Hong Kong-based digital asset firm OSL expands in North America with the hire of a former managing director from the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Jeff Howard joins Hong Kong-headquartered OSL as its head of North America business development and institutional sales, according to a statement. 

Howard was most recently a managing partner and founder of Chicago-based institutional venture capital firm Salveo Capital. 

Previously, he was with RBS as a managing director and global head of prime services, overseeing the bank’s listed derivatives, OTC swap clearing, FX prime brokerage and interest rate prime brokerage business. He also worked at Merrill Lynch for over 15 years in various senior roles including as its head of Americas futures and options business. 

MSB Registration 

Coinciding with the new hire, OSL has also acquired a money services business (MSB) registration from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The registration is required to offer a secure and compliant digital asset business to clients in the U.S.

OSL’s North America business continues to grow as a portion of the overall Americas business, increasing prime brokerage client trading volume since July to account for more than 40 percent of the region’s total volume.