Marco Santori Appointed as General Partner at Pantera Capital
New and Improved Take:
- Marco Santori, ex-Crypto Maven at Kraken, ascends to General Partner at Pantera Capital.
- His thick book of crypto regulatory knowledge, crafting the SAFT framework and leading Kraken's legal battles with the SEC, is now employed at Pantera.
- At this new gig, Santori's gonna oversee compliance, fine-tune token structuring, and prep portfolio companies for profitable IPOs.
- With his dual knowledge of exchange operations and crypto investing, Pantera's about to blend innovation with tight regulatory protocols.
Cryptocurrency Career Kickoffs: From Blockchain.com to Kraken
Marco Santori's crypto odyssey commenced at Blockchain.com, where he wore the Chief Legal Officer badge, advising on early token sales and exchange listings. He then bolted to Kraken, bulking up a legal team of nearly 70, handling global compliance, AML programs, and grueling SEC legal dust-ups. Under his watch, Kraken gracefully negotiated complex regulatory seas, evolving into one of the globe's heftiest crypto exchanges.
Regulatory Golden Ticket: SAFT's Rise
One of Santori's standout accomplishments is the creation of the Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) model. This regulatory innovation lets startups secure compliant funding from accredited investors, cushioning legal uncertainty. Critics raise limits on SAFTs, but their widespread use ensured institutional investment in blockchain projects. Today, SAFTs remain the bread and butter for many pre-token-sale financing.
Pantera Capital: Crypto Pioneers
Established in 2013 as crypto's first venture fund, Pantera Capital's grown into a diversified heavyweight managing over $5 billion across venture, token, and hedge funds. Marc's investments run the gamut - from Bitcoin and Ethereum to DeFi protocols, infrastructure plays, and tokenized real-world assets. Pantera's knack for tech-savvy due diligence and market insights fueled investments in blockchain bigwigs like Circle, Chainlink, and 0x, bolstering its crypto-expert reputation.
Marco's Pantera Mission
Dressed in his new General Partner duds, Marco will station legal strategy at Pantera's investment heart. His responsibilities include:
- Compliance Connect: Engineering licensure and registration plans for token offerings and exchanges.
- Risk Rodeo: Bouncer-ing legal and regulatory reviews to ID and neutralize risk early.
- Policy Peek: Leveraging government leads to anticipate regulatory trends.
- Ace Advice: Assisting startups on tokenomics, corporate governance, and lucrative public-market operations.
Pantera's strategic decision to elevate legal expertise reflects their belief that compliance isn't a necessary evil but a growth accelerator.
Exchange Ops and Venture Capital Synergy
Even as Santori takes his seat at Pantera, Kraken keeps him as a Senior Adviser. This ongoing connection allows him to bring real-time insights on exchange best practices – like compliance automation, user protection protocols, and shrewd market-making strategies – into Pantera's investment thesis. Conversely, his venture angle prepares startups for scaling ops that meet exchange listing and institutional adoption requirements.
More Tidbits: Kraken's NinjaLeap: Moving Forward with U.S. Crypto Futures Trading
- Sources:
- Marco Santori to Join Pantera Capital as General Partner
- Marco Santori Takes Over as General Partner at Pantera Capital
- Marco Santori joins Pantera Capital as a general partner
- Marco Santori Talks Digital Assets and Securities Law with Bill Stein on Crypto Radio
- Marco Santori: From Kraken to Pantera Capital
- Marco Santori, now a General Partner at Pantera Capital, will direct compliance, fine-tune token structuring, and prepare portfolio companies for successful IPOs, building upon his experience in exchange operations and crypto investing.
- His expertise extends beyond legal strategy, including engineering licensure and registration plans for token offerings and exchanges, identifying and neutralizing early risks, and staying attuned to regulatory trends.
- In addition to compliance, Santori will advise startups on tokenomics, corporate governance, and navigating lucrative public-market operations, underscoring the view that compliance is not a hindrance but a growth accelerator.
- As a token of continual connection, Kraken has kept Santori as a Senior Adviser, permitting him to share insights on exchange best practices with Pantera.
- This interplay of exchange operations and venture capital allows startups to adopt practices that meet exchange listing and institutional adoption requirements, while simultaneously enabling startups to scale operations required for listing on exchanges like Kraken.
- Founded in 2013, Pantera Capital, a pioneer in cryptocurrency, boasts a diversified portfolio managing over $5 billion across venture, token, and hedge funds.
- The firm's investments span various sectors - from Bitcoin and Ethereum to DeFi protocols, infrastructure plays, and tokenized real-world assets.
- Recognized for its tech-savvy due diligence and market insights, Pantera has made strategic investments in blockchain leaders like Circle, Chainlink, and 0x, bolstering its reputation as a crypto expert.
- The Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) model, a regulatory innovation developed by Santori, allows startups to secure compliant funding from accredited investors, ensuring institutional investment in blockchain projects and remaining the bread and butter for many pre-token-sale financing.
