Ripple, a startup managing blockchain tech for global payments, opens DC office

San Francisco-based Ripple, a startup managing blockchain tech for global payments, is expanding its regulatory team in D.C. with a new office.

With this expansion, the company welcomes a few new hires to work out of its District office, Ripple shared in a blog post on Tuesday.

Hello, Washington D.C.! We have expanded our global regulatory team with an office right in the heart of the city. https://t.co/jjxqHVaUw1

— Ripple (@Ripple) October 22, 2019

Susan Friedman has joined the Ripple team as international policy counsel, after previously serving as the senior advisor to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Heath Tarbert. In her new role, she will advise and collaborate with Treasury officials on topics like international financial services regulation, investment security and trade.

Ron Hammond is Ripple’s new manager of government relations. He previously serves as the legislative assistant to Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson, where he brought policymakers to discuss the need for regulatory clarity on digital currency.

Craig Phillips, former counselor to the secretary at the U.S. Treasury Department, has joined Ripple’s board of directors, to advise the company on strategist regulatory opportunities as it expands.

In his previous role, Phillips worked on the Executive Order 13772, titled Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System, which is a presidential executive ordered signed by President Donald Trump in 2017 that focuses on establishing standards designed to manage regulatory actions that impact the financial sector. Philips also made an effort to enhance the financial sector’s cybersecurity capabilities.

Ripple has also joined the Blockchain Association, an organization created to advance the trust in and adoption of blockchain and digital asset technologies.

Michelle Bond, Ripple’s global head of government relations, will sit on the association’s board. Bond previously served as the head of global regulatory affairs and public policy at Bloomberg for four years, and between 2011 and 2014, she spent time serving as the senior counsel at both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Senate Banking Committee.