Digital-asset exchange Blockchain.com hired Justin Evans, the former head of crypto investment banking at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., to serve as the company’s new chief financial officer.
The company also hired Mike Wilcox, the former CFO of Velocity Global and a former portfolio manager at Point72 Asset Management, as its new chief operating officer. Wilcox comes to the crypto exchange from consulting firm AlixPartners. Blockchain.com said the hires are part of the company’s plan to grow headcount by 50%.
The moves underscore Blockchain.com’s long-held ambition to go public and come at a time when some of Wall Street’s biggest banks, which had largely avoided the digital-asset space, are beginning to court potential crypto clients for IPOs. The election of crypto supporter Donald Trump as president is expected to unleash a wave of activity in the industry amid a more favorable US regulatory regime.
“Having worked with crypto companies during my time at Goldman, I’ve seen firsthand how dynamic this industry can be,” Evans said in an interview. “Joining at this stage of the company’s journey presents growth opportunities and enables me to contribute in meaningful ways to the next chapter of the company.”
Evans added that Blockchain.com is “taking the steps necessary to be a public company, if and when the public markets are available.”
In addition to Blockchain.com, USDC stablecoin-issuer Circle Internet Financial Ltd. and crypto exchange Kraken have long had aspirations to go public. Meanwhile, companies like custody firm BitGo, the Winklevoss twins-backed exchange Gemini, and exchange operator Bullish are among crypto companies looking to hold IPOs as early as this year.
While at Goldman Sachs, Evans helped build the firm’s crypto investment banking unit, which was formed in 2020. The bank was an adviser to a number of crypto deals, including the direct listing of Coinbase Global Inc. in 2021, as well as Circle’s plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company, a transaction that was eventually terminated.
Morgan Stanley, which hadn’t been a major presence in the digital asset industry, is among banks looking to form relationships with crypto companies. And at Bank of America Corp., senior executives in the investment bank are discussing a potential push into facilitating deals for digital asset firms.
“The outlook in the US is much more favorable now than it was during my time when I was at Goldman Sachs, specifically related to the US policy environment toward the industry,” Evans said.
In May 2024, Evans left Goldman Sachs to become CFO of subscription service KiwiCo. Prior to Goldman Sachs, he was head of emerging fintech investment banking at Barclays.
In 2023, Blockchain.com closed a $110 million round of funding led by UK-based Kingsway Capital. It was one of many crypto companies affected by the collapse of Three Arrows Capital hedge fund in 2022 and cut jobs in the market downturn two years ago.
Source: Bloomberg
