Crypto Market Maker GSR Appoints Former JPMorgan Executive as Head of Trading

Crypto trading firm GSR, one of the oldest digital asset market makers, appointed former JPMorgan executive Andreas Koukorinis as its new head of trading, the company said Wednesday in a press release.

The hiring is part of GSR’s push to cater to more conservative-minded clients interested in trading the largest cryptocurrencies, bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), Rich Rosenblum, co-founder and president of GSR, said in an email interview with CoinDesk.

“Our business has been highly focused on servicing crypto natives on their exposure to altcoins,” Rosenblum said. “We want to expand our capabilities and offering to groups in TradFi, and they are more likely to trade BTC, and soon ether ETH.”

Koukorinis will lead the U.K.-based firm’s trading platform and strategy that provides services to clients including token issuers, institutional investors, family offices and trading venues, the company said.

Before the appointment, Koukorinis served as global head of credit and FICC eTrading at JPMorgan, and was responsible for global algorithmic credit trading including systematic market making, algorithmic trading in exchange-traded funds across fixed income, and portfolio trading across corporates and emerging markets.

The announcement came as digital asset markets are maturing and have become increasingly intertwined with traditional finance. Wall Street asset management giants have entered the crypto space by issuing bitcoin ETFs and global banks started offering custody services and exploring tokenization of assets like bonds and credit on blockchain venues.

“The next few years are going to be foundational in defining the market infrastructure for digital assets and I see GSR uniquely placed to take advantage of the trading opportunities this presents,” Koukorinis said in a statement.