Quick take:
- Mark Murphy was previously Digital Currency Group’s chief operating officer.
- Around 10 employees have left the firm.
- After four years with Digital Currency Group, Murphy is the firm’s first president.
Crypto-focused venture capital company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), has promoted Mark Murphy from chief operating officer to president, as part of a restructuring within the company, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Connecticut-based VC, which owns CoinDesk, Foundry, Genesis, Grayscale Investments, and Luno, has also let more than 10% of its staff go, leaving 66 employees in the company, Bloomberg first reported.
Around 10 employees – mostly junior – have left the firm, while senior execs within the company were promoted. Jenn Goodson was appointed chief administrative officer; Simon Koster was named chief strategy officer; Matt Kummell is now senior vice president of operations; and Amanda Cowie will be leading communications, marketing and events.
“We recently made a series of internal changes to position DCG for its next phase of growth, including a streamlining of our departments alongside several promotions on our leadership team,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
After four years with Digital Currency Group, Murphy is the firm’s first president. Murphy first joined DCG as head of public affairs in 2018, before moving up the ranks to chief operating officer in 2020, where he worked closely with DCG’s six wholly-owned subsidiaries on strategy, execution, and all management matters. In that role, he also led DCG’s legal, communications, marketing, brand, and public policy efforts, and supports the CEO Barry Silbert in the day-to-day management of DCG.
Murphy is also currently a board member of Blockchain Association. Prior to joining DCG, he was the VP of global communications & corporate affairs at IT firm, First Data Corporation. He also previously served as the global head of communications for Bloomberg LP, leading global strategic communications, crisis communications and public relations for Bloomberg’s $8.5 billion financial products businesses.
Before Bloomberg, he was EVP of communications & public affairs at Second Market, the secondary liquidity trading platform founded by Silbert and later acquired by Nasdaq.
DCG subsidiary Genesis – which lent to bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital – laid off 20% of its workforce in August, and parted ways with CEO Michael Moro at the same time.
Stay up to date:
