Press Release

Zurich, Switzerland – September 28, 2022 – CLST (pronounced “Caeleste”), an institutional-only lending and borrowing venue for digital assets, has announced the appointment of Leeor Groen, Director at The Spartan Group, to the CLST Board. 

A one-stop-shop for peer-to-peer lending and borrowing, CLST attracts digital asset lenders and borrowers such as hedge funds, trading firms, treasuries, asset managers, and crypto banks seeking automated digital asset collateral management features via short-term debt contracts. Spartan Group, a leading digital asset management and investment banking group dedicated to dealmaking in crypto and managing over $500M in assets, led CLST’s multi-million seed round, announced July 2022. 

Groen has an extensive background in institutional finance and capital markets, having spent his career at the intersection of finance and technology across Europe and Asia and was previously a partner at Swiss VC firm BVV. He also currently serves as an advisor for a variety of emerging financial technology companies, including DCX, Ethic Advisor, and Trovio (formerly InfiniGold) among others.  

“Blockchain is one of the only emerging technologies in recent years not to be driven by institutional adoption. Compared to credit cards, digital payments services, and even the Internet, blockchain, and subsequently crypto, can credit a majority of its success thus far to the retail market. This leaves the industry with an important hole to fill,” said Leeor Groen. “CLST’s drive for providing a secure, accessible, and robust venue for institutions to leverage digital assets is what drew Spartan Group to partake in CLST’s seed round, and what excites me most about joining the CLST board.”

As a board member, Groen will oversee CLST’s business roadmap, ensuring the company executes on its growth plan and is well-positioned to onboard institutional clients who may be interacting with digital assets for the very first time. Honing in on CLST’s geographical and cultural value proposition as a Swiss company, Groen will also explore how CLST can act as a central venue for traditional finance and fintech to coexist, replicating Switzerland’s role in the global economy.  

“We are thrilled to welcome Leeor to the CLST Board, not only as a representative of Spartan, but also as a strategic mind who brings immense expertise and unique skill sets to the table. There is a mutual understanding of the importance of enabling institutional adoption of digital assets, matched with a shared passion for the creation of New Money Markets – this is why Leeor’s joining of the CLST Board marks an important chapter in the next steps of CLST’s growth,” said Michael Guzik, CEO of CLST.

To learn more about CLST, please visit clst.com. 

About CLST 

CLST’s (pronounced “Caeleste”) mission is to build “New Money” markets and unlock digital assets liquidity in the short-term debt space through a range of solutions, serving institutions throughout the lifecycle of their transactions. Its first offering, CLST Markets, is an institutional, peer-to-peer, collateralized and un-collateralized, digital assets lending and borrowing platform.

CLST investors include Spartan Group, Coinbase Ventures, Kraken Ventures, GSR, Menai Financial Group, Luno Expeditions, and TX Ventures. For more information, please visit www.clst.com.