Blockchain Hires Former Goldman Sachs Executive to Attract Institutions

London-based cryptocurrency wallet and data provider Blockchain has hired Breanne Madigan, a former Goldman Sachs executive, as head of its institutional sales and strategy.

Madigan has joined the blockchain firm earlier this month, and it is the second firm in her professional profile. Before joining Blockchain, she was with Goldman Sachs since 2003. After joining Goldman Sachs as an analyst specializing in the money market sales, she slowly climbed the corporate ladder and reached the leadership position.

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Served as the head of institutional wealth services at Goldman Sachs, Madigan oversaw a division whose total assets under management reached a record $1.49 trillion in 2017.

Welcoming Madigan, Blockchain’s co-founder and CEO Peter Smith said: “Breanne has a proven track record of adding value to her teams and her clients, and as Blockchain continues to grow its institutional presence, I can think of no one better to help scale our business.”

Targeting institutions

This particular appointment is very crucial and signals Blockchain’s intention to add the lucrative institutional clients. Blockchain is very conservative about discussing its businesses publically, however, in the past, Smith told Coindesk that the firm has “a lot of family office, hedge fund investors.”

The wild and volatile market of cryptocurrencies is still struggling to attract large institutions due to the associated risks with it. Through the introduction of Bitcoin futures by two US exchanges last year made a clear way for institutional entry, it was not as successful as anticipated.

However, according to many analysts, this trend is going to change this year, as we have seen many promotions of crypto-related funds in last few months.

Ari Paul, a former portfolio manager at the University of Chicago and current CIO of cryptocurrency investment firm BlockTower Capital, told CNBC: “do think it’s inevitable from a few angles. Even if they never believe in it as an asset class, they’re smart enough to recognize the alpha opportunity.”

“It is an honor to join Blockchain, the leading provider of digital asset software,” said Breanne Madigan. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to create a more modern and inclusive financial system for businesses and individuals around the world, and look forward to leveraging what I have learned from the traditional financial industry in this exciting new venture.”