Copper.co, the leading provider of institutional digital asset custody and trading solutions, announces the appointment of Lord (Philip) Hammond of Runnymede, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, as Chair. He takes up this role with immediate effect.

Lord Hammond has served as a Senior Adviser to Copper since October 2021. During this time, he has provided strategic advice to the Copper team as the firm has grown significantly and expanded its operations and services globally.

Lord Hammond has been at the forefront of promoting the UK as a global leader in digital asset technology and publicly making the case for the need to connect traditional finance with distributed ledger technology and reforming the UK’s regulatory framework governing digital assets.

In the time since Lord Hammond joined Copper as Senior Adviser, the firm has grown from 50 to over 300 people, doubling revenues. Landmark deals with leading financial institutions have included Copper becoming the infrastructure partner of State Street Digital, onboarding leading hedge funds and partnering with multiple participants in the Defi ecosystem.

The firm’s growth is further underpinned by its transformational exchange network ClearLoop. The product enables institutional clients to trade on multiple digital asset exchanges while keeping funds in secure custody with Copper, thereby mitigating counterparty risk. As a result, new clients and exchanges are joining ClearLoop at an accelerated pace.

Dmitry Tokarev, Chief Executive Officer, Copper, said: “It has been an outstanding privilege to benefit from Lord Hammond’s strategic expertise forged by his successful career in politics and business. I am thrilled he has agreed to become Chair of Copper. 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.”

Lord Hammond, Chairman, Copper, said: “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.

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 stategy 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.”

Lord Hammond enjoyed a distinguished career in British politics as a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2019, serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer (2016-2019), Foreign Secretary (2014-16), Defence Secretary (2011-2014) and Transport Secretary (2010-11). Since stepping down as the Member of Parliament for Runnymede and Weybridge in November 2019, Lord Hammond, who was awarded a life peerage by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in July 2020, has resumed his business career.

Source: Copper