1 week ago
Crypto marketplace shaper GSR has agelong positioned itself arsenic a person successful marketplace structure, compliance, and planetary liquidity. With operations spanning centralized and decentralized platforms, the steadfast is actively shaping however superior flows done the integer plus ecosystem.
Part of the company’s occurrence tin beryllium attributed to Josh Riezman, a seasoned astatine GSR and present its Chief Strategy Officer, U.S. and Global Deputy General Counsel. He antecedently served much than a twelvemonth arsenic Managing Director.
Riezman joined GSR aft moving astatine USDC issuer Circle. Before that, helium spent six years astatine Société Générale and astir 3 years astatine Deutsche Bank.
Recently, GSR became the archetypal crypto liquidity supplier to unafraid authorization from some the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and Singapore’s Monetary Authority — a milestone that reflects its proactive attack to compliance successful immoderate of the world’s astir intimately watched jurisdictions.
Riezman expects regulatory alignment to go a cornerstone of sustainable crypto marketplace growth.
In April, GSR led a $100 million backstage placement into Apex (UPXI), a consumer-goods institution that’s present pivoting to a crypto-based treasury strategy.
Ahead of Consensus 2025, CoinDesk spoke with Riezman astir what these regulatory wins mean, however GSR sees the aboriginal of DeFi and CeFi integration, and what the steadfast is doing to enactment the adjacent procreation of crypto projects done its full-stack services.
CoinDesk: GSR has precocious achieved immoderate precise important regulatory approvals, including successful the U.K. How bash these milestones power its operations and its strategical direction?
Riezman: It's a large question. GSR has prided itself connected being astatine the forefront of reasoning astir what the close regularisation is for this abstraction and however that applies to us.
We've been proactive successful moving with regulators astir the satellite to level up arsenic the planetary regulatory authorities emerges and evolves. We were aboriginal adopters successful Singapore and the UK — done the MPI and the MLR — to amusement our committedness to champion standards successful the regulatory space, particularly among trading firms.
We spot this arsenic conscionable the opening of the journey, arsenic regularisation continues to materialize. We're ever reasoning up astir however we request to beryllium prepared to service our clients successful each jurisdiction.
Given the extended acquisition that GSR has with the cryptocurrency abstraction and with compliance, what are the superior regulatory challenges you spot successful the adjacent aboriginal for marketplace makers?
This is becoming thing of a trope now, but regulatory certainty is inactive a large contented successful the crypto space, peculiarly successful the United States. We're successful a play of melodramatic alteration pursuing the predetermination of Donald Trump. But we're seeing affirmative signs, some from regulatory agencies and from the legislative side.
As much clarity comes, it volition unlock greater concern — conscionable similar successful accepted economical planning, clarity and certainty are key. When that clarity arrives, firms similar GSR volition beryllium capable to put successful the due structures and strategies to comply.
For us, it’s astir ensuring we tin support delivering the robust liquidity we’re known for. We’re seeing precise promising signs successful Singapore and Europe, wherever the frameworks are clearer, and we’re hoping to spot akin developments successful the U.S.
How does GSR attack the integration with emerging technologies, including decentralized finance, into its existing offerings?
This is an country wherever we've, astatine immoderate level, been connected the cutting edge. We're ever looking for caller venues. When it comes to DeFi, we’re integrated with each the starring AMMs and cardinal platforms.
We’re besides focused connected expanding our on-chain capabilities, particularly arsenic these hybrid CeFi/DeFi models emerge. Something similar Hyperliquid is simply a bully example.
We spot our spot successful CeFi and on-chain liquidity coming unneurotic successful a truly meaningful way, and it's a abstraction wherever we’re proactively engaging and building.
In airy of the existent marketplace dynamics, what strategies is GSR employing to guarantee liquidity and stableness crossed its operations?
We’ve been astir for a agelong clip — GSR is 1 of the oldest, if not the oldest, marketplace makers successful the space. The mode we’ve managed to enactment present done each the volatility is our heavy committedness to hazard management.
Our hazard model has carried america done turbulent markets, and it continues to bash so. It’s concern arsenic accustomed for america — we’re utilized to volatility and, to immoderate extent, we clasp it arsenic portion of the manufacture that we emotion and are present to support.
Beyond hazard management, we’re focused connected however to enactment clients who are looking for afloat lifecycle enactment done what are truly choppy markets. We’re providing much advisory services now, sharing expertise and connections to the marketplace with our clients and friends.
Looking ahead, what are GSR's cardinal priorities and initiatives successful the cryptocurrency ecosystem?
A fewer things. First, we’re truly focused connected being a existent lifecycle spouse for crypto entrepreneurs — particularly the astir innovative and originative protocol companies. We privation to enactment them from thought to motorboat and beyond, done our task investments, advisory, marketplace making, and OTC services.
We're pulling that each unneurotic into a one-stop store for marketplace participants. At the aforesaid time, we're focused connected the renewed involvement successful the U.S. market. There are truthful galore projects looking to participate the U.S. and integrate with its ecosystem, and we’re good positioned to assistance — we’re connected to each large speech some internationally and successful the U.S.
Lastly, we’re continuing to thin into regulatory advocacy and helping signifier effective, pro-innovation marketplace structures that alteration some improvement and liquidity.
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