London-based financial services platform Marex has made two crypto hires to lead its digital assets offering for institutional investors.

Marex has hired Ilan Solot and Mark Arasaratnam as co-heads of digital assets.

Solot was the former partner at crypto fund Tagus Capital and has also worked at private investment bank Brown Brothers Harriman and worked with the International Monetary Fund. Arasaratnam, a 17-year financial services veteran, has recently worked at food startup M-EAT and online shopping platform The Chapar.

The duo have been hired to deliver simple, secure products that help institutional investors gain exposure to crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi). Marex plans to incorporate its expertise in custody, execution, risk management and yield generation into digital assets.

"Our main thesis is that crypto is graduating into the mainstream," Marex said on Tuesday. "The problem is that it remains a complex space for institutions to interact with, especially given the intricacies around self-custody and security risks."

"Marex assists crypto exchanges and family offices in building HNWIs-focused bespoke structured products, as well as providing vanilla and exotic crypto options market making," Solot said.

The firm's digital asset aspirations demonstrate the enthusiasm that exists for cryptocurrency, blockchain and Web3 amongst traditional financial institutions despite the prevailing depressed market conditions.

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