Millennium Hires Former Bitstamp Exec Merghart as COO of Digital Assets

Merghart will front the hedge fund's plans to build out crypto infrastructure and make other key hires.

AccessTimeIconMay 3, 2022 at 1:36 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 6:45 p.m. UTC

Hedge fund Millennium Management has hired former Bitstamp executive Hunter Merghart to lead its digital asset infrastructure strategy, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

  • Merghart will join Millennium as its chief operating officer of digital assets to build out crypto infrastructure, the source said.
  • Hiring a crypto industry veteran such as Merghart suggests that Millennium is looking to give its crypto plans fresh impetus.
  • Merghart was most recently venture partner at crypto fund Castle Island Ventures, a position he had held since June 2021 having previously been head of operations for Bitstamp. He had also spent a year as head of trading for Coinbase in 2018-19.
  • Millennium, which has over $53 billion in assets under management (AUM), has been eyeing expansion into the crypto market for some time. Last May, it was reported that the firm was standing up a crypto-focused trading fund and was hiring people for an operations team.
  • The hedge fund declined to comment on the report.
  • What Do EigenLayer's Outflows of $2.3B Signal?
    00:57
    What Do EigenLayer's Outflows of $2.3B Signal?
  • What Do TradFi Crypto Moves Mean for Decentralization?
    04:20
    What Do TradFi Crypto Moves Mean for Decentralization?
  • Marathon Digital Buys $100M BTC; India's Special Task Force for Crypto-Related Drug Trafficking
    02:02
    Marathon Digital Buys $100M BTC; India's Special Task Force for Crypto-Related Drug Trafficking
  • Ether Slides as Grayscale's ETHE Outflows Ramp Up
    00:53
    Ether Slides as Grayscale's ETHE Outflows Ramp Up
  • Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Jamie Crawley

    Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.