Paul Grewal poached from Facebook to become Coinbase’s chief legal officer

When Brian Brooks stepped down as Coinbase’s chief legal officer in March, the exchange was left with mighty big shoes to fill.

Now, the company has appointed Paul Grewal to the role—poaching him from Facebook, where he has served as deputy general counsel and vice president for the past four years.

In a July 8 blog post announcing the hire, Grewal was described as a top executive who has “repeatedly encountered some of the largest and most complicated legal issues in tech.”

Prior to his time at Facebook, he served a five-year stint as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Northern District of California. Coinbase said Grewal “earned the trust of companies and individuals alike for his objectivity and deep understanding of complex technological issues”—playing a significant role in Apple v. Google and Oracle v. Google.

Publicly minded

As well as overseeing Coinbase’s legal functions, Grewal will be tasked with growing the exchange’s legal team. One of the most pressing items in his in tray will be liaising with financial services regulators so “innovative, regulated products and services” can be developed and rolled out.

Another, according to a Reuters report on July 9, will be preparing Coinbase to become a publicly traded company. Citing three sources with knowledge of the plans, Reuters reported that the regulatory-friendly exchange is planning an initial public offering, possibly before the end of 2020. If true, it would make Coinbase the first cryptocurrency firm to be listed on a stock exchange (other than crypto mining machine manufacturer Canaan, which held an IPO late last year). Coinbase has not commented on the rumors.

Reuters said that an IPO would require Coinbase to register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which it has not done yet. The company has begun the process of selecting investment banks and law firms to assist in the process. 

It may not be alone long. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said at World Economic Forum in January that his company was looking at an IPO but that it probably would not be the first in the crypto community to launch one. 

In addition, The Block reported on July 9 that cryptocurrency exchange and lending firm BlockFi is looking for a chief financial officer with the experience to take it public in the second half of 2021. The listing seeks a chief financial officer who was able to “guide and position the finance team for late stage investment, acquisition and/or IPO.” 

‘A phenomenal addition’

When asked why he wanted to join the company, Grewal said: “I came to understand the vision for an open financial system for the world. And I got to see just how talented and committed the entire Coinbase team is in making that vision a reality. I decided then and there that I just have to be a part of this.”

As well as overseeing Coinbase’s legal functions, Grewal will be tasked with growing the exchange’s legal team. One of the most pressing items in his in tray will be liaising with financial services regulators so “innovative, regulated products and services” can be developed and rolled out.

Grewal will no doubt be relishing a new challenge away from scandal-prone Facebook, which is currently grappling with an ad boycott in response to allegations it is failing to tackle hate speech on the platform.

Suggesting that further high-profile hires could be on the horizon, Coinbase’s chief operating officer Emilie Choi wrote: “The opportunity for crypto has never been greater, which only highlights the need to continue investing in world-class leaders and teams that can pave the way for the next phase of crypto awareness and adoption.”

Friends in high places

Brooks has since become the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency since stepping down from Coinbase in March. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had initially tapped the pro-Bitcoin lawyer to become deputy comptroller—an interesting choice given the Trump administration’s wariness of crypto, and the Fed’s lack of urgency when it comes to developing a digital dollar.

His main priority at the OCC appears to be modernizing the banking system, as well as boosting financial inclusion. Brooks recently told The Block: “I think when you look at a lot of the protests that have been going on over the last week or so and a lot of the economic pain that’s been felt over the last few months, what that tells me is that the system that’s worked very well for some of us for a long time has not worked well for all of us.”

Indeed, Brooks has also spoken publicly about his exasperation at how anemic the U.S. has been in speeding up money transfers—meaning the country is years behind the likes of the U.K. and the European Union, where bank payments can be completed instantaneously.