Coinbase announced on Tuesday that it has named Brett Redfearn as its new Vice President of Product and Capital Markets.
According to a recent press release shared with Finance Magnates, Brett Redfearn, a finance veteran with more than a quarter of a century experience in senior leadership roles, has been recruited by Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, as its new Vice President of Product and Capital Markets.
His responsibilities include defining and steering its vision and strategy to set the global standard for crypto capital markets. This includes digital asset securities and its own crypto Trading Platform . Moreover, he will report directly to Surojit Chatterjee who is its Chief Product Officer.
Backtracking Redfearn’s Vocation
Before Coinbase recruited Redfearn, he served the US SEC as its Director of the Division of Trading & Markets for more than three years. He successfully led 250 professional staff responsible for the Regulation of exchanges, broker-dealers, clearing agencies and transfer agents.
Prior to the SEC, JP Morgan benefitted from his experience for almost ten years. He initially began as its Global Head of Algorithmic Trading in January 2008. From there, he received several promotions until he appointed as Head of Market Structure for Global Markets. Part of his responsibilities entailed smart order routing, internal JPM marketplaces, exchange, MTF and ATS relationships and customer education regarding market structure, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Alongside his experience with JP Morgan, Redfearn served on the Board of Directors for Bats Global Markets (renamed Cboe Global Markets). Over the course of nearly eight years, he triumphed in the role. Simultaneously, he also served on the Board of Directors at BIDS Trading for roughly two years.
Earlier on, Chicago Stock Exchange recruited him for its Board of Directors back in 2006. He stayed with the exchange for around two years.
Also at Bear Stearns & Co., he took on the role of S.M.D. Market Structure Strategy. From August 2004 until June 2008, he was responsible for market structure strategy and exchange relationships. Additionally, he examined how technologies, regulations and business trends changed equities and derivatives markets globally.
His earliest known position was at the American Stock Exchange as its Senior Vice President. From late 1996, he successfully led the business as its Head of Business Strategy and Equity Order Flow Division.
Changes at Coinbase
Over the last year, Coinbase has increased its performance, rolled out support for new assets and grown its coverage team in the US, APAC and Europe. Additionally, it crossed $90B in platform assets, utilizing its acquisition of Tagomi’s enhanced trading tools to win large public clients. Plus, it has launched a market maker program while building the institutional brand more widely. Since Redfearn’s extensive expertise is in markets, regulation and electronic trading, this makes him an ideal candidate for this position.
Commenting on the announcement, Redfearn stated: “I’ve always been fascinated with the impact that new technologies have on financial markets. Over the course of my career, I have been directly involved in our markets’ evolution, whether at a traditional floor-based stock exchange, a growing electronic exchange, on a Wall Street trading desk, or at the SEC. [Since] the technology has matured, the regulatory requirements are more clear, and the environment is increasingly conducive for bringing digital assets, including securities, to millions of investors. Working hand-in-hand with the outstanding engineers at Coinbase and innovators in the new crypto economy, I intend to help build a market ecosystem that creates new efficiencies and democratizes the investment process while being 100% compliant with our securities laws.”
