Crypto.com Taps Exchange Veteran for Institutional Expansion
Crypto.com has appointed Iskandar Vanblarcum to lead its Exchange business as the Singapore-based crypto platform accelerates its push into institutional trading, prediction markets and tokenized real-world assets.
Crypto.com has named Iskandar Vanblarcum as Managing Director of the Crypto.com Exchange, placing him in charge of expanding the platform’s institutional client base and leading the rollout of new products aimed at professional investors.
Vanblarcum will oversee the Exchange’s institutional strategy, including the planned launch of regulated prediction markets and real-world asset (RWA) offerings. His immediate priority will be building an institutional-grade platform for event contracts, with the longer-term ambition of making the service available to regulated clients globally.
The appointment comes as institutional participation in digital assets continues to gather momentum and crypto exchanges increasingly compete to offer regulated infrastructure for banks, asset managers and family offices.
Regulatory Experience
Vanblarcum brings more than two decades of experience in investment banking and financial market infrastructure. After moving into digital assets in 2021, he helped develop institutional crypto products while working on regulatory initiatives across multiple jurisdictions, including alignment with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, engagement with Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), licensing efforts in The Bahamas and custody partnerships.
Before entering the crypto industry, he held senior positions at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and Barclays Investment Bank.
«With his extensive experience scaling global exchanges into regional markets with a focus on trust and transparency, Iskandar is the perfect choice to lead our growing product offering and expand our client base as more institutions look to access on-chain assets,» said Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com.
He added that the Exchange has become a cornerstone of the company’s institutional strategy, with traditional financial institutions increasingly relying on the platform for trade execution, liquidity sourcing and market risk management.
Betting on On-Chain Finance
Vanblarcum said he joined the digital asset industry because he believes the next generation of financial markets will be built on blockchain infrastructure.
«Prediction markets are where derivatives were in the 1980s,» he said. «Institutional capital knows they belong in the portfolio and they are looking for a regulated, secure platform to access these contracts.»
According to Vanblarcum, Crypto.com’s existing infrastructure provides a strong foundation for building what he described as the next generation of institutional on-chain trading venues that bridge traditional finance and digital assets.
Expanding Institutional Offering
Crypto.com said its Exchange has become one of the world’s largest U.S. dollar-supported cryptocurrency exchanges by spot trading volume and has ranked as Kaiko’s leading spot exchange for the past three consecutive quarters.
The platform has recently upgraded its trading interface to improve execution and portfolio management capabilities for professional users. It also became one of the first exchanges to integrate Blackrock’s tokenized money market fund BUIDL, enabling institutional clients to use the yield-bearing tokenized asset as collateral for margin trading.
Beyond cryptocurrencies, the Exchange is expanding into tokenized real-world assets, offering exposure to products linked to equities, commodities, precious metals, energy and stock indices as part of its broader institutional strategy.
