SIX Digital Exchange's CEO joins Galaxy Digital as head of Europe

People • August 12, 2021, 9:00AM EDT

UPDATED: August 12, 2021, 11:06AM EDT

Galaxy Digital has hired former SIX Digital Exchange CEO Tim Grant to run its European division, the firm announced Thursday.

Grant, who joins Galaxy as head of Europe next week, started his career with a nine-year stint at investment bank UBS before he dived into technology and digital assets. In 2015, he became CEO of blockchain firm R3's Lab and Research Centre where he worked just shy of two years. He then founded a digital asset firm called DrumG Technologies prior to joining SIX.

SIX Digital Exchange provides infrastructure for digital asset platforms and is part of SIX Group, which operates the Swiss Stock Exchange. Grant became CEO in March 2020, before joining the board of directors of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance — which the SIX Digital Exchange is part of — in April 2021.

At Galaxy Digital, the investment firm run by billionaire Mike Novogratz, Grant's remit is to expand the firm's presence in Europe and run its operations in the region.

In an interview with The Block, Grant said he plans to build out a team covering many of the businesses Galaxy operates stateside, including sales and trading, investment banking, and wealth management.

"If you look at what we've done in North America, we've gotten one of the bigger banks such as Goldman and Morgan Stanley to have us on their platform," he said, referring to two different deals announced earlier this year between the investment banks and Galaxy's asset management unit.

"I'll be getting in front of the biggest allocators and asset managers in this jurisdiction. I'm not going to name any specific firms, but the largest hedge funds in London, no question."

As The Block has reported, hiring in the crypto industry has ramped up this year, spurred on by heavy levels of funding and the lure of tokens.

Update: We have fixed the details regarding Grant's time at R3.

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Tim is the Editor-In-Chief of The Block. Prior to joining The Block, Tim was a news editor at Decrypt. He has earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of York and studied news journalism at Press Association Training. Follow him on X @Timccopeland.

Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].