Copper appoints new CEO to focus on strengthening US presence

Crypto custodian firm Copper has appointed a new chief executive to double down on its presence in the U.S., Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi.

Copper, a crypto custodian and collateral management hub, announced the appointment of Amar Kuchinad as its new global chief executive as the firm seeks to strengthen its institutional approach and expand its presence in the U.S., Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi.

In a blog announcement, Copper said that Kuchinad, who succeeds founder Dmitry Tokarev, will spearhead the company’s growth strategy, driving its “institutional-first approach to accelerate expansion across core markets.”

“Strengthening Copper’s U.S. presence whilst building on recent regulatory milestones in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi will be central to this approach.”

Copper

Tokarev, after seven years as CEO, will continue his involvement as founder director and strategic shareholder, per the blog announcement. Prior to Copper, Kuchinad served as managing director at Goldman Sachs and as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He also founded Electronifie, which developed an SEC-registered alternative trading platform.

In his new role, Kuchinad will oversee ClearLoop, the firm’s custody and trading network, which is said to be processing 20 million trades each month, amounting to a total notional value of $100 billion.

The leadership change comes amid heightened scrutiny of Copper following investigations revealing links to sanctioned individuals. A report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists highlighted a transfer of over $4.2 million in crypto to Jonatan Zimenkov, a Russian national with ties to an arms-dealing network. Although the report indicated that Copper did not breach regulations at the time of the transactions, it raised questions about the firm’s compliance practices at the time.

In March 2022, Tokarev issued a public statement on Copper’s website, condemning the Kremlin’s military offensive against Ukraine, adding that “the Russian government does not speak for every Russian. They do not even speak for the majority of them.”