NEW YORK--()--CoinFund, one of the world’s earliest and most experienced cryptonative investment firms and a registered investment advisor, today announced the hiring of Matt Russ, CFA as the Director of Business Development and Strategy, and the promotion of former Head of Talent Margaret Gabriel to Chief People Officer. These personnel moves demonstrate the continued evolution of CoinFund in its tenth year of crypto investing, reinforcing its institutional-caliber operations and further developing its people and leadership team in a pivotal year for the blockchain industry.

In his role, Russ will focus on expanding and strengthening the firm’s institutional investor relationships globally by leveraging his extensive experience in business development and capital raising, primarily at Shenkman Capital and Marathon Asset Management. He previously served as Head of Institutional Solutions at Menai Asset Management, an emerging blockchain investment firm. Russ will work closely with Abbey Hamstra, Head of Business Development and Investor Relations, to execute on CoinFund’s growth initiatives, forge strategic partnerships and deliver institutional-quality service to LPs navigating the evolving landscape of digital assets and blockchain innovation.

“I’m excited to join CoinFund and help fortify our business development efforts as we deepen our global network of leading allocators. I truly believe digital assets are on the path to becoming a major institutional asset class that will rival traditional opportunities,” said Russ. “I look forward to teaming up with Abbey and the broader team to drive CoinFund’s continued success.”

In addition to growing the team, CoinFund has promoted Margaret Gabriel to Chief People Officer, reinforcing CoinFund’s commitment to attracting and retaining top-tier talent in the crypto space. Previously, Gabriel was the Head of People and Talent, a position she has held since joining CoinFund in June 2022.

Said Gabriel: “Innovative tech investing requires more than capital. It demands an interdependent talent strategy where high-performing, deeply engaged investment teams are equipped to guide and accelerate the talent within growing startups. I’m proud to be part of a firm that invests intentionally in people and culture which can bend the outcome curve for our portfolio companies and our investors.”

Russ’ hiring and Gabriel’s promotion comes after a strong year of expansion in 2024 in which CoinFund nearly doubled its investment team, and at a pivotal time in the crypto industry as the market enters a new phase of institutional adoption and increased startup activity. CoinFund’s commitment to developing its leadership team reflects the firm’s confidence in the long-term investment potential of blockchain technology and its role in reshaping global financial markets.

Alex Felix, CoinFund Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer, commented, “CoinFund attracts leaders like Matt and Margaret who define the best practices that empower the industry to mature and grow. As we mark our first decade of professionally investing in crypto, looking forward, the potential has never been bigger. We take pride in partnering with limited partners who demand institutional-grade service in a rapidly changing sector and we are committed to exceed that standard. Backed by the strength of our formidable team, CoinFund will continue to champion the technology and founders building in this transformative era.”

Founded in 2015 at a Brooklyn kitchen table by Highbridge Capital Management and Amazon alum Jake Brukhman, and later joined by co-founder and American Capital alum Alex Felix, CoinFund is now supported by a world-class interdisciplinary global team of 33 people with more than 100 investments across six investment vehicles. The firm’s recent seed and venture fund investments include liquid staking protocol Drop; human-in-the-loop AI data labeling provider Kiva; decentralized training protocol Pluralis; global compute resource platform Prime Intellect; blockchain climate technology company Raad Labs; smart account module innovator Rhinestone; Rho Labs, building the first institutional onchain rates market; and STON.fi, leading decentralized exchange in the TON ecosystem. More detail on CoinFund’s portfolio companies can be found at https://coinfund.io/portfolio/. CoinFund is committed to supporting the development of the decentralized ecosystem and leveraging the potential of blockchain innovation to drive long-term value creation.

About CoinFund

CoinFund is one of the world's first and most experienced cryptonative investment firms and a registered investment adviser founded in 2015. The firm champions the leaders of the new internet, powered by foresight as active investors to achieve extraordinary outcomes. CoinFund invests in seed, venture, and liquid opportunities within the blockchain sector with a focus on digital assets, decentralization technologies, and key enabling infrastructure. For more information, visit www.coinfund.io, LinkedIn or join us on X.