The head of custody at Coinbase Global Inc. has left the company, making way for changes as the crypto giant readies itself to offer services for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund applicants.
Aaron Schnarch, who served as the CEO of Coinbase Custody, departed recently, confirmed by a company spokesperson. His role was filled by Rick Schonberg back in August, as per the spokesperson. Schonberg, who joined Coinbase in 2021, previously held positions at Goldman Sachs, State Street, and Tagomi, as detailed in his LinkedIn profile.
Coinbase stands out as the leading choice for custodial services among Bitcoin ETF aspirants such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Grayscale Investments, based on Bloomberg Intelligence data. Custody services are crucial for potential spot-Bitcoin ETF managers as they play a vital role in safeguarding tokens, a responsibility that investors heavily rely upon.
“We’ve extensively prepared for ETF approval,” noted a Coinbase spokesperson in a statement, highlighting their readiness for increased trading volume, liquidity, and overall demand on their systems.
Functioning as a trust company, Coinbase Custody operates under the regulation of the New York Department of Financial Services and undergoes audits by Deloitte & Touche.
The race for the inaugural US regulatory approval for an ETF investing directly in the largest cryptocurrency is reaching a pivotal stage. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has a looming Jan. 10 deadline to decide on the spot Bitcoin ETF application submitted by Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management LLC, 21Shares, and potentially other similar filings.
Coinbase’s stock has witnessed significant gains amid this year’s resurgence in the crypto market, experiencing a surge of nearly 400% thus far in 2023.
