Former Senior Executive of Russia’s Largest Bank Leaves for Crypto Startup

Konstantin Shulga is taking on the CEO role at crypto marketplace Finery.

AccessTimeIconApr 1, 2021 at 6:11 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 12:35 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Mainstream finance professionals are making the move into crypto in growing numbers, from middle-size asset managers to the high ranks of the Financial Action Task Force. A Russian bank executive is the latest to make the leap.

Konstantin Shulga, former head of brokerage at Russia’s largest bank, Sber (formerly Sberbank), joined crypto over-the-counter (OTC) service Finery Markets in late March as its new chief executive. The firm is building an institutional peer-to-peer trading marketplace, Shulga told CoinDesk in an interview. 

He went full crypto after more than a decade in institutional finance in Russia, including at a branch of UniCredit, the Moscow Exchange and Sber, which is the leading retail bank in Russia and is half-owned by the country’s government. 

Sber itself is actively exploring the blockchain space and recently announced launching a digital settlement token for corporate clients, but Shulga wouldn’t say if those efforts sparked his curiosity for crypto.

He first bought bitcoin during the bull run of 2017 but sold it at around $18,000, he said, with no second thoughts afterward. 

“I don’t really have time for gambling, so I don’t regret [selling],” Shulga said.

He joined Finery at the invitation of his former coworker at the asset manager ATON, Finery co-founder Ilia Drozdov. Finery’s small team, according to LinkedIn, now employs a handful of former ATON and Moscow Exchange employees. 

Stirring crypto liquidity

Finery Markets is a Cyprus-based startup that aims to be something like LocalBitcoins for institutional investors. Except it’s not just bitcoin – Finery is offering funds and asset managers trading pairs between a number of cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies including U.S. dollars, euros, pound sterling, Canadian dollars and Japanese yen, Shulga said. 

He said that since its launch in April 2020, Finery has brought on 30 clients so far, including asset managers, high-frequency trading firms, crypto exchanges and crypto-related services, mostly in Europe. 

Using Finery, the firms’ trading volume in March reached $200 million, Shulga said. Growth has been steady: in January, volume was only $100 million, Shulga said.

Finery’s main competitors are centralized exchanges and OTC desks, Shulga said, which are also catering to institutional investors. However, “we want to convert them into our allies,” he added, explaining that integrating with Finery would provide them with more liquidity options. 

EDIT (April. 2, 7:45 UTC): Previous version of this article mistakenly said that Sber is half-owned by the Bank of Russia. Sber is half-owned by the government of Russia.

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.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


Read more about