Circle Taps Former US Homeland Security Official as New Legal Chief

As reported on the company's blog, the cryptocurrency startup has welcomed former DHS acting general counsel Gus Coldebella to its legal and senior leadership team. Going forward, Coldebella will oversee all of the firm's legal, compliance, regulatory and government affairs in this capacity.

He will also be tasked with helping Circle in its global expansion, as the firm works with lawmakers and regulators internationally to begin providing services, Circle co-founders Sean Neville and Jeremy Allaire wrote.

Coldebella comes with not only legal expertise but is an acknowledged authority on cybersecurity policy. While at the DHS, he co-led implementation of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative under President Bush. That effort was aimed to protect government networks from cyber-attack and to promote cooperation between the public and private sectors, according to the George Washington University where he is a senior fellow.

Prior to joining Circle, Coldebella was a principal at law firm Fish & Richardson, where he helped firms address cyber security planning and incident response, government and internal investigations, and more.

Circle, which offers a variety of crypto services including an investment app, closed a Bitmain-led $110 million Series E fundraising back in May – a figure that valued the startup at nearly $3 billion. Part of that funding was said to be directed into hiring new staff at the firm.

At the time, Circle also revealed a plan to bolster its products and services by launching a "U.S. dollar coin," a regulated blockchain asset that would be backed by fiat currency.

A previous $50 million round in 2015 notably saw the firm receive backing from investment bank Goldman Sachs.