Digital currency wallet Blockchain has appointed Marco Santori as its new president and chief legal officer. The role of President was formerly held by Blockchain co-founder Nicolas Cary, who has assumed the role of vice chairman.
Santori comes to the U.K.-based company from Cooley LLP, where he worked as a partner, leading the law firm’s global financial technology practice. During his tenure at Cooley, Santori built a digital assets-focused legal practice.
In his new role, Santori will build Blockchain’s compliance, legal, and corporate development teams and is charged with leading the team in bringing new products to market. “I’m honored and thrilled to join Blockchain, the leading provider for digital asset software,” said Santori. “It’s a compelling opportunity to contribute to a company that is not only achieving unparalleled business success, but also delivering on a powerful mission to create an inclusive financial system from which everyone can benefit.”
Santori’s new position at Blockchain seems to be a good fit for him– he currently serves as an advisor to the International Monetary Fund and is the Blockchain Ambassador for the State of Delaware. Additionally, he penned the “Simple Agreement for Future Tokens” (SAFT) Project Whitepaper, which set the standard for mitigating risks associated with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
Blockchain CEO and co-founder Peter Smith said, “Marco has a breadth and depth of knowledge that is unmatched and I couldn’t think of a better person to focus entirely on our expansion efforts and strategy as we continue to serve our millions of users globally.”
Founded in 2011, Blockchain has more than 22 million wallets and has worked with its exchange partners to process 100+ million transactions in more than 140 countries in 20+ currencies. The company considers its wallet more secure than competitors Coinbase and Kraken because it does not offer an exchange. Instead, Blockchain’s wallet simply stores funds and has no visibility into users’ wallets.
Blockchain presented at FinDEVr San Francisco 2014. The company has offices in London, New York, and Brazil and has raised a total of $70 million, thanks in part to a $40 million Series B round raised last June. In August of last year, the company added ether to the list of currencies it supports.