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Kraken, one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms (founded 2011, trusted by 10+ million users globally), is seeking a Senior Counsel – Product to join its Regulatory Legal team supporting the Asia-Pacific region. This is a remote role based in Hong Kong or Singapore.
You will operate as a practical legal generalist with a focus on product legal advice, supporting launches and product changes across APAC. Your responsibilities include:
- Provide product legal support for APAC launches across the Payward product suite (xStocks, OTC options, institutional custody, cross-regional products)
- Act as gatekeeper for new APAC outside counsel engagements: scope work, estimate costs, and approve before external routing
- Translate complex regulatory frameworks into pragmatic, actionable guidance using plain-English communication and measurable risk trade-offs
- Leverage AI-assisted tools for multi-jurisdiction licensing analysis, regulatory submissions, and matter tracking
- Own APAC regulatory workload including licence variations, client/broker agreements, licensing structure questions, and regulator correspondence
- Take ownership of geography-specific licensing in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Philippines, and support emerging markets (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia)
- Support Payward Group licensing initiatives in Singapore and Hong Kong, including application materials and outside counsel coordination
The Regulatory Legal team is responsible for maintaining and growing Kraken's product offerings across every region, advising on day-to-day regulatory obligations. The team comprises experienced lawyers from traditional finance, fintech, and crypto backgrounds who move fast, stay curious, and take commercial accountability for their advice. You will partner directly with Compliance, Product, and senior leadership.
Nice-to-haves include: experience advising on virtual asset regulation in APAC; familiarity with derivatives (OTC options), equities, and tokenised instruments; experience with regulatory aspects of corporate transactions; payments/e-money/card regulation experience; working proficiency in a second APAC language; authentic interest in crypto and familiarity with Payward and competitor products.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Qualified lawyer admitted in Singapore, Hong Kong, England and Wales, or equivalent common law jurisdiction
- 10+ years post-qualification experience in financial services regulatory law, gained at a regulated financial services institution (bank, broker-dealer, exchange, derivatives dealer, crypto services provider), law firm supporting such clients, or relevant regulator
- Demonstrated ability to independently own regulatory relationships and business-as-usual regulatory workstreams (notifications, information requests, supervisory correspondence)
- Strong experience with financial regulatory landscape in a major Asian financial centre (Singapore/MAS, Hong Kong/SFC/HKMA)
- Proven ability to instruct, supervise, and manage costs of local counsel across multiple jurisdictions, including markets where not admitted
- Working knowledge of AML/CTF obligations and regulatory expectations
- Outstanding analytical, drafting, and organisational skills with crisp, plain-English writing
- Ability to distil complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, actionable guidance for non-lawyer stakeholders
- Pragmatic, commercially accountable approach to legal and regulatory risk
- Comfort operating with high autonomy in fast-moving, remote, multi-time-zone environment, owning broad workload from day one
