Kraken's former Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori joins Pantera Capital to 'expand firm's crypto portfolio'

Marco Santori, former chief legal officer of Kraken, has joined Pantera Capital as a general partner with a ”focus on expanding the firm’s crypto portfolio," according to a blog post on Monday.

Santori stepped down from Kraken in January after leading the firm’s legal team since 2020. Kraken is known for having one of the largest legal and compliance divisions in the crypto industry.

Previously, Santori served as chief legal officer at Blockchain.com and was named a partner at two legal firms, Cooley and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, after starting as a commercial litigator. He is also an advisor to many projects, including the recently rebranded DeFi Development Company, which is building a Solana war chest . 

“I’m joining Pantera at a pivotal moment for crypto on the world stage. After over a decade of work, governments have finally embraced the benefits of blockchain technology,” Sartori said in a statement. “The timing couldn’t be better, and Pantera couldn’t be better positioned to capitalize on it.”

Santori is also a frequent representative of the crypto industry during congressional hearings. Pantera notes he is “widely recognized” for developing the Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) framework, which is used to register compliant token sales.