itBit Appoints Former NYDFS Legal Counsel Daniel Ort as Chief Compliance Officer

Recently, itBit announced on its official blog the appointment of丹尼尔•奥尔特as itBit’s General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO).

Prior to joining itBit, Daniel Alter served as General Counsel at the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for three years, advising regulators on issues related to international banking, insurance, capital markets, real estate finance, and consumer protection. During his tenure, Alter also helped the NYDFS contribute to many areas, including anti-money laundering and international sanctions, regulation of virtual currencies, reform of independent consulting firms, and global foreign exchange rate manipulation investigations. Prior to working at the NYDFS, Alter also served as Senior Advisor and Special Counsel to the New York Attorney General, where he was involved in mortgage securities fraud investigations, as well as telecommunications and counterterrorism. In addition, Alter served as Chief Risk Analyst at Credit Suisse. In his early years, Alter worked with the U.S. Attorney General's Office on many legal-related matters, including civil litigation, copyright law, employment discrimination, constitutional litigation, and torts. He graduated from Columbia University and received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

Ort admitted that he did not believe in Bitcoin, a digital currency, and when he participated in the writing of NYDFS's Bitlicense, he pointed out the possible disadvantages of Bitcoin and other digital currencies. He also mentioned that a decentralized payment system would have an adverse impact on the country's current financial structure.

However, as he worked on the Bitlicense, Ort's attitude towards Bitcoin changed. Now, he increasingly feels the power of blockchain technology.

Regarding his appointment, Ort said he will work with regulators who want to learn more about digital currencies:

“I understand the importance of my work at itBit in meeting its compliance needs and also in conveying a message to regulators that their business activities are in the right direction.”