The State of Institutional Custody | Full Webinar

On July 29th Frank Chaparro hosted a panel exploring The State of Institutional Custody. The Block was joined by leaders from Curv, Bakkt and Fidelity Digital Assets.

The question that is top of mind for all participants: What will be the impact be of the OCC’s announcement that national savings banks and federal savings associations can provide cryptocurrency custody services to their customers.

When asked if he has seen an increase in inbound interest from larger institutions since the announcement, Curv COO Josh Schwartz said, “We have definitely seen an uptick in traditional banks downloading our white paper or requesting for conversations.” 

You can watch the webinar in its entirety and learn more about our panelists below:

About the Panelists

Josh Schwartz, COO, Curv

Josh Schwartz brings a unique background of leadership in both digital assets and traditional financial services with a specialization in market structure, trading technology and transaction cost analysis. He has extensive capital markets experience with buy-side and sell-side firms.

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Previously, Josh served as Vice President of Sales at BitGo, where he built the global sales team and led several new initiatives for the firm. Prior to BitGo, he worked at Bloomberg where he led the global new business effort for Bloomberg Tradebook. Josh also served as Head of Business Development at Axiom Investment Advisors, LLC and held several roles at Cantor Fitzgerald, including VP of Business Development for eSpeed (acquired by Nasdaq in 2013). Josh also co-founded the Trior Group, a buy-side advisory business to help optimize execution costs and commission allocation policies.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yeshiva University and an MBA from New York University.

John Conneely, Head of Business Development, Bakkt Custody

John currently leads Bakkt’s business development efforts for Bakkt Custody. Prior to Bakkt, he led institutional sales and strategic partnerships at DACC (Digital Asset Custody Company) , before DACC was acquired by Bakkt in May 2019. Prior to DACC John was a Vice President at the healthcare investment bank, SVBLeerink. Before joining SVBLeerink he was an analyst at Morgan Stanley. John received his bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Christine Sandler, Head of Sales and Marketing, Fidelity Digital Assets

Christine Sandler is head of Sales and Marketing for Fidelity Digital Assets, which provides enterprise-grade digital asset solutions for institutional investors. She leads all sales, marketing and business development activity to accelerate business growth.

Prior to joining Fidelity Digital Assets, Christine served as U.S. Head of Sales for Coinbase, Inc. She has extensive experience in sales leadership and previously served as Head of Equity Electronic Sales for the Americas at Barclays Investment Bank, where she led cross-selling efforts and new business generation, and as Executive Vice President and Global Head of Sales for NYSE Euronext. Christine also previously served as Head of Electronic Sales at Merrill Lynch and worked as a buy-side trader.

An advocate for women’s leadership and the autistic community, she co-founded the Women’s Leadership Action Network, has chaired the Women in Finance Committee for the Security Trader’s Association and serves as a Trustee of two public charter schools serving autistic students in New York.

Christine earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and is a graduate of the INSEAD Global Executive Program.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.