“I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to join the Komainu team and to contribute to its next stage of development. With its regulated and independent institutional custody platform for cryptocurrencies and digital assets, Komainu provides the much-needed backbone to support the natural evolution of our industry.”
Komainu has appointed Nicolas Bertrand as Chief Executive Officer of the European digital asset custodian. The new leader will be tasked to accelerate the firm’s institutional strategy and expand the business across the globe.
Nicolas Bertrand joins Komainu from Borsa Italiana (Euronext Group), where he was Head of Derivatives and Commodities and member of the Management Committee.
Nicolas Bertrand was Head of Derivatives at Borsa Italiana (Euronext Group)
He brings more than 20 years of experience in market infrastructure and digital assets, including more than a decade at Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange, whilst being an ambassador at the Global Blockchain Business Council and having advised several digital asset businesses.
His experience in scaling and running global teams at leading financial services institutions will prove valuable to Komainu as he steers the company through the current market environment, which whilst challenging, also creates significant opportunities for the growing business to provide regulated and institutionalgrade digital asset services.
Nicolas Bertrand, Chief Executive Officer of Komainu, said: “Blockchain technology has become the underlying infrastructure of the global technology revolution powering the disruptive potential of digital assets. As the industry continues to mature and attract additional institutional participants, the need for regulated, trustworthy and independent digital asset custody services will only grow.
“I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to join the Komainu team and to contribute to its next stage of development. With its regulated and independent institutional custody platform for cryptocurrencies and digital assets, Komainu provides the much-needed backbone to support the natural evolution of our industry.”
Komainu secured a VARA license in Dubai
Prior to Nicolas Bertrand joining Komainu, the firm entered Dubai, having received its provisional regulatory approval from the Government of Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority [VARA], to service institutional clients in the region.
Founded in 2018, the firm emerged as a joint venture between global investment bank Nomura, digital asset security firm Ledger, and full-service digital asset investment and trading group CoinShares.
Jezri Mohideen, CEO at Nomura’s digital asset subsidiary Laser Digital, commented: “Whilst the digital asset ecosystem has been impacted by the global macro environment, institutional adoption is continuing to accelerate, presenting significant opportunities for Komainu. On behalf of Komainu’s board of directors, we would like to extend warm welcome to Nicolas. As CEO he will capitalize on emerging opportunities and lead the entity through its next phase of growth. Nicolas has a strong professional background in financial market infrastructure as well as digital assets and his experience will be key to delivering additional value to Komainu and its global client base.”
