Kraken Appoints Bivu Das as UK Head

Blair Halliday will be succeeded by Bivu Das, a fintech entrepreneur and former Starling Bank executive, according to an announcement.

Halliday, who will soon leave the company, took over roughly a year ago after holding a comparable position at the rival exchange, Gemini.

Das previously managed Unblock, a startup crypto payments gateway, and FIBR UK, a small business finance platform.

In addition, he spent one year as the head of operations strategy and scaling at Starling Bank, a British neobank founded by Anne Boden and backed by Harald McPike, a billionaire from the Bahamas.

According to today’s announcement, Das will oversee Kraken’s efforts to expand its business in the United Kingdom, with 275 employees and a substantial client base.

The company is registered with the FCA as a crypto asset exchange and wallet custodian, holding derivatives and benchmarking unit authorizations. The exchange claims to account for fifty percent of the GBP spot trading volume in cryptocurrencies.

Das said of the UK market, “It’s essential.” It is one of our most vital and significant markets, and even in the current market, volumes have remained relatively stable.

Due to new marketing restrictions that have disrupted offshore exchanges, Das’s appointment occurs at a precarious time for UK crypto firms.

Bybit has already suspended its UK operations in response to the stricter regulations, and Binance has been forced to halt the onboarding of new customers.

However, Das stated that Kraken is equipped to navigate the stricter regime.

“We’ve worked with regulators to reach a point where we feel it’s time to move on to the next chapter. “We can begin to build upon everything that has been established,” he said.