Key Takeaways
- • Grayscale appoints Sebastian Pulido as Managing Director and Head of Onchain Asset Management, a newly created role based in Stamford, Connecticut, tasked with developing institutional onchain investment products and strategies.
- • Pulido brings 15+ years of experience across traditional finance, institutional blockchain strategy, tokenization, and DeFi, most recently serving as Director of Institutional & DeFi Business at Aave Labs where he led institutional capital-markets strategy and helped launch Aave Horizon.
- • Pulido will report to Steve Vanourny, Grayscale's Head of Index who joined the company in June, signaling executive-level focus on institutional digital asset expansion.
- • Prior experience includes roles at J.P. Morgan's Onyx (now Kinexys) for institutional blockchain strategy and 12 years at Goldman Sachs leading regulatory and market-structure transformation projects.
- • Appointment follows Grayscale's staking product expansion, including its Hyperliquid Staking ETF (launched June with $125.5 million AUM as of July 21) and Sui Staking ETF (launched February), positioning the firm to capture accelerating institutional demand for onchain assets.
Summary
Grayscale Investments has appointed Sebastian Pulido as Managing Director and Head of Onchain Asset Management, filling a newly created executive position focused on institutional digital asset products and strategy. The role, based in Stamford, Connecticut, represents a strategic escalation of Grayscale's institutional onchain capabilities amid intensifying institutional adoption of blockchain-based investment vehicles.
Pulido arrives from Aave Labs, where he served as Director of Institutional & DeFi Business, overseeing institutional capital-markets strategy and participating in the launch of Aave Horizon, an Ethereum lending market enabling qualified investors to borrow stablecoins against tokenized real-world assets. His career spans institutional finance and blockchain infrastructure: he previously led institutional blockchain strategy at Onyx by J.P. Morgan (now operating as Kinexys) and spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs directing regulatory and market-structure transformation initiatives. This combined tenure—totaling over 15 years—positions him at the intersection of traditional institutional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi) architecture.
Pulido reports directly to Steve Vanourny, Grayscale's Head of Index, who joined the company in June. This reporting structure underscores Grayscale's commitment to systematic product development in the onchain space. The appointment coincides with Grayscale's accelerating staking product rollout: its Hyperliquid Staking ETF commenced trading in June and held $125.5 million in assets under management as of July 21, 2026, while its Sui Staking ETF launched in February. These products exemplify Grayscale's strategic pivot toward yield-generating onchain infrastructure investment vehicles targeting institutional capital.
The hiring reflects broader market momentum toward institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure. Pulido's institutional pedigree—particularly his Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan experience—signals Grayscale's intent to deepen relationships with asset allocators, family offices, and pension funds seeking exposure to onchain protocols and tokenized assets within regulatory-compliant frameworks.
Pulido arrives from Aave Labs, where he served as Director of Institutional & DeFi Business, overseeing institutional capital-markets strategy and participating in the launch of Aave Horizon, an Ethereum lending market enabling qualified investors to borrow stablecoins against tokenized real-world assets. His career spans institutional finance and blockchain infrastructure: he previously led institutional blockchain strategy at Onyx by J.P. Morgan (now operating as Kinexys) and spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs directing regulatory and market-structure transformation initiatives. This combined tenure—totaling over 15 years—positions him at the intersection of traditional institutional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi) architecture.
Pulido reports directly to Steve Vanourny, Grayscale's Head of Index, who joined the company in June. This reporting structure underscores Grayscale's commitment to systematic product development in the onchain space. The appointment coincides with Grayscale's accelerating staking product rollout: its Hyperliquid Staking ETF commenced trading in June and held $125.5 million in assets under management as of July 21, 2026, while its Sui Staking ETF launched in February. These products exemplify Grayscale's strategic pivot toward yield-generating onchain infrastructure investment vehicles targeting institutional capital.
The hiring reflects broader market momentum toward institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure. Pulido's institutional pedigree—particularly his Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan experience—signals Grayscale's intent to deepen relationships with asset allocators, family offices, and pension funds seeking exposure to onchain protocols and tokenized assets within regulatory-compliant frameworks.
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