Prime Trust Hires Secret Service Veteran to Head Regulatory Affairs

Another ex-Washingtonian is joining the push to shape crypto policy.

Crypto custody and infrastructure firm Prime Trust announced Tuesday the hire of Jeremy Sheridan, former assistant director of investigations at the Secret Service, as vice president of regulatory affairs. The role involves overseeing Prime Trust’s regulatory strategies, engaging with federal and state agencies and serving as a “regulatory thought leader,” according to a company statement.

It’s the latest in a string of a high-profile appointments as crypto firms look to Washington for those with regulatory experience. Last fall, Blockchain.com tapped D.C. lobbyist Ian Mair as head of U.S. public policy. Earlier this year, CoinFund enlisted former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Chris Giancarlo as a strategic adviser.

For his part, Sheridan spent more than two decades working for the United States Secret Service, including the presidential protective detail for President George W. Bush. Toward the end of his Secret Service career, Sheridan was the assistant director for the Office of Investigations and Legislative Affairs, which oversees 161 offices and over 3,000 personnel.

“The Office of Investigations works to protect the nation’s financial infrastructure and financial payment systems,” Sheridan told CoinDesk in an interview. “[The office] started investigations related to digital assets, which informed my perspective and understanding of how digital assets are used for illicit means. It also helped me understand the need for proper regulation and compliance in the digital assets environment.”

Read more: Crypto Learns to Play the DC Influence Game

Founded in 2016, Las Vegas-based Prime Trust provides infrastructure that can help crypto and fintech companies get up and running faster. The company offers business-facing application programming interfaces (APIs) for know-your-customer (KYC) checks, debit card issuance, trading, retail settlements and crypto on- and off-ramps.

Prime trust said it processes over $3.5 billion in transactions per month with crypto clients including Binance.US, Dapper Labs, FTX and Kraken.

Prime Trust raised $64 million in funding last July and planned to use the capital toward aggressive hiring and expanding the company’s footprint deeper into fintech. Last month, Prime Trust announced that it was testing crypto retirement accounts.

“I wanted to be part of something at the forefront of this emerging and developing marketplace,” Sheridan said. “Something that at its core has a regulatory and compliance-first perspective and culture.”