Brazil’s Hashdex hires Europe director to lead expansion

Brazil-based crypto asset manager Hashdex announced on Tuesday that it has hired Laurent Kssis as its new managing director and head of Europe to lead an expansion in the region.

Kssis’ most recent role was managing director and global head of exchange-traded products (ETPs) at Swiss issuer 21Shares. According to a March 29 announcement, Kssis listed more than 25 crypto ETPs there and helped grow the firm’s assets under management from $20 million to $1.75 billion. 

Hashdex, known for its crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is in hiring mode and actively seeking new employees in Lisbon, London, Paris and Zurich. The firm, which currently manages more than $1 billion in client assets, is based in Rio de Janeiro and New York. Hashdex counts more than 250,000 investors and recently added two U.S.-based senior executives to support its expanding operations there. 

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“Having spent years working on Exchange Traded Products and ETFs, and seeing this industry mature to institutional levels with trillions in assets, we are witnessing unprecedented demand for exchange-traded crypto products,” Kssis said in the statement. “I am invigorated at the prospect of driving Hashdex’s strategic vision into Europe.” 

Hashdex has been growing its portfolio of crypto-based investment products since launching the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index ETF (HASH11) in February 2021. The firm recently debuted a DeFi ETF (DEFI11) on Brazil’s B3 stock exchange, and plans to introduce a Web3 ETF (WEB311) on March 30. It also offers Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs (BITH11 and ETHE11) on the Brazilian stock exchange.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that Hashdex’s US operation is now based in New York.