Ex-chancellor Philip Hammond takes role at crypto firm

In a press release today (26 January), the firm said Hammond had been a senior adviser to the firm since October 2021 and in that time he had provided “strategic advice” that has helped the company grow and expand its operations.

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 chair of Copper.”

According to a report in the Financial Times, Copper was forced to register in Switzerland after withdrawing its application in the UK because of the slowness of the Financial Conduct Authority.

“We are very much hoping to migrate back to London,” Hammond told the FT.

The Treasury is planning to reform regulations around the cryptocurrency industry. Economic Secretary at HM Treasury Andrew Griffith told a Treasury Select Committee earlier this month the government would be producing a consultation in the coming weeks around regulation of crypto assets.

Griffith added that he was hoping to achieve a financial promotions regime that encapsulated the assets by the end of the year.

Hammond, who was chancellor between 2016 and 2019, said Copper was continuing to add new clients and exchanges despite the recent difficulties in the crypto market.

The firm was founded in 2018 and is a digital asset technology company that allows institutional investors to acquire, trade and store crypto assets.

The chair told the FT the fintech group has almost closed a new funding round, which is expected to value the company at about $2bn.

Dmitry Tokarev, CEO of the crypto firm, said: “It has been an outstanding privilege to benefit from 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.”