PR Firm Hires Investment Bankers from Jefferies and JPMorgan to Lead Blockchain Strategy Advisory Division

By Ray Crawford·12 June 2018·2 min read

Key Points

Wachsman, a blockchain PR firm with offices in New York and Dublin, announced it hired two senior bankers to launch a new advisory division.
The firm runs the world's largest blockchain-focused public

Wachsman, a blockchain PR firm with offices in New York and Dublin, announced it hired two senior bankers to launch a new advisory division. The firm runs the world's largest blockchain-focused public relations team and has helped over 100 organizations reach their audiences. Michael Chang joins as managing director to lead the strategic advisory group from New York. He spent years as senior vice president of the technology investment banking group at Jefferies. Franklin Bi, formerly vice president and blockchain strategy lead at JPMorgan's Blockchain Center of Excellence, takes the role of associate director.

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The new Strategic Advisory Group will offer blockchain consulting and advisory services to Wachsman's existing clients, plus to publicly-traded and privately-held companies across the globe. The firm counts among its portfolio eCommerce and payments-focused digital currency Dash, regulated Swiss financial intermediary, service provider, and asset manager Bitcoin Suisse AG, social trading network eToro, blockchain-based non-profit Sweetbridge, blockchain-based event ticketing platform BlockParty, and the world's first Bitcoin non-profit organization BitGive.

David Wachsman, the company's CEO, said: "Today is a landmark occasion for our rapidly growing company. We have exceeded our clients' expectations with world-class public relations support and many of them have asked us to do more for them. With the experience and expertise that Michael and Franklin share, we now have the talent to offer a wider range of services. Subject matter expertise in this world-changing technology is extremely valuable, so we're proud to have attracted some of the brightest minds in blockchain to lead our new Strategic Advisory Group."

The hiring reflects a wider shift in the industry. Coinbase announced this month that it would open offices in Japan, with Nao Kitazawa, a former investment banker at Morgan Stanley Japan, running the new office. The cryptocurrency wallet service Blockchain hired Breanne Madigan, an ex-Goldman Sachs executive, in April to strengthen ties with institutional investors. Mike Novogratz tapped Richard Kim, another Goldman Sachs veteran, to serve as chief operating officer of Galaxy Digital, his crypto merchant bank. Wall Street traders and hedge fund managers have begun moving into the cryptocurrency and blockchain space.

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