Key Takeaways
- • GSR Markets Ltd., the London-based digital asset trading firm founded in 2013, hired Eva Sanchez as its first-ever chief legal officer, with Sanchez previously serving as managing director, general counsel, and head of international compliance at AQR Capital Management LLC.
- • Sanchez spent nearly three years in-house at AQR, where she oversaw legal and compliance for the firm's international business across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
- • GSR also named Eugene Ferrara, a non-lawyer former compliance executive at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, as chief compliance officer.
- • The hires reflect growing institutional acceptance of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance, which has prompted regulators worldwide to examine oversight frameworks for the sector.
- • Sanchez's immediate priorities are regulatory strategy and building GSR's in-house legal and compliance staff.
Summary
GSR Markets Ltd. has become the latest digital asset trading firm to recruit a senior in-house lawyer from traditional financial services, according to Bloomberg Law. Eva Sanchez, previously managing director, general counsel, and head of international compliance at investment manager AQR Capital Management LLC, has joined the London-based firm as its first-ever chief legal officer.
Sanchez, a former Clifford Chance associate, will work out of GSR's London headquarters. The company also has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Zug, Switzerland. She said she was drawn to GSR by the vision of its management team and the "eye-watering pace" at which the digital asset industry is expanding. Her immediate focus will be regulatory strategy and building out GSR's in-house staff.
The appointment comes as asset managers, hedge funds, and other investors grow more accepting of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance, prompting policymakers and regulators globally to examine oversight frameworks for the space. Sanchez said a sound regulatory framework is required to ensure orderly and transparent markets, noting that many institutions have quietly been developing investment use cases even as retail trading has dominated headlines.
GSR has also hired Eugene Ferrara, a non-lawyer who previously worked as a compliance executive at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley in New York, as chief compliance officer. In a statement, co-founder Cristian Gil, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. energy trader, said both hires would help GSR instill the controls, structure, and regulatory rigor needed to advance the industry.
Sanchez spent nearly three years at AQR, a Greenwich, Conn.-based investment manager that has delivered reduced returns to investors in recent years. During her tenure she navigated Brexit's implications for distribution and delegation. AQR's former legal chief, William Fenrich, became general counsel of Rockefeller Capital Management LP last year, and Herbert "H.J." Willcox is now AQR's legal and compliance chief.
Sanchez declined to say which law firms advise GSR or whether the company pays external vendors in crypto, an issue that has led to litigation involving firms that accepted digital assets for legal services. GSR previously faced litigation with at least one firm over a bitcoin-related payment. Sanchez said she expects to build strong relationships with outside counsel, emphasizing the value of helping external lawyers understand the business.
Sanchez, a former Clifford Chance associate, will work out of GSR's London headquarters. The company also has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Zug, Switzerland. She said she was drawn to GSR by the vision of its management team and the "eye-watering pace" at which the digital asset industry is expanding. Her immediate focus will be regulatory strategy and building out GSR's in-house staff.
The appointment comes as asset managers, hedge funds, and other investors grow more accepting of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance, prompting policymakers and regulators globally to examine oversight frameworks for the space. Sanchez said a sound regulatory framework is required to ensure orderly and transparent markets, noting that many institutions have quietly been developing investment use cases even as retail trading has dominated headlines.
GSR has also hired Eugene Ferrara, a non-lawyer who previously worked as a compliance executive at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley in New York, as chief compliance officer. In a statement, co-founder Cristian Gil, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. energy trader, said both hires would help GSR instill the controls, structure, and regulatory rigor needed to advance the industry.
Sanchez spent nearly three years at AQR, a Greenwich, Conn.-based investment manager that has delivered reduced returns to investors in recent years. During her tenure she navigated Brexit's implications for distribution and delegation. AQR's former legal chief, William Fenrich, became general counsel of Rockefeller Capital Management LP last year, and Herbert "H.J." Willcox is now AQR's legal and compliance chief.
Sanchez declined to say which law firms advise GSR or whether the company pays external vendors in crypto, an issue that has led to litigation involving firms that accepted digital assets for legal services. GSR previously faced litigation with at least one firm over a bitcoin-related payment. Sanchez said she expects to build strong relationships with outside counsel, emphasizing the value of helping external lawyers understand the business.
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