Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong today officially welcomed and announced that Asiff Hirji is joining Coinbase as President & Chief Operating Officer. Asiff will join the popular US-based bitcoin exchange and wallet service from one of its venture capital partners, Andreessen Horowitz. At the firm, he focused on accelerating growth at a number of portfolio companies.
Mr. Armstrong said, “we are incredibly excited to have him join Coinbase full time to help us on our mission towards creating an open financial system.
Asiff’s mix of technical skill, business knowledge, and corporate growth experience is truly unique, and exactly what Coinbase needs as we solidify our position as the leading digital currency company. His experience will be invaluable as interest from large financial institutions continues to increase and as we expand into new markets and products such as Coinbase Custody.”
Asiff brings to Coinbase a multitude of skills and experience. He has meaningful experience running large investment platforms and brokerages — including as President, COO, and CIO of TD Ameritrade, the world’s largest online broker. He has also held senior leadership and governance roles at TPG Capital, Saxo Bank, Hewlett Packard, and Bain Capital.
“Coinbase is uniquely positioned like no other company to capitalize on the burgeoning crypto-economy. Its breadth of offerings, global footprint, and unique capabilities mean that it will continue to be the first place that retail and institutional investors look when they invest in cryptocurrencies. I’m very excited to be a part of the company and look forward to helping realize its full potential.”
IRS Summons Update
Regarding the latest from the IRS summons of US Coinbase account holders, it was announced that the Federal Court did not completely nullify the government summons compelling disclosure of certain customers’ records from the period 2013–2015 as Coinbase requested. However, Coinbase says they were proud to accomplish two important victories for customers.
David Farmer, Director of Communications of Coinbase said:
“First, the government vastly narrowed the scope of its summons. The government’s own lawyers noted at the hearing that the IRS is not accustomed to having to fight for records in this context, and most companies just turn records over without going to court. Thanks to Coinbase’s efforts, more than 480,000 customers’ records were preserved from disclosure. This is a 97% reduction in the number of customers impacted by this summons.”
“Second, the quantity of data we must produce for the approximately 14,000 customers who remain in scope has been significantly reduced. In narrowing the scope of the summons, we are pleased that the Court acknowledged the privacy rights at stake in this matter.”
The Coinbase team said they are reviewing the order, in the event that the company ultimately produces the documents under this Court order, Coinbase intends to notify impacted users in advance of any disclosure.
