We are pleased to announce the appointment of renowned international lawyer, venture capitalist and fintech advisor Edward M. Stadum as General Counsel, reporting to CEO Jesse Powell.

With five decades of legal experience, Stadum will offer specialist advice in Kraken’s cryptocurrency domain, with particular emphasis on best business practices, corporate governance, finance, acquisitions, strategy, technology and regulation. Stadum joins Kraken’s management team after a post as US General Counsel to Fidor Bank, an innovative, German regulated online direct bank that supports Kraken’s leading euro business.

Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, said, “Edward Stadum’s 50 years worth of experience in banking, technology, law and venture capital will serve Kraken in key markets in North America, Europe and around the globe.”

An Air Force veteran, Stadum is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School. During a storied legal career Stadum has represented many technology firms, financial services organizations and high profile individuals. Raised in the Bay Area, Stadum was Founder and CEO of the San Francisco Local Development Corporation, where MBA students were drafted from the Stanford Business School to consult with local minority business owners.

In 1990, Stadum joined Skadden Arps in San Francisco before moving to Germany, becoming fluent in the language and taking an LLM at the University of Constance. He practiced law for several years in the traditional banking sector and eventually founded TecVenture Partners, a Munich-based early stage technology venture capital fund. After 10 years with the fund, which invested in German startups incubated through city technology centers, Stadum founded Opus 111, a hedge fund due diligence and analytic service.

On the announcement, Stadum said, “At Fidor I was tasked with conducting a thorough external audit of Kraken. After combing through every detail, I grew more and more interested in the remarkable opportunities ahead for Kraken and for the digital currency market, so much so that with Fidor’s consent I left the bank to join the client full time.”

Stadum added, “Kraken is already at the center of this growing industry and I look forward to helping Jesse and the team elevate a thriving startup into a lasting, professional trusted financial enterprise globally.” Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, gave a final comment saying, “It says a lot that Ed wanted to join the team after seeing what was ‘under the hood’ while conducting an audit of Kraken. In fact, having a window into how things work at Kraken made him even more interested in joining our exchange, which is a good sign that we have a solid foundation and that we’re on the right track for long-term success. We look forward to leveraging his five decades worth of experience as we further develop Kraken.”