Former US Homeland Security official joins blockchain startup Circle

Blockchain startup Circle has announced the appointment of former official at US Department of Homeland Security as the company’s Chief Legal Officer.

The announcement comes on the heels of the company’s $110 million Series E round announced in May alongside tokenized US dollar coins “USD Coin.” Earlier in February, Circle acquired leading cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex.

Gus Coldebella is the newest to join Circle’s senior leadership team and will be responsible for all legal, compliance, regulatory and government affairs.

Coldebella will bring his extensive experience in private practice with leading law firms counseling clients on litigation, government regulation and enforcement, corporate governance, and others to the company. He has served four years at the US Department of Homeland Security and became its acting General Counsel, overseeing over 1,700 lawyers.

“Gus’s leadership will be critical in our mission to work with legislators and regulators around the world to promote smart legal frameworks that encourage growth of the Internet of Value, all while we also work tirelessly with government partners to thwart those bad actors who seek to abuse the freedoms created by technical innovation or undermine confidence in our financial system,” co-founders Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville wrote in a blog post.

In addition to Coldebella, Circle has brought in a number of prominent people to its team including Carla Carriveau, 18-year veteran of the SEC and FINRA, as Senior Regulatory Counsel; Benedicte Nolens, a former securities regulator in Hong Kong, as Head of Regulatory Affairs for Asia and Europe; Robert Bench, former compliance leader from Santander, as Head Regulatory Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer; and many others.