Koine, the institutional custodian and settlement service for digital assets and fiat money, has appointed former CEO of SIX Digital Exchange (SDX), Martin Halblaub, as Chair of its advisory board, effective 1st January 2020.
As former CEO of SDX, Switzerland’s digital assets exchange, Martin shaped the business’ strategy, model and core technology, as well as the client and product portfolio, and built the operating company.
Martin’s appointment is the first of a series to the Global Advisory Board that Koine is creating to sit above each of its regulated entities, supporting the company as it continues its growth trajectory.
He joins a senior team of founders and non-executive directors from Société Générale, EY, Bacs Payment Schemes, Bank of England and Kleinwort Benson, amongst others.
Martin’s career has been always in banking and financial services, successfully building, scaling-up and leading businesses in international capital markets, corporate and investment banking and asset management, chairing over a dozen companies.
Prior to SDX, Martin held positions as Chairman, Board Member, CEO and Senior Executive at international financial institutions and asset managers. He was also Senior Advisor to SIX Group, the Switzerland’s financial market infrastructure operator.
Martin has also held the positions of Senior Advisor at DWP Bank, the German securities processing bank for financial institutions, and European commercial bank WestLB. He was Managing Director for Risk Management at LBBW, one of Germany’s largest banks with total assets of EUR 238 billion, Head of Global Markets at HSH Nordbank, the German “bank for entrepreneurs”, member of the management board of NORD/LB and President of the Hannover Stock Exchange.
A German national, Martin has studied at the University of Oxford, HEC Paris, INSEAD Business School, the University of Edinburgh, and the universities of Seville and Mannheim.
Phil Mochan, Founder and Head of Strategy & Corporate Development at Koine, said: “Koine brings together experienced capital market professionals with entrepreneurial spirit to create digital infrastructure solutions for market participants seeking to win out from the digital transformation process.
“As the former CEO of SDX, the Swiss-based digital exchange established by SIX, which has pioneered the entry of digital assets into the institutional market, Martin has the insight, know-how and reputation in bringing digital assets and money to the institutional capital markets and supporting incumbents with their digital transitions. He is a fantastic addition to our team.”
Martin said: “Koine’s value proposition enables the smooth movement of today’s financial markets frictionless into the digital age, and their industry-grade technology and the business acumen of their outstanding team are an ideal starting point to create value for all market participants. I look forward to being part of this journey and supporting Koine as they roll out globally their digital asset custody and settlement platform.”
Koine is a leading provider of digital asset and fiat money custody, settlement services and electronic money, creating a platform for professional market participants in a regulated environment.
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About Koine
Founded in 2017, Koine offers segregated, institutional custody and settlement of digital assets, providing a transformative security model, eliminating settlement and counterparty risks. For the first time Koine brings together the full suite of governance, compliance, risk management and audit of real-time asset trading to the digital ecosystem; its institutional clients can engage with digital assets whilst fully adhering to regulated market practices.
Koine’s executive team is made up of experienced banking, capital markets and payments professionals; industry stalwarts who understand the need for an interoperable custody and settlement platform that significantly reduces counterparty and settlement risks for trading.
The Koine state-of-the-art platform has been engineered to provide clients with the tools to manage their assets in a low latency, high-volume environment and benefit from increased security, agility and efficiency.
Koine delivers secure digital vaults to the same technical standard as the very best digital cold stores (FIPS 140-2/3) using its Digital Airlock 2122 technology. This new approach, complying with the EAL7+ standard, the highest possible, eliminates the need for hot wallets and human participation in post-trade processes whilst enabling clients to retain instant access to their assets.
Koine is authorised as an Electronic Money Institution (“EMI”) by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) for the issuance of electronic money. This authorisation is distinct from its specific unregulated financial services offerings in respect of custody and settlement of digital assets and fiat money. It is seeking further appropriate regulatory licenses in trusted jurisdictions with the aim of providing its clientele with the most robustly regulated solution available for digital assets at a global level.
Its ground-up architecture, team, governance and systems make it the solution of choice for the professional trading community, delivering a truly institutional service to support all trading styles, from passive holding to high-frequency trading and offering real-time gross and net settlement options. This means digital trading venues and fund managers are turning to Koine to provide independent, institutional custody and settlement of digital assets.
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