Crypto exchange Kraken taps Marco Santori as chief legal officer

Kraken, the cryptocurrency exchange company, has hired veteran industry lawyer Marco Santori as its chief legal officer.

The exchange firm said Monday that Santori "will use his experience with regulators, banks, payment service providers, broker-dealers, and several other key industry players to drive the next phase of Kraken's growth." 

Santori previously served as Blockchain.com's president and chief legal officer, a position he first took in February 2018. He was also a partner at law firms Cooley LLP and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, both based in New York. 

In an interview with The Block, he spoke to Kraken's growth plans and his role in providing a legal foundation for that kind of expansion. 

"The company itself is growing aggressively. That requires legal support. There is not a single company in crypto that has the legal support it needs," he said.

Kraken's public expansion moves in recent months have included the purchase of Circle's over-the-counter trading desk and the addition of forex trading to its slate of service offerings.