General Counsel

Job description

Blockstream https://blockstream.com/ was founded in 2014 by Dr. Adam Back https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Back and a group of fellow cryptographers and engineers who are passionate about Bitcoin and its potential to change the world. Today, Blockstream is the leading Bitcoin company, providing cutting-edge infrastructure solutions for enterprises, institutions, and individual Bitcoin users. We develop industry-leading Bitcoin self-custody solutions, Bitcoin-based financial products, second-layer scaling technologies, and enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure. Blockstream is seeking an experienced, strategic, and business-oriented General Counsel to lead the company’s global legal, compliance, and regulatory functions. This executive leadership role will serve as a key advisor to the executive team and Board of Directors, helping guide the company through complex legal, regulatory, commercial, and operational matters in the rapidly evolving digital asset and financial technology landscape. The ideal candidate combines deep legal expertise with strong business judgment and thrives in high-growth, fast-moving, and highly technical environments. This individual will help scale Blockstream’s legal infrastructure while enabling innovation across Bitcoin infrastructure, financial products, enterprise software, and emerging blockchain technologies. The General Counsel will oversee corporate governance, commercial transactions, regulatory strategy, compliance programs, litigation management, employment matters, and legal operations across multiple jurisdictions. What You Will Be Doing (Responsibilities): Legal & Strategic Leadership - Define, execute, and evolve the legal and compliance strategy consistent with Blockstream’s mission, risk tolerance, and business objectives - Advise the Board of Directors, executive leadership, and senior management on legal, regulatory, and governance issues - Guide corporate governance, board processes, equity plans, capital raises, mergers & acquisitions, and restructurings - Provide legal support in the context of industry consortia and associations that Blockstream is involved in - Oversee external counsel selection and management and control legal budget, ensuring cost-efficient legal operations Commercial & Product Support - Oversee negotiation, drafting, and execution of complex commercial agreements (e.g. licensing, partnerships, APIs, custody, token issuance, SaaS, enterprise) - Support product teams with assessments of legal risk, regulatory compliance, and legal architecture for new features, protocols, token standards, sidechains, and integrations - Structure cross-border transactions and operations, including advising on jurisdictional compliance and entity structuring - Define and oversee legal aspects of the Blockstream’s IP protection Regulatory, Compliance & Risk - Drive strategy for regulatory engagement in multiple jurisdictions (e.g. U.S., Canada, EU, Asia) in crypto, securities, fintech, payments, custody, data privacy, and related domains. - Oversee compliance programs for anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions, licensing, data protection/privacy (e.g. GDPR, CCPA), consumer protection, export controls, and security/compliance audits. - Monitor emerging regulatory, policy, and legislative developments in crypto, blockchain, and fintech, and lead internal responses or adaptations. - Manage legal risk and crisis response (e.g. litigation, investigations, disputes, IP enforcement, regulatory enforcement actions) Team Building & Operations - Hire, mentor, and develop legal, compliance, and contract teams - Build scalable legal infrastructure: policies, playbooks, templates, workflows, contract management tools, compliance frameworks, self-serve legal tooling - Promote cross-functional collaboration with engineering, security, product, finance, operations, and marketing groups - Establish KPIs and reporting for the legal function; balance agility with legal rigor in a fast-moving environment Employment & HR Legal Support - Partner with the Director of People to ensure compliance with employment regulations across multiple jurisdictions - Support internal investigations, terminations, and employment-related disputes as needed What We Look For In You (Required Qualifications): - Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent law degree from an accredited institution and active membership in good standing with at least one state/provincial bar association - 12+ years of legal experience, including substantial in-house leadership experience within fintech, cryptocurrency, blockchain, financial services, payments, SaaS, or other highly regulated technology industries - Demonstrated experience serving as General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, or senior legal executive in a fast-growing global organization - Deep expertise in commercial transactions, including drafting and negotiating complex agreements related to enterprise software, APIs, partnerships, licensing, custody, token issuance, infrastructure, and technology services - Strong knowledge of global regulatory frameworks affecting crypto, blockchain, fintech, securities, payments, AML/KYC, sanctions, privacy, and digital assets - Experience advising executive leadership teams and Boards of Directors on corporate governance, legal strategy, risk management, financing activities, mergers & acquisitions, and organizational structuring - Proven ability to manage multi-jurisdictional legal and compliance matters across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia - Experience building and scaling legal and compliance functions, including policies, processes, playbooks, and operational infrastructure - Demonstrated ability to oversee litigation, investigations, regulatory inquiries, disputes, and crisis management matters - Experience managing outside counsel relationships and legal budgets effectively in a high-growth environment - Strong understanding of intellectual property strategy, technology licensing, and product counseling for emerging technologies - Ability to partner cross-functionally with engineering, product, finance, security, operations, HR, and executive stakeholders - Excellent judgment, strategic thinking, communication, negotiation, and leadership skills - Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving, ambiguous, and highly technical environment Nice To Haves (Preferred Qualifications): - Prior experience in the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, blockchain infrastructure, or digital asset ecosystem - Strong familiarity with Bitcoin technologies, sidechains, tokenization frameworks, custody infrastructure, and decentralized protocols - Experience engaging directly with regulators, policymakers, industry associations, and standards bodies related to crypto or fintech - Background supporting international entity structuring, cross-border operations, and global expansion initiatives - Experience overseeing compliance programs involving GDPR, CCPA, SOC audits, export controls, and financial crime prevention frameworks - Familiarity with open-source licensing models and legal considerations related to protocol development and distributed technologies - Experience supporting capital markets activities, private financings, venture financing rounds, or institutional investment transactions - Demonstrated success hiring, mentoring, and leading high-performing legal and compliance teams across multiple jurisdictions - Experience implementing legal technology tools, contract lifecycle management systems, and scalable self-service legal frameworks - Strong understanding of employment law and workforce compliance in globally distributed or remote-first organizations - Previous experience working in engineering-driven or infrastructure-focused technology companies - Interest in the future of financial infrastructure, cryptography, privacy-enhancing technologies, and decentralized systems Work Environment This is a hybrid position, with an expectation of 2–3 days per week in our Menlo Park office. 🔒 Stay Safe from Job Scams All official Blockstream communication will come from an @blockstream.com email address. We will never ask you to share sensitive information or purchase equipment during the hiring process. If in doubt, contact us at hr@blockstream.com. Learn more about avoiding job scams here https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/05/want-work-home-spot-scams-first.