Circle Lures FX Veteran, Fintech Entrepreneur Stephen Leahy

Financial services industry veteran Stephen Leahy has become head of business development for trading markets at blockchain-based payments startup, Circle.

Leahy joins the Boston-based stablecoin issuer following a lengthy career in the finance world, the bulk of which was spent within the FX industry. As founder of three fintech companies, he has broad expertise on the buy-side, sell-side and in building financial services platforms.

Announcing his new appointment, he said :“Excited to announce that I have joined the team at Circle to help build the infrastructure that is changing the way money moves around the globe, and enhancing global prosperity through public blockchains commerce. I’ll be focused on Trading Markets (Market Makers, Asset Managers, Exchanges).”

Stephen joins Circle after a brief hiatus from the FX industry. His most recent stint was at  Conmodum Group, which offers product roadmap, go-to-market, and sales program services across multiple asset classes and markets. He is also no stranger to the blockchain and crypto word, having worked in the last two years as a managing director at Oneiro Inc. Other stops in this space includes working as vice president of crypto products at Shift Forex.

Circle to Leverage Leahy’s Insight and Knowledge

Prior to that, Leahy was CEO of Visual Trading Systems, a provider of platforms and business intelligence analytics for the foreign exchange and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives industry. He also served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of FXPrimus, a role he held for over a year, following a transition over from oneZero Financial Systems where he was the head of business development for Americas.

Leahy’s career, which dates back to 2002, encompasses other senior roles including as a managing member of Capital Markets Access Partners, LLC and Back Bay FX Services, LLC, according to information made public on his Linkedin profile.

Leahy’s experience across the mainstream markets should help Circle at a time when the firm is expanding the reach of the offering that is primarily focused on retail trading and investing to appeal for B2B partnerships.

The crypto unicorn currently puts a greater emphasis on its USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Circle will also open the doors of its stablecoin to businesses with a dedicated account that provides a toolbox of APIs to allow developers to build on top of USDC.