About the role
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 company’s 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 Blockstream’s 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 Blockstream’s 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 Blockstream’ s 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