Kraken CCO will join crypto exchange Bitstamp to run US operations

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has hired Robert Zagotta, chief commercial officer of Kraken, to be the first CEO of its business in the United States. 

In an announcement today, Bitstamp said Zagotta would be coming on board to “oversee day-to-day operations” and accelerate the exchange’s growth in the country. He was with crypto exchange Kraken for more than three years and also worked as a senior managing director with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group.

“The U.S. has a unique regulatory landscape and a huge potential upside in the digital asset industry,” said Bitstamp Global CEO Julian Sawyer. “By appointing a regional CEO for Bitstamp, it demonstrates the importance that the United States is playing for our global exchange.”

Zagotta told Cointelegraph he would be focused on “the intricacies and opportunities in the U.S. market,” while Sawyer would handle Bitstamp’s global vision. He said his goal would be to draw in interest from U.S. businesses and investors, but the exchange was “already a major competitor” for local crypto exchanges.

Bitstamp has hired several professionals to fill executive roles in recent months. Sawyer, a former Gemini executive, replaced the exchange’s long-running CEO and co-founder Nejc Kodrič in October. The firm also announced it would be taking on a new chief financial officer and chief operating officer in April.

“We will continue to bring in top talent in the U.S. and around the globe,” said Zagotta. “We doubled our U.S. team in 2021 and expect to triple the team by 2022.”

Related: Bitstamp crypto exchange hires former Barclays exec as new COO

According to Bitstamp, the crypto exchange has seen a 570% increase in new customers in the United States for the first half of 2021, with a 281% increase in assets under management. Data from CoinMarketCap shows the exchange ranks 11th overall, with a daily trading volume of more than $270 million.