The US subsidiary of Bitstamp, one of the largest crypto platforms in Europe, has appointed Caitlin Barnett as its new chief compliance officer. She joins the firm from rival Gemini, the cryptocurrency Exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, where she served as Deputy Chief Compliance Officer for over three years.
The new hire gives a further boon to Bitstamp’s operations in the US after the company has recently secured BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), which allows the exchange to offer trading on crypto pairs to the state’s residents.
“This is an exciting time to join Bitstamp and help them carry what they’ve achieved in Europe over to the US,” said Barnett.
Caitlin Barnett
Barnett, whose career in finance spans more than 12 years, will be tasked with ensuring adherence to the relevant rules, regulations, and guidelines by which Bitstamp is bound. Given the increasingly global nature of the business and a regulatory landscape that is constantly evolving, this is a greater challenge now than ever before.
Caitlin brings Gemini’s compliance expertise
To maintain its BitLicense, Bitstamp has to constantly strengthen its AML and KYC compliance as well as the anti-fraud, capitalization, and cybersecurity policies.
Barnett will surely help in this arena as her former employer has been taking a proactive approach with regulatory clampdowns looming every now and then. Gemini is already hiring Nasdaq’s SMARTS Market Surveillance, an industry benchmark technology used across Wall Street, to add more security and identify criminal trading behavior in its venue.
“Caitlin’s experience makes her an excellent fit for this role and we are pleased to have her lead our compliance management processes,” said Nejc Kodrič, CEO of Bitstamp.
Prior to delving into the crypto space, Barnett worked in several key compliance and risk roles including a five-year tenure at JPMorgan Chase & Co., her LinkedIn profile shows.
Bitstamp will soon celebrate its eighth year in operation, making it the longest-running crypto venue in a sector plagued by hacks and exit scams. The exchange is currently ranked 34th in terms of total trade volume, according to the latest data provided by CoinMarketCap.
In 2016, Bitstamp received a publicity boost after it obtained a license to operate as a fully regulated payment institution (PI) in Luxembourg. At the time, Bitstamp touted the license a factor that enables it to become the first fully licensed Cryptocurrency Exchange in Europe.
