JST Capital Hires Fed Man for Regulatory Affairs

Digital assets prop trading and market making firm JST Capital, which was founded by former Bank of America e-FX head Scott Freeman and Todd Marakis, former head of APAC EM trading for RBS, has named Martin Grant as global head of regulatory affairs & integrity. In his new role, Grant will be responsible for navigating the evolving digital asset regulatory environment on behalf of JST and will work within JST to ensure best practices. The firm says he will also continue JST’s discussions with global regulators as they work to adopt policies for the evolving digital asset markets.

Grant joins from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he held the role of senior vice president and chief compliance & ethics officer for over 15 years. He was responsible for building and leading their internal compliance efforts, and also worked with other state and federal regulators as well as government agencies to harmonise compliance policies within Federal Reserve Banks and financial institutions around the globe. Additionally, he provided technical assistance and guidance to central banks around the globe on compliance policies and practices.

“Throughout 2021, JST has continued to expand in order to meet growing institutional demand,” says Freeman. “We increased our headcount, tripled the number of clients and saw a 10-fold increase in gross revenue. By bringing in Martin, who has over 30 years of experience operating in the regulatory and compliance space, JST is doubling down on its mission to not only offer clients unmatched financial services in the crypto sector, but to also assist in navigating the regulatory environment. We are excited to welcome Martin to the team and work alongside him to engage with regulators around the globe.”

The firm says Grant will play an instrumental role in reinforcing the its internal compliance processes. Additionally, he will be a resource that JST’s client base can utilise to understand the intricate nature of regulations and make informed investment decisions. It adds this latest hire is the continuation of headcount increase to capitalise on recent growth across the engineering, quant, operations, finance, sales and trading teams.

“The team at JST has been operating within the crypto ecosystem since 2015 and the full suite of financial services they provide to a diverse client base has positioned them to take full advantage of the growing digital asset ecosystem,” says Grant. “Regulators around the world have begun to realise the full scope of digital assets and the role they play in the global economy and as a result are rushing to establish fullsome policies that protect market participants at all levels. I have genuinely enjoyed my time at the Fed and am looking forward to leveraging my background to build out a regulatory framework for this nascent asset class. I am looking forward to working with regulators and establish an open dialog in order to advance regulation that benefits both the investors that use our services and the wider crypto industry.”