Stablecoin issuer Circle has loaded up its arsenal to fight the ongoing regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies. On July 1, Heath Tarbert, a senior attorney with experience in all three branches of the US government, will take over as chief legal officer and head of corporate affairs.
According to Announced June 8, Tarbert has held leadership positions in all three branches of the federal government and with key regulatory bodies including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOOS), the US Treasury, the Financial Stability Board and the World Bank Group. He was also a special adviser to the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
1/ This morning, @circle announced that Heath Tarbert is joining us as Chief Legal Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs. Heath joins Circle from @citsecurities (Citadel Securities), was former @CFTC Chair, and worked in @USTreasurythe @WhiteHousethe DOJ and @USSupremeCourt
— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) June 8, 2023
Tarbert joins Circle Securities nearly two years after assuming the role of Chief Legal Officer of Citadel Securities, overseeing global legal, compliance, surveillance and regulatory affairs. She will succeed Flavia Naves, Circle’s general counsel, who announced her intention to separate from the company earlier this year.
“The opportunity to add Heath’s experience and leadership to our executive team is an extraordinary step in Circle’s growth as a global company,” said Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire.
Tarbert’s arrival comes amid renewed regulatory uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies in the United States. Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance on various charges. Since the FTX debacle last November, the cryptocurrency space has faced regulatory scrutiny that has hurt companies and driven capital abroad.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Allaire blamed crackdowns on cryptocurrencies by U.S. regulators for the decline in the market capitalization of his stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC). In the past 12 months, the USDC stablecoin’s market share has fallen from 34.88% to 23.05%. The current regulatory environment in the US has favored Tether’s USDT stablecoin, whose market share has grown to 65.89% from 47.04% a year ago.
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