General Counsel

About Kamino Kamino's mission is to create liquidity and utility for every asset. We want the world's best investments to be available through the financial platforms people already trust, and we want investors to be able to borrow against what they own when they need liquidity, instead of having to sell. Today, the most valuable assets in the world are often the least useful to own. Trillions of dollars sit in private markets, behind high minimums and holding periods that can run for years. Tokenization is starting to move these assets onto shared, programmable infrastructure, but putting an asset onchain is only the first step. To be useful, it still needs distribution, compliance, servicing, credit and liquidity. Kamino already runs the credit and liquidity engine at scale. It is the largest credit protocol on Solana and the largest credit platform for real-world assets onchain, with more than $650 billion in cumulative transaction volume and more than $20 billion in loans originated. Now we are building the rest of that system for institutions. Kamino recently named Yieldstreet co-founder Michael Weisz as CEO and is building a new HQ in New York, alongside the asset managers and financial platforms that will shape this market. Almost none of that market exists yet, and we intend to build it. Legal & Compliance | New York, NY | Full-time | Four days in office | Reports to the CEO The opportunity Kamino is hiring its first General Counsel to lead legal and compliance globally, build the U.S. operating foundation, and hire the legal and compliance team over the next 6–12 months. Kamino is expanding in the United States and building a team in New York to lead this next phase. We are looking for a General Counsel who will own Kamino's global legal and compliance function and turn that ambition into an executable operating model. As General Counsel, you will be accountable for legal and compliance matters across the globe. Your immediate focus will be establishing Kamino's U.S. operating foundation, while setting the global legal strategy and overseeing regulatory matters outside the U.S. This is a build-with-product role, not a pure sign-off function. Working directly with the CEO and leaders across product, engineering, business development and operations, you will shape institutional products and partnerships from inception and turn regulatory sophistication into a commercial advantage. Within your first 6–12 months, you will begin building the legal and compliance team that will scale with Kamino. What you'll do Global legal and compliance leadership Serve as Kamino's chief legal officer and principal legal adviser to the CEO, leadership team and the Foundation. Own the global legal and compliance function across all Kamino entities and jurisdictions, including corporate, commercial, regulatory, intellectual property, employment, privacy and disputes. Set Kamino's global regulatory strategy, coordinating U.S. work with frameworks such as MiCA and with other key markets. Establish and oversee Kamino's global compliance program, including AML, sanctions, risk assessment, policies and monitoring. Manage legal risk, disputes and any regulatory inquiries or investigations worldwide. Own the legal and compliance budget, and select and manage external counsel and regulatory advisers across jurisdictions. Building the legal and compliance team Design the target structure of Kamino's legal and compliance organization, aligned to the company's product, geographic and institutional roadmap. Begin hiring within the first 6–12 months, prioritizing the roles Kamino needs most (for example, compliance, product and regulatory counsel, and commercial counsel). Recruit, develop and lead a high-performing team, and set the standards, tools and ways of working the function operates by. Decide what to build in-house and what to keep with external counsel as Kamino scales. U.S. legal architecture and governance Design Kamino's U.S. legal and regulatory operating model, including entity roles, legal posture and the approval process for new products. Partner with executive leadership to develop and refine the U.S. roadmap in line with Kamino's overall strategy, with legal and regulatory considerations built into planning from the outset. Advise where Kamino should operate as infrastructure, where third parties must assume regulated or managerial responsibilities, and what Kamino should deliberately avoid. Product roadmap and institutional strategy Embed with product and engineering on lending markets, vaults, leverage products, points and rewards programs, token launches, tokenized real-world assets and other new capabilities. Translate regulatory risk into concrete product design choices before products are built, rather than layering legal review on after decisions have been made. Create repeatable legal and diligence processes for onboarding asset managers, curators, distribution platforms and supporting service providers. Lead or support negotiations involving integrations, institutional pilots, data, technology, custody, servicing, tokenization, credit and liquidity. Securities, commodities and regulatory analysis Apply the Howey and Reves tests, related case law and CFTC jurisdictional principles to evaluate whether tokens, yield products or trading features could be characterized as securities or commodity derivatives under U.S. law. Track and interpret federal legislation, SEC and CFTC rulemaking and guidance, state frameworks, and executive or agency policy affecting DeFi, staking, stablecoins, custody and tokenized assets, alongside major developments in other jurisdictions. Assess money-transmitter licensing, BitLicense-style regimes and other state-level requirements for Kamino's operating entities, and equivalent licensing requirements in other markets. Regulatory engagement, compliance and policy Represent Kamino in proactive and responsive interactions with the SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, OFAC, relevant state regulators and, where relevant, non-U.S. regulators. Advise on Bank Secrecy Act obligations, FinCEN guidance, OFAC sanctions screening and Travel Rule implications for non-custodial infrastructure and any centralized touchpoints. Contribute to industry advocacy and help shape Kamino's comments on proposed rules through appropriate trade associations and policy organizations. Build regulatory literacy across product, engineering and go-to-market teams so that sound judgment is applied without legal reviewing every routine decision. Maintain legal memoranda, risk assessments, policies and decision logs for product launches. What success looks like Building the global legal and compliance foundation Within the first six months Make Kamino operational in the United States for its approved initial scope within 90 days, including the ability to employ its team, maintain its New York presence, enter contracts and advance approved business development and pilot activity. Establish clear boundaries, decision rights and escalation processes. Complete the licensing and registration analysis for Kamino's planned U.S. activities and establish the roadmap for any required approvals. Map Kamino's legal and compliance obligations in its other key jurisdictions and put oversight and external counsel coverage in place. Put the initial compliance, contracting, governance and documentation framework in place. Produce executable legal pathways for Kamino's highest-priority institutional pilots and partnerships. Agree a legal and compliance team plan and hiring priorities with the CEO, and begin recruiting for the first roles. By the end of the first year Make the first legal and compliance hires and have the core team operating. Expand the initial U.S. structure into a scalable operating model capable of supporting institutional products and partnerships. Establish repeatable legal processes for asset-manager onboarding, distribution integrations and institutional product launches. Enable Kamino's priority institutional pilots to proceed with clear approvals, responsibilities and risk boundaries. Implement practical global governance and compliance systems that protect Kamino without slowing product development. Build a trusted network of external counsel, regulatory advisers and industry relationships across Kamino's key jurisdictions. Set the longer-term roadmap for Kamino's global legal and compliance organization. Why this role matters The infrastructure decisions being made today will shape how institutions participate in onchain markets for years. Kamino has already built a proven credit and liquidity engine. The next challenge is to create the legal and operating framework, starting in the U.S., that allows that technology to serve asset managers, distribution platforms and financial institutions at scale. As Kamino's first General Counsel, you will sit at the intersection of law, product and company building. You will help determine what Kamino builds, how it operates and which institutional opportunities it can pursue, and you will build the team that carries that work forward. Who we are looking for A practical legal builder and leader Required J.D. and active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction. Twelve or more years of relevant legal and regulatory experience, including meaningful time in-house at a digital-asset or fintech company, in a law-firm digital-assets practice, or at a relevant regulator. Experience leading a legal or compliance function, or a significant part of one, as the senior legal adviser to executive leadership. A track record of hiring, managing and developing lawyers and compliance professionals. Direct, hands‑on experience with DeFi protocols and digital‑asset market structure, including lending markets, automated market makers, liquidity vaults, staking and onchain governance. Demonstrated experience interacting with the SEC, CFTC or other financial regulators through inquiries, comment letters, roundtables, no‑action processes or enforcement matters. Strong working knowledge of U.S. securities and commodities laws, the Bank Secrecy Act, sanctions requirements and relevant state regulatory frameworks as applied to digital assets. Working knowledge of cross‑border digital‑asset regulatory frameworks, including MiCA and the U.K. FCA regime, and experience managing legal matters across multiple jurisdictions. Fluency in the current U.S. legislative and regulatory landscape, with the ability to convert fast‑moving developments into practical guidance. Sound judgment and comfort operating where the law is still developing, with the confidence to recommend a course of action rather than simply identify risk. Excellent communication with engineers, product leaders, commercial teams and boards in a way that supports product velocity. Thoughtful use of modern technology, including AI, to improve legal research, drafting, regulatory tracking and execution. Strongly preferred Prior experience as General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel or Chief Compliance Officer at a digital-asset or fintech company. Existing relationships within digital-asset policy, regulatory and institutional legal circles, in the U.S. and internationally. Experience building an early‑stage legal or compliance function from the ground up, including policies, licensing roadmaps and monitoring infrastructure. Experience with Foundation, DAO or protocol governance structures and token‑related legal matters. Experience structuring institutional financial products, asset‑manager relationships, distribution arrangements or tokenized real‑world assets. How we will work Direct access to the CEO and close partnership with product, engineering, business development and operations. Early involvement in strategy and product design, with visible decisions and fast escalation when an issue blocks progress. High ownership, documented judgment, clear deadlines and a bias toward practical solutions. Clear authority to shape and hire the legal and compliance team. Compensation and benefits Kamino expects to offer a competitive package consisting of base salary, a performance-based bonus and long-term KMNO participation. Final terms will reflect the candidate's experience, scope and agreed role. Kamino is building its U.S. benefits infrastructure. Health-coverage arrangements, paid time off, holidays, equipment, travel and expense policies will be documented as part of the formal offer. Kamino is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to building an inclusive workplace. Kamino does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. #J-18808-Ljbffr