chance has expanded its US digital assets and private capital team with the appointment of Jason Rozovsky as counsel to its Funds & Asset Management group in New York.

Rozovsky brings more than a decade of experience in the enterprise blockchain and digital assets sectors, where he has provided strategic transactional, product and regulatory counsel. He previously worked at Interop Labs, Accenture and R3.

Coinbase Appoints Builder Witoff as CTO

Digital asset platform provider Coinbase has a new CTO in Rob Witoff, a veteran technology builder who originally joined the company in 2014 and then rejoined in 2024. Witoff says that in 2009 he got “hooked on Bitcoin empowering builders with programmable money” and that as CTO his goal is to make Coinbase “the best place in the world to build.”

During his first stint at Coinbase, Witoff held roles related to infrastructure and security. He left Coinbase in 2017 and later co-founded a startup called Unit 410, which focused on crypto cold storage and staking. Unit 410 was acquired by Coinbase in 2024 and Witoff rejoined the company as Head of Platform.