Former Genesis CEO Moro joins upstart cryptocurrency derivatives exchange

Longtime crypto markets executive Michael Moro joined an upstart derivatives exchange as chief executive more than eight months after stepping down from his post at beleaguered lending and trading firm Genesis Global Capital.

Moro—who joined Genesis in 2015 following a career on Wall Street that included SecondMarket and Citigroup—will begin building out a team for the new firm, called Ankex. 

Billed as a so-called hybrid crypto exchange, the platform will offer the trappings of both a centralized derivatives exchange as well as that of a decentralized exchange. It was incubated by crypto trading infrastructure company Qredo.

The non-custodial exchange will allow users to self-custody their funds while supporting the same level of low latency, deep liquidity trading, Qredo's Josh Goodbody said in a statement. 

"Having come from Genesis and seen the events of 2022 unfold, I’m acutely aware of the importance of empowering traders to operate on trustless platforms while retaining full control of their assets at all times," Moro said in a press release. Moro stepped down from his role as CEO of Genesis in August. 

Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy in January after the firm failed in a bid to raise cash for its troubled lending unit.

"By leveraging our combined strengths and driving a culture of excellence, we can ensure that traders are able to operate without the risk of losing access to their assets to circumstances beyond their control," Moro said. 

The crypto derivatives market is shaping up to become more competitive in the wake of FTX's meltdown, with Coinbase and Gemini both eyeing their own offshore options. Elsewhere, former hedge fund duo (and former Genesis counter-party) Kyle Davies and Su Zhu have teamed up with former CoinFlex founder Mark Lamb to launch a venue that supports trading in bankruptcy claims of defunct crypto firms. 

Since the start of the year, crypto derivatives markets have seen a surge in activity with bitcoin futures volumes topping $1.3 trillion last month. Binance commands the majority of those volumes, as per The Block's data dashboard. 

In an interview with The Block, Moro said that the company would soon seek funding via a seed raise as it expands out its team.