Bitfinex Securities taps ex-Blockstream Jesse Knutson as Head of Operations
Bitfinex Securities issued its debut offering earlier this year, with the launch of the Blockstream Mining Note, which raised Eur6.75m, and provides accredited investors exposure to bitcoin mining, functioning as a tokenized version of Blockstream’s institutional focused bitcoin mining business.
Bitfinex Securities has appointed Jesse Knutson as Head of Operations, responsible for expanding the platform’s issuance pipeline, oversee distribution, build out its user base and work with regulators.
His wealth of experience in the field of blockchain-based securities, includes having previously served as Vice President Financial Products at Blockstream. In Knutson’s previous role at Blockstream he was responsible for Blocksteam’s Financial Products business.
Prior roles includes Head of Sales at Taiwan-based MaiCoin, Head of Capital Solutions at Macquarie Group Taiwan, and Vice President at Barclays’ Taiwan operation.
Bitfinex Securities helping firms raise funds and liquidity
Jesse Knutson, Head of Operations at Bitfinex Securities, commented: “I’m delighted to join Bitfinex Securities and see digital securities playing an important role in the upgrade to capital markets that will take place in the coming years. I look forward to bringing my experience to bear in a team that has the energy and expertise to disrupt the incumbent stock exchanges and securities industry.”
The tokenized securities trading platform of Bitfinex is a regulated investment exchange in the AIFC Fintech Lab and aims to be a hub for technology startups, funds, innovative token offerings, as well as traditional companies, who are seeking funding and liquidity in the digital token economy.
Bitfinex Securities issued its debut offering earlier this year, with the launch of the Blockstream Mining Note, which raised Eur6.75m, and provides accredited investors exposure to bitcoin mining, functioning as a tokenized version of Blockstream’s institutional focused bitcoin mining business.
Earlier this month, Bitfinex appointed Giles Dixon as Head of Licensing, where he will be in charge of the digital token trading platform’s plans to obtain regulatory approval and licensing across a variety of global jurisdictions.
Giles Dixon has a wealth of experience in the field of regulatory compliance, having previously served as a Senior Manager at Grant Thornton LLP in Toronto, where he led the virtual asset risk advisory practice at the accountancy and advisory firm, where he specialized in areas relating to regulation and risk.
SEPA, Portuguese, and FIX gateway
In April, Bitfinex partnered with fiat on-ramp provider OpenPayd. The partnership enables Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) payments for euro-denominated deposits and withdrawals. SEPA instant is a more efficient and obviously faster means to transfer Euros, which Bitfinex anticipates will grow their transactional base much faster than the use of SWIFT.
Crucially, with Bitfinex having access to the SEPA Instant payment scheme, its customers are now able to top up their fiat wallets in real time. This also provides additional options for Bitfinex customers to deploy euros onto the platform and have the ability to pay-in and pay-out from their accounts near-instantly.
The crypto trading platform has also recently added a Portuguese version of its educational content to offer the same level of opportunity among Bitfinex clients to better understand digital tokens and blockchain.
The crypto exchange has also launched a Financial Information eXchange (FIX) gateway amid a surge in demand for high-speed connectivity among the exchange’s growing user base.
The message routing service using the FIX protocol will be adopted by the cryptocurrency exchange to enable institutional customers to use their existing FIX infrastructure in order to connect to the Bitfinex platform.
The introduction of FIX will prevent bottlenecks on the platform, particularly during episodes of high levels of volatility, thereby enhancing overall levels of latency and performance on the platform.
