BlockFi has appointed Rene van Kesteren as chief risk officer
13 June 2018 New York
Image: Shutterstock
BlockFi has appointed Rene van Kesteren as chief risk officer.
BlockFi, based in New York City, serves crypto investors by offering USD loans collateralised by cryptoassets.
Van Kesteren will be responsible for the company’s risk models and product development in addition to general strategic influence as part of the company’s executive team.
Prior to BlockFi, van Kesteren was managing director of equity markets at Bank of America (BOA) Merrill Lynch.
While at BOA Merrill Lynch, van Kesteren built the equity structured lending platform, including risk and regulatory compliance frameworks. He brings more than 16 years of financial services expertise across traditional and non-traditional prime brokerage as well as knowledge of machine learning and data science.
After leaving BOA Merrill Lynch, Rene joined BlockFi in September 2017 to serve as a member of the company’s advisory board.
According to BlockFi, van Kesteren’s appointment highlights the mounting interest from mainstream finance, despite an early dismissal of bitcoin.
Commenting on his move to the company full time, van Kesteren said: "I've developed a strong belief in the potential of cryptoassets and am excited to contribute to the growth of the ecosystem at BlockFi. An institutional quality lending infrastructure for crypto is currently missing and we're going to bridge that gap."
Zac Prince, CEO of BlockFi, commented: “Rene van Kesteren’s expertise in securities lending, commodity lending, and margin lending, from a risk management and regulatory perspective, are incredible assets to add to our team.”
He added: “While serving on our advisory board, van Kesteren developed a thorough understanding of our business and the crypto ecosystem. His contributions to our efforts will be incredibly beneficial as we continue to grow and diversify our products and markets.”
BlockFi, based in New York City, serves crypto investors by offering USD loans collateralised by cryptoassets.
Van Kesteren will be responsible for the company’s risk models and product development in addition to general strategic influence as part of the company’s executive team.
Prior to BlockFi, van Kesteren was managing director of equity markets at Bank of America (BOA) Merrill Lynch.
While at BOA Merrill Lynch, van Kesteren built the equity structured lending platform, including risk and regulatory compliance frameworks. He brings more than 16 years of financial services expertise across traditional and non-traditional prime brokerage as well as knowledge of machine learning and data science.
After leaving BOA Merrill Lynch, Rene joined BlockFi in September 2017 to serve as a member of the company’s advisory board.
According to BlockFi, van Kesteren’s appointment highlights the mounting interest from mainstream finance, despite an early dismissal of bitcoin.
Commenting on his move to the company full time, van Kesteren said: "I've developed a strong belief in the potential of cryptoassets and am excited to contribute to the growth of the ecosystem at BlockFi. An institutional quality lending infrastructure for crypto is currently missing and we're going to bridge that gap."
Zac Prince, CEO of BlockFi, commented: “Rene van Kesteren’s expertise in securities lending, commodity lending, and margin lending, from a risk management and regulatory perspective, are incredible assets to add to our team.”
He added: “While serving on our advisory board, van Kesteren developed a thorough understanding of our business and the crypto ecosystem. His contributions to our efforts will be incredibly beneficial as we continue to grow and diversify our products and markets.”
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