Meltem Demirors is chief strategy officer of CoinShares, a digital asset manager, and invests in and advises crypto and tech startups via her own firm, Shiny Pony Ventures.
On the legacy finance front, Demirors worked with some of the largest companies in the world, mainly on financial risk management and capital efficiency. On the blockchain-based finance side, she has had an intense focus on portfolio management and network development, beginning in the early days of cryptocurrency ecosystem development.
In her role at CoinShares, Meltem builds asset management products to provide institutional investors with exposure to crypto assets and blockchain companies. In addition, she serves as the managing director of the firm’s US operations. Prior, she served as vice president of development at Digital Currency Group, where she managed a portfolio of 110 companies across 30 countries and advised some of the world’s largest financial institutions and corporations. She also invests in and advises cryptocurrency and blockchain startups via her personal fund, Shiny Pony Ventures.
Meltem advocates for a number of initiatives focused on market infrastructure and portfolio management, most notably in her participation in the World Economic Forum Blockchain Council. She works closely with the academic community on education, helping to create the MIT “Future of Commerce” online course and the Oxford Saïd Business School Blockchain Strategy Program.
Demirors' blog, The Collective, focuses on leaders in the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem and her passion for financial privacy and civil liberties. She is featured in CoinDesk, CNBC, Fortune's The Ledger: 40 Under 40, and The Wall Street Journal. She lectures worldwide.