CoinFLEX, a crypto derivative platform, has tapped Leslie Tam as its new chief strategy officer.
Reported by The Block on Monday, the appointment grabbed headlines as Tam is a former executive at leading global crypto exchange Binance and was overseeing its VIP coverage and over the counter (OTC) trading. He spent more than a year at the Malta-registered exchange before heading to CoinFLEX.
According to the publication, Tam will be responsible for a broad mandate in his new position and will help the company expand into new territories as well as testing new products.
Crypto derivatives - the next big investment opportunity?
CoinFLEX is known for offering physically-delivered crypto derivatives and is largely targeting traders in the Asian markets. It offers futures contracts on Bitcoin , Bitcoin Cash, and Ethereum with a 20 times Leverage . The exchange even launched contracts backed by the unreleased digital currency of Facebook and allowing the traders to bet on its release.
It is a spin-off from the UK-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinfloor and is backed by well-known promoters, including Trading Technologies International, Dragonfly Capital Partners, and crypto trader Mike Komaransky.
Tam is bringing 15 years of experience to the Seychelles-incorporated exchange. Besides Binance, his experience lies in traditional financial markets with over nine years as a director, heading the institutional clients' group at the Hong Kong office of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Prior to that, he was also part of Fundamental Value Partners, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank, where he started his career as an analyst for global portfolio trading.
Though CoinFLEX became one of the first players to launch physically-delivered crypto contracts, it is now facing tough competition all around the world. Bakkt, a much-regulated competitor of it, has launched similar contracts in the United States and has expanded offerings to Bitcoin options. Meanwhile, it is also facing threats from platforms like ByBit and OKEx in the Asian markets.
