Hashdex, a leading global crypto-focused asset manager, today announced that Brian Brooks has joined Hashdex’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), expanding the firm’s Board from four to five members. As a director and representative of Hashdex investor Valor Capital Group, Brooks will serve as a strategic advisor to Hashdex, providing counsel on global regulation to accelerate Hashdex’s continued growth in global markets and further its efforts to offer institutional investors secure and accessible exposure to the crypto ecosystem.

Often referred to as the “first fintech Comptroller,” Brooks is recognized as one of the most visionary global leaders in financial services, fintech and cryptocurrency. Throughout his distinguished career, Brooks has served as a vanguard for the fintech and cryptocurrency industries and is noted for his historic achievements on bank charters, granting the first fintech and crypto charters, respectively, as well as for his work promoting bank-fintech partnerships. As a member of Hashdex’s Board, Brooks is joining the council representing Valor and will enhance the firm’s efforts to bridge the gap between the crypto ecosystem and traditional finance, accelerating institutional adoption and scaling key partnerships with financial organizations and policymakers around the world.

“Brian’s extensive experience as a leader in financial regulation and the crypto industry will help Hashdex meet our core mission of giving investors simple and secure access to the developing crypto ecosystem,” said Marcelo Sampaio, Co-Founder and CEO of Hashdex. “His proven ability to push forward thoughtful, innovation-driven public policy is much needed at this time, and we are thrilled to have him as a partner and advisor.”

Brooks currently serves as a Managing Partner at Valor Capital Group, where he leads the sourcing and execution of investment opportunities and supports growth initiatives across the firm’s portfolio, especially in the intersection of crypto and traditional finance. Valor led Hashdex's Series A round and has been supporting the company with strategic, business development and regulatory initiatives in Brazil and abroad.

Before joining Valor, Brooks served as CEO of two blockchain-focused companies, and also served as chief legal officer of global crypto exchange Coinbase. Previously, Brooks was acting U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, heading the U.S. government agency that charters and supervises the national banking system. He also served as a member of the FDIC board of directors and as a voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

“Crypto assets are changing the economics of nearly every industry across the globe, allowing individuals to have an ownership stake in the networks in which they participate,” said Brooks. “Hashdex has been at the forefront of giving global investors regulated access to this market, whether in Latin America, Europe, or the U.S., and I look forward to helping them deliver on their vision of bridging the divide between traditional financial markets and the crypto economy.”

Earlier in his career, Brooks served as general counsel of Fannie Mae; vice chairman of OneWest Bank, N.A.; and managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. He has served on a number of public and private company boards and has been an advisor to such technology innovators as Wander, Curve, Huski.ai, EarnUp, LoanSnap, TextIQ, HyperDraft, and others. Brooks is an honors graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School.