General Counsel

Blockstream

General Counsel overseeing global legal, compliance, and regulatory functions at Blockstream. Leading legal strategy in fast-paced fintech environment focused on Bitcoin infrastructure.

Posted 5/29/2026full-timeMenlo Park • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesSeniorLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Define, execute, and evolve the legal and compliance strategy consistent with Blockstream’s mission, risk tolerance, and business objectives.
Advise the Board of Directors, executive leadership, and senior management on legal, regulatory, and governance issues.
Guide corporate governance, board processes, equity plans, capital raises, mergers & acquisitions, and restructurings.
Provide legal support in the context of industry consortia and associations that Blockstream is involved in.
Oversee external counsel selection and management and control legal budget, ensuring cost-efficient legal operations.
Oversee negotiation, drafting, and execution of complex commercial agreements.
Support product teams with assessments of legal risk, regulatory compliance, and legal architecture for new features, protocols, token standards, sidechains, and integrations.
Structure cross-border transactions and operations, including advising on jurisdictional compliance and entity structuring.
Define and oversee legal aspects of the Blockstream’s IP protection.
Drive strategy for regulatory engagement in multiple jurisdictions in crypto, securities, fintech, payments, custody, data privacy, and related domains.
Oversee compliance programs for anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions, licensing, data protection/privacy, consumer protection, export controls, and security/compliance audits.
Monitor emerging regulatory, policy, and legislative developments in crypto, blockchain, and fintech, and lead internal responses or adaptations.
Manage legal risk and crisis response regarding litigation, investigations, disputes, IP enforcement, regulatory enforcement actions.
Hire, mentor, and develop legal, compliance, and contract teams.
Build scalable legal infrastructure: policies, playbooks, templates, workflows, contract management tools, compliance frameworks, self-serve legal tooling.
Promote cross-functional collaboration with engineering, security, product, finance, operations, and marketing groups.
Establish KPIs and reporting for the legal function; balance agility with legal rigor in a fast-moving environment.
Partner with the Director of People to ensure compliance with employment regulations across multiple jurisdictions.
Support internal investigations, terminations, and employment-related disputes as needed.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent law degree from an accredited institution and active membership in good standing with at least one state/provincial bar association
12+ years of legal experience, including substantial in-house leadership experience within fintech, cryptocurrency, blockchain, financial services, payments, SaaS, or other highly regulated technology industries.
Demonstrated experience serving as General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, or senior legal executive in a fast-growing global organization.
Deep expertise in commercial transactions, including drafting and negotiating complex agreements related to enterprise software, APIs, partnerships, licensing, custody, token issuance, infrastructure, and technology services.
Strong knowledge of global regulatory frameworks affecting crypto, blockchain, fintech, securities, payments, AML/KYC, sanctions, privacy, and digital assets.
Experience advising executive leadership teams and Boards of Directors on corporate governance, legal strategy, risk management, financing activities, mergers & acquisitions, and organizational structuring.
Proven ability to manage multi-jurisdictional legal and compliance matters across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia.
Experience building and scaling legal and compliance functions, including policies, processes, playbooks, and operational infrastructure.
Demonstrated ability to oversee litigation, investigations, regulatory inquiries, disputes, and crisis management matters.
Experience managing outside counsel relationships and legal budgets effectively in a high-growth environment.
Strong understanding of intellectual property strategy, technology licensing, and product counseling for emerging technologies.
Ability to partner cross-functionally with engineering, product, finance, security, operations, HR, and executive stakeholders.
Excellent judgment, strategic thinking, communication, negotiation, and leadership skills.
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving, ambiguous, and highly technical environment.

Benefits

Comp & perks

All official Blockstream communication will come from an @blockstream.com email address.
We will never ask you to share sensitive information or purchase equipment during the hiring process.
If in doubt, contact us at hr@blockstream.com.
Competitive salary
Health insurance
Employee stock options
Paid time off.
Professional development opportunities.
Flexible work arrangements.

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Juris Doctor (JD)legal compliancecommercial transactionscontract negotiationintellectual property strategyregulatory frameworkslitigation managementcrisis managementlegal risk managementcorporate governance

Soft Skills

strategic thinkingcommunicationnegotiationleadershipjudgmentcross-functional collaborationmentoringorganizational skillsagilityproblem-solving

Certifications

active membership in state/provincial bar association