Former Chancellor Philip Hammond appointed chairman of crypto firm
Philip Hammond, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been handed the role of chairman at digital asset platform Copper – a crypto firm where he has been a senior advisor since 2021.
Lord Hammond of Runnymede, who was Chancellor from 2016 to 2019, has been providing Copper.co with strategic advice while promoting its digital asset technology and publicly making the case for the need to connect traditional finance with distributed ledger technology.
Over the last three years, the London-based company has grown from a workforce of 50 to more than 300 and has doubled its revenues. Landmark deals with leading financial institutions have seen Copper becoming the infrastructure partner of State Street Digital, onboarding leading hedge funds and partnering with multiple participants in the DeFi ecosystem.
“I have greatly enjoyed working with Copper, a company that has pioneered the use of digital asset investment technology and which is increasingly emerging as the leading option for global financial institutions to trade and safeguard their digital assets,” Lord Hammond said.
“Recent security and regulatory challenges affecting the digital asset sector have only served to emphasise the need for safe, well-regulated trading infrastructure. I remain firmly of the view that the post-Brexit UK Financial Services sector needs to embrace Distributed Ledger Technology as a key part of its strategy to remain a major global financial centre.
“I look forward to continuing to make the case for this potential to be realised as Chairman of Copper.”
Dmitry Tokarev, Copper’s Chief Executive Officer of Copper, said it had been a privilege to benefit from Lord Hammond’s strategic expertise.
“I am thrilled he has agreed to become Chair of Copper,” he added.
“In addition to his guidance and experience benefiting and enhancing Copper, his public advocacy relating to the importance of connecting traditional finance with distributed ledger technology comes at a time when it is needed more than ever.”