Bridgewater CFO steps in at Bitcoin firm NYDIG

Dive Brief:

On Friday, New York-based Bitcoin investment and tech solutions firm NYDIG named John Dalby, current CFO of the world’s largest hedge fund, its new CFO.
Dalby has helmed finance at Bridgewater Associates for nearly three years. Prior to that, he spent nearly four years as CFO-COO of D. E. Shaw Renewables Investments, a private equity team focused on acquiring and developing long-term contracted renewable energy assets in North America. His career began with over 20 years at UBS, which culminated in the role of CFO of UBS Americas.
Dalby’s hire follows a year of rapid growth for NYDIG. In March, the firm closed a $300 million funding round, and launched its global Insurance Solutions practice with partners New York Life and MassMutual. Last week, payments processor Fidelity National Information Services entered a partnership with NYDIG to offer its bank clients Bitcoin services, Payments Dive reported.

Dive Insight:

“Working on Bitcoin is increasingly what many of the best and brightest employees seek – including industry leaders like John – and NYDIG is uniquely positioned to offer them the platform, resources and culture to shine, in pursuit of our collective mission to bring Bitcoin safely to everyone,” NYDIG co-founder and CEO Robert Gutmann said in statement.

“NYDIG’s growth has been incredible,” Dalby said. “Every day, more industries come to understand Bitcoin's potential and more clients seek ways to safely access it. Personally, I share NYDIG's vision for Bitcoin's ability to propel economic empowerment for all.”

“Yesterday, employers of choice recognized that supporting 401ks and health insurance was table stakes to attract and retain top talent. Today, employers of choice also recognize the importance of supporting Bitcoin,” NYDIG Founder and Executive Chairman Ross Stevens added. “John's move to NYDIG showcases an increasing trend of top talent voting with their feet to propel Bitcoin's inclusionary role as the De(Central) Bank, and its dual mandate as ultimate risk-on asset and the ultimate risk-off asset.”

Dalby is the latest in a string of notable executives entering the cryptocurrency space.

In 2018, CFO of Och-Ziff Capital Management Alesia Haas departed to become CFO of Coinbase Global. Last month, former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Christopher Giancarlo joined cryptocurrency financial services company BlockFi’s board of directors.

Also in April, Brian Brooks, a former Coinbase executive and the Trump administration’s Acting Comptroller of the Currency became Binance’s U.S. CEO, Banking Dive reported.

To ensure a smooth transition, Dalby will remain in his role at Bridgewater until the second quarter, the hedge fund told Bloomberg. It’s currently searching for his replacement.

Representatives for NYDIG and for Dalby did not respond to requests for comment.