The crypto space continues to enjoy a migration of traditional finance players moving to the world of digital currencies as another player has announced a major new hire.
This time it’s Grayscale Investments, which announced Tuesday that it had snagged Samantha McDonald to be Vice President of Finance. She hails from SPDR Gold and SPDR Long Dollar Gold Trust where she was chief financial officer and treasurer.
Let’s discuss.
You’re hired!
Snagging McDonald is a significant move for Grayscale, which boasts being a global leader in digital currency asset management.
Grayscale CEO Barry Silbert said in a press release the following about hiring McDonald:
"Samantha is an outstanding addition to the Grayscale leadership team, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience managing ETFs and other complex financial institutional instruments. She will play a critical role for Grayscale as digital currencies continue to grow as an asset class for and individual investors. We are very pleased to have her on board."
McDonald on her kids, and investing options
McDonald’s responsibilities at Grayscale will include overseeing finance, accounting and legal. About the responsibilities, she highlighted how cryptocurrencies were the digital gold of the future.
She even mentioned her kids.
“[Cryptocurrencies] are the digital gold of the future. I have children of my own and I think the next generation isn’t going to be buying gold. They’re going to be buying alternatives.”
That’s where cryptos come into play, and that’s why she says she was willing to leave her posts at SPDR. Keep in mind that the SPDR Gold ETF (NYSE:GLD) is the largest to invest directly in physical gold.
"The growing family of products at Grayscale reminds me of the early days of SPDR. Grayscale sits at the forefront of digital currency investing and th e company has enormous potential to further establish itself as the innovator in this developing marketplace.”
Solid background
According to the release, before her tenure with SPDR Gold, McDonald worked at Roubini Global Economics, a global financial firm that provides economic analysis to portfolio managers, chief investment officers, analysts, and bankers.
She was responsible for the planning, operating performance, and leadership of the financial accounting and administrative functions. Prior to RGE, McDonald held multiple financial and operational positions, including as CFO of an education technology company.
Grayscale has launched seven single-asset investment vehicles that provide exposure to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, and Zcash.
Last year, Grayscale introduced its first diversified investment vehicle, Digital Large Cap Fund, which is an adaptive offering that provides exposure to the top digital currencies by market cap.
It notes that its investment vehicles are available only to accredited investors under applicable SEC rules.
Other crypto hiring coups
We told you earlier today about Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) hiring Justin Schmidt to be the first head of digital asset markets for its securities division. He hails from Seven Eight Capital where he was a senior vice president. Before that, he was a portfolio manager at LMR Partners.
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