Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis announced the appointment of a new CEO after the departure of Michael Gronager in October.
In a Dec. 5 notice, Chainalysis said its chief strategy officer and co-founder Jonathan Levin had assumed the position of CEO, effective Dec. 3. The company also announced it had appointed former Proofpoint chief financial officer Paul Auvil to serve as an independent director on its board.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Levin said, under his leadership, the company intended to continue expanding internationally to “protect crypto users across the world” and monitor private sector solutions for custodying digital assets. He added that he didn’t expect to see policymakers change their approach to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and national security concerns.
“What I hope changes is there will be greater clarity around stablecoins and who can issue those and how do they actually get redeemed and who has regulatory oversight [...] especially domestically in America but also across the world,” said Levin.
Chainalysis reported in October that the number of Bitcoin (BTC) transactions in the United States had surged after the approval of spot crypto exchange-traded funds, but stablecoin activity had slowed compared to that in other countries.
According to the company, the share of stablecoin transactions on US-regulated exchanges dropped from roughly 50% in 2023 to under 40% in 2024.
Regulatory expectations for the US government
The new CEO said he anticipated the next US Congress taking action to repeal the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, a rule that requires financial institutions to keep customers’ digital assets on their balance sheets.
Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives and the Senate voted to overturn the SEC rule, but President Joe Biden vetoed the resolution in May.
Levin added:
“We will probably see greater degrees of guidance and potentially even some no-action letters in the United States on new types of crypto applications and tokens.”
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The Chainalysis CEO’s appointment came roughly two months after the company said Gronager had taken a leave of absence, citing personal reasons. Levin clarified that Gronager had resigned as CEO and stepped down from the board.
Chainalysis is one of the leading companies that provide the private sector and governments with data on tracking and tracing cryptocurrency transactions, particularly for funds used in illicit transactions like hacks, fraud, and scams.
Levin told Cointelegraph that crypto users should be mindful of phishing attempts and types of first-party authorized fraud, in which romance scammers or similar bad actors could fool customers.
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