Coinbase announced on Tuesday that it has welcomed the former Chief Executive Officer of Instinet, a broker owned by the Japanese investment bank Nomura. Jonathan Kellner has joined the cryptocurrency exchange as Managing Director of its Institutional Coverage Group.
Kellner brings more than two decades worth of experience in the financial markets to the company. Prior to Coinbase, Kellner was the CEO of Instinet where he worked for more than 11 years, originally joining the firm as president and led its US Sales Trading Group. Throughout his career, he has also held positions at Charles Schwab & Co. and Morgan Stanley.
According to the statement issued by Coinbase, Kellner will be in charge of its institutional sales and support organizations. He will also help the firm deliver various institutional crypto trading products to professional investors.
Earlier this year in May, Coinbase revealed these products which include custody services for storing cryptocurrencies, developing its electronic crypto trading market and prime services.
The appointment of Kellner is in line with Coinbase’s plan to increase its institutional sector to cater to professional clients such as banks, asset managers and hedge funds. In fact, as the nascent industry matures cryptocurrency trading is becoming increasingly popular in the institutional trading market. Despite a slump in the prices of major digital assets such as Bitcoin, institutional demand has continued to rise.
Kellner Is the Latest Addition in the Coinbase Hiring Spree
Coinbase is currently going through a hiring spree, with Kellner being the latest in many professionals to join the team. Only yesterday, FortuneZ reported that Chris Dodds, the former executive vice president and CFO of Charles Schwab & Co., is joining the board of America’s largest cryptocurrency platform.
In addition, on Monday, JPMorgan longtime executive director Oputa Ezediaro joined the San Francisco company to take on a key role within its Institutional Coverage Department.
