General Counsel

Blockstream was founded in 2014 by Dr. 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 companys 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 Blockstreams 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 Blockstreams 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 Blockstreams 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 23 days per week in our Menlo Park office.

Stay Safe from Job Scams
All official Blockstream communication will come from an @ email address. We will never ask you to share sensitive information or purchase equipment during the hiring process. If in doubt contact us at Learn more about avoiding job scams here.