{"id":132158,"date":"2025-05-14T10:51:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T10:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/morgan-stanleys-crypto-chief-leaves-to-start-defi-investment-firm\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T10:51:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T10:51:39","slug":"morgan-stanleys-crypto-chief-leaves-to-start-defi-investment-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/morgan-stanleys-crypto-chief-leaves-to-start-defi-investment-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"Morgan Stanley’s Crypto Chief Leaves to Start DeFi Investment Firm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Peel\u2019s New Venture: Bridging Traditional Finance and DeFi<\/h2>\n

Andrew Peel, the former head of **digital asset markets** at **Morgan Stanley**, recently announced his decision to resign from the firm. He is setting out to create a **crypto-focused investment and trading technology firm**. This new venture aims to effectively bridge the gap between **traditional finance** and **decentralized finance (DeFi)**, marking a significant shift in Peel’s career trajectory.<\/p>\n

Having joined Morgan Stanley in 2018 after a tenure at **Credit Suisse**, Peel departed from the Wall Street giant in March 2025. Reports from **Bloomberg** indicate that he is gearing up to raise capital for this innovative enterprise in the coming months. Sources close to the matter shared insights into this exciting new chapter for Peel and his ambitious plans.<\/p>\n

Peel’s Crypto Firm: Headquarters in Switzerland<\/h2>\n

The new firm will set up its headquarters in **Zug, Switzerland**, a region often referred to as the \u201c**crypto valley**.\u201d This location is strategically chosen due to Switzerland\u2019s progressive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and its rich ecosystem of technology-driven financial services.<\/p>\n

Peel\u2019s venture will combine both **asset management** and **technology services**. The firm plans to issue and invest in **tokenized DeFi assets**, including blockchain-based investment funds. Furthermore, it aims to develop a trading infrastructure specifically tailored for institutions eager to enter the crypto space.<\/p>\n

As the global regulatory landscape surrounding digital assets continues to evolve, Peel’s firm is positioning itself to provide essential tools. Its goal is to facilitate a smoother onboarding process for traditional financial entities transitioning into the world of crypto.<\/p>\n

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Andrew Peel exits @MorganStanley<\/a> to launch a DeFi fund in Switzerland.
Welcome to the builder\u2019s side, Andrew.<\/p>\n

— Gaia Ferrero Regis \"\ud83d\udfe3\" (@gaia_ferrero) May 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

This move comes at a time when Morgan Stanley itself is ramping up its investment in digital assets. The bank is reportedly planning to introduce **crypto trading services** on its retail-focused platform, **E*Trade**, by the next year. This follows their 2021 decision to provide institutional clients with access to Bitcoin funds, showcasing Wall Street’s growing interest in cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n

One of the prominent factors fueling this interest is the friendlier policy climate in the U.S., which has become more favorable since Donald Trump took office again. The recent approval of **spot Bitcoin ETFs** in early 2024, alongside rising demand for **tokenized money market funds** from firms such as **BlackRock** and **Franklin Templeton**, adds even more momentum to the movement.<\/p>\n

In parallel news, **BNY Mellon** has confirmed that Caroline Butler, its global head of digital assets, will be departing the bank. Carolyn Weinberg, BNY’s chief solutions innovation officer, has taken over the responsibility of overseeing its digital asset strategy. This shift in leadership mirrors the broader transformations occurring within the financial services industry as firms adapt to the evolving demands of digital assets.<\/p>\n

Crypto VC Funding Reaches $6 Billion in Q1 Despite Decline in Deals<\/h2>\n

<pA recent report by PitchBook<\/strong> highlighted a significant surge in crypto venture capital (VC) funding<\/strong>, reaching $6 billion<\/strong> in the first quarter of 2025 \u2014 an impressive increase compared to the previous year. However, the total number of completed deals fell drastically, with only 405 deals<\/strong> having been finalized, reflecting a 39.5% drop from Q1 2024.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Despite this decline in the number of deals, the total deal value has more than doubled from **$2.6 billion** last year and **$3 billion** in Q4. Notably, the largest share of this funding was directed towards crypto financial services firms, including asset managers and exchanges, which garnered **$2.55 billion** across just 16 deals. This highlights a trend where fewer, but larger, deals are taking place in the crypto sector.<\/p>\n

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Crypto VC funding in Q1 2025 was actually the highest it's been since Q3 2022. pic.twitter.com\/WrPeQgPRiQ<\/a><\/p>\n

— Miles Deutscher (@milesdeutscher) April 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Firms focused on infrastructure and development also had a strong showing, securing **$955 million** in funding across 30 deals, while **Web3** startups raised **$231 million** through 23 deals. Robert Le, a senior crypto analyst at PitchBook, emphasized that capital continues to flow toward foundational crypto services despite broader macroeconomic challenges.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Le pointed out that the anticipated **IPO** of stablecoin issuer **Circle** will serve as a significant litmus test for crypto equity markets. If Circle’s valuation exceeds its projected **$4\u20135 billion** range, it could redefine expectations for late-stage crypto startups, capturing additional capital for infrastructure and payment-focused ventures.<\/p>\n

Finance and Crypto News-10<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrew Peel\u2019s New Venture: Bridging Traditional Finance and DeFi Andrew Peel, the former head of **digital asset markets** at **Morgan Stanley**, recently announced his decision to resign from the firm. He is setting out to create a **crypto-focused investment and trading technology firm**. This new venture aims to effectively bridge the gap between **traditional finance** […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23832],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}