Ledger hires Circle’s (CRCL) John Andrews as CFO, opens NYC office

Ledger has appointed a new chief financial officer and opened a New York office as the crypto security firm expands its U.S. presence ahead of a planned public listing.

The company said John Andrews, a former Circle (CRCL) executive, will take on the CFO role. Andrews spent more than two decades in finance and most recently led capital markets and investor relations at the stablecoin issuer. His appointment comes as Ledger positions itself for closer engagement with institutional investors and public markets.

The New York office, backed by a multi-million dollar investment, will serve as a hub for Ledger’s enterprise business. The firm is hiring across institutional and marketing roles as it builds out services for banks, asset managers and other financial firms entering digital assets.

Ledger said the move reflects growing demand for secure infrastructure as more institutions hold and manage crypto.

The expansion lands as Ledger explores an initial public offering in the United States. The company is reportedly working with major banks including Goldman Sachs, Jefferies and Barclays on a listing that could value the firm at more than $4 billion. CEO Pascal Gauthier has previously pointed to rising revenue tied to an increase in crypto hacks, which has driven demand for secure storage.

Ledger is best known for its hardware wallets, but it has pushed deeper into enterprise services in recent years. Its platform offers tools for institutions to store, manage and trade digital assets with internal controls, similar to how a bank might oversee client funds across multiple approvals.

The company says it secures a large share of retail-held stablecoins and has sold more than 8 million devices globally. Still, its track record includes setbacks. A 2020 data breach exposed customer information, and a later exploit in 2023 affected decentralized finance integrations tied to its ecosystem.

Ledger’s U.S. push follows a broader shift in the crypto sector, where firms are again testing public markets after a volatile period. Custodian BitGo (BTGO) recently went public, marking one of the first listings in the sector this year. Tokenization firm Securitize has plans to IPO as soon as it receives the green light from regulators. Meanwhile, crypto exchange Kraken has paused its IPO plans as it waits for better market conditions, CoinDesk reported earlier this week.