Assistant General Counsel, Derivatives – Regulatory Legal

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Join our Product and Regulatory Legal team, embedded with Kraken’s Product, Design, and Engineering teams to ship novel products and experiences that accelerate the global adoption of crypto. We’re a tight, experienced group of lawyers from a diverse range of tradfi, fintech, and crypto backgrounds who move fast, stay curious, and take pride in the commercial accountability of our advice - partnering directly with product teams to chart clear, defensible paths to launch.

This person would serve as the primary internal expert on Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulation and Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) compliance. The Assistant General Counsel – Regulatory Legal will own Payward’s regulatory relationships and compliance posture across its portfolio of CFTC-registered and regulated entities, including a Designated Contract Market (DCM), a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), and a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM). This role is central to Payward’s US derivatives strategy and will have direct visibility to the Chief Legal Officer and senior business leadership.

Reporting to the Head of Regulatory Legal, you will serve as the lead legal adviser on all matters touching Payward’s CFTC-regulated entities. You will be a critical partner to the Global Head of Derivatives, Compliance, and the broader business as Payward builds and scales a best-in-class US derivatives business. You will also manage and coordinate with outside counsel on regulatory matters before the CFTC and National Futures Association (NFA).

This is a fully remote role for a qualified attorney in the United States.

• Serve as primary legal counsel for Payward’s CFTC-registered entities (DCM, DCO, and FCM), advising on all aspects of their regulatory obligations under the CEA and CFTC rules.

• Provide legal support with respect to regulatory engagement with the CFTC and NFA, including managing examination responses, no-action relief requests, rule interpretations, and informal guidance processes.

• Advise on DCM core principles and rule submission and self-certification processes, including new product listings, rule amendments, and emergency action procedures as necessary.

• Advise on DCO risk management standards, customer protection requirements, default management procedures, and margin and collateral frameworks.

• Advise the FCM on customer fund segregation requirements, residual interest obligations, leverage and margin rules, and NFA compliance programme requirements.

• Partner with product, engineering, and compliance teams to structure and launch new derivatives products (including perpetual futures, options, and prediction markets) in compliance with CFTC requirements.

• Monitor regulatory developments – proposed rulemakings, guidance, enforcement actions, and congressional activity – and translate their significance for the business proactively.

• Build and maintain strong working relationships across Payward’s derivatives, compliance, finance, and technology teams.

• Qualified attorney admitted to practice law in the United States.

• 12+ years of experience in financial services law with a strong concentration in CFTC regulation and CEA-registered entities. Experience may be drawn from practice at a top-tier law firm, an in-house role at a registered entity (DCM, DCO, FCM, or swap dealer), or the CFTC itself.

• Deep substantive knowledge of the CEA and CFTC regulations, including the DCM core principles framework (Part 38), DCO requirements (Part 39), FCM obligations (Parts 1, 22, and 30), the swap dealer regulatory regime (Parts 23 and 45–50), and the retail commodity transaction framework under CEA Section 2(c)(2)(D).

• Familiarity with CEA Section 2(c)(2)(D) and the CFTC's jurisdiction over leveraged, margined, or financed retail commodity transactions – including its application to spot crypto margin products.

• Direct experience advising on, preparing, or managing CFTC regulatory filings, rule submissions, or examination responses for at least one type of CEA-registered entity.

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex regulatory relationships and multi-stakeholder workstreams, including coordinating with outside counsel and regulators.

• Outstanding analytical, drafting, and organisational skills with the ability to produce clear, commercially actionable legal guidance.

• Ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into practical product and operational guidance for non-lawyer business partners.

• Pragmatic, commercially accountable approach to legal and regulatory risk that prioritises providing stakeholders with a useful range of options and clear recommendations.

• Authentic interest in crypto and digital assets, and familiarity with Kraken’s and competitors’ products and market structure.

• Familiarity with using AI tools such as Enterprise GPTs to increase efficient provision of legal services.

• Experience advising on CFTC oversight of digital asset derivatives, including the treatment of crypto assets as commodities and the regulatory status of crypto-margined contracts.

• Experience with swap dealer registration, de minimis threshold analysis, and the uncleared margin rules under the CEA.

• Knowledge of NFA compliance programme requirements and experience managing NFA audits or inquiries.

• Familiarity with non-US derivatives regulatory frameworks, including ESMA, FCA, MAS, or equivalent, particularly where they intersect with the CFTC’s cross-border framework.

Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Kraken is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate all Krakenites for their diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions and unique perspectives. We hire strictly based on merit, meaning we seek out the candidates with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills considered the most suitable for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgable about crypto!

We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments are designed to evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Assessment results are considered alongside other relevant information, such as experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don’t tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. Whether that’s based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state or local laws. 

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