Sr. Counsel - Regulatory

Building the Future of Open Finance

Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.

Before you apply, we encourage you to explore our culture page to understand what drives us and how we work.

The team

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.

Our Regulatory Legal team is the group responsible for maintaining and growing Kraken’s product offerings across the EU and UK and for advising the business on its day-to-day regulatory obligations. We’re a tight, experienced group of lawyers from a diverse range of tradfi, fintech, and crypto backgrounds who move fast, stay curious, and take pride in the commercial accountability of our advice – partnering directly with Compliance, Product, and senior leadership to keep our licensed entities running smoothly and our regulators well served.

The Senior Counsel role is a remote role based in the UK or the EU, and will report into the EU/UK Regulatory Legal team. The role exists to own the significant volume of ongoing, business-as-usual regulatory work that currently falls to a small group of very senior lawyers – freeing them to focus on strategic licensing initiatives, complex transactions, and team leadership.

You will operate as a practical legal generalist with focus on:

• Product advice covering Payward’s growing offerings in the EU and UK (Krak card, payments and staking, among other things)
• Cryptoasset Regime Compliance (under MiCA/EU or in the UK) — advising on regulatory obligations for CASPs including supporting on the steady flow of regulatory queries, notifications and supervisory correspondence that keeps our licensed entities compliant and our regulatory relationships strong; and
• Payments & e-money compliance — advising on regulatory obligations affecting our e-money and payment accounts and supporting related workstreams as they arise.

We’re looking for a hands-on lawyer with strong regulatory fluency and a track record of independently owning BAU regulatory relationships (ideally honed in the regulated financial sector).

This is a fully remote role for a qualified lawyer in the UK or EU.

The opportunity

• Provide legal support on cryptoasset, e-money and payment services regulatory requirements, including advising on account-access obligations and related operational compliance questions
• Support the team’s active licensing applications and other in-flight EU/UK licensing or registration workstreams, including compiling application materials and coordinating with outside counsel
• Provide regulatory support on corporate transactions and structural changes affecting EU/UK entities (e.g., change-of-control notifications, corporate client migrations)
• Support the day-to-day relationship with regulators for our licensed entities
• Translate complex regulatory frameworks (e.g., MiCA and the UK Cryptoasset Regime, CBI and FCA rulebooks, AML/CTF, DORA, outsourcing requirements, and e-money and payment services regulation) into pragmatic, actionable guidance for the business
• Foster a culture of clarity, favouring plain-English communication, measurable risk tradeoffs, and decision-ready recommendations

What you bring

• Qualified lawyer (Solicitor/Barrister of England & Wales, Irish Solicitor/Barrister, or equivalent admitted in an EU Member State)

• 10+ years’ post-qualification experience (PQE) in financial services regulatory law gained at a regulated financial services institution (e.g., a bank, payment institution, broker-dealer, exchange, or crypto services provider) or in a law firm/private practice supporting such clients, with demonstrated ability to independently own BAU regulatory workstreams

• Direct experience supporting regulator engagement (e.g., with the CBI, FCA, or an equivalent EU competent authority), including notifications, information requests, and supervisory correspondence

• Substantive experience advising on MiCA or the UK Cryptoasset Regime (i.e., FCA authorisation for regulated cryptoasset activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026) — experience with one regime is sufficient; both is not required

• Substantive experience with e-money and payment services regulation in the EU or UK (experience in one jurisdiction is sufficient; both is not required), including account-access and open banking obligations

• Experience in AML/CTF (anti-money laundering / counter-terrorist financing), including advising on related policies, controls, and regulatory expectations

• Experience advising on outsourcing arrangements and operational resilience compliance (e.g., Digital Operational Resilience Act in the EU, or the FCA/PRA operational resilience regime in the UK)

• Outstanding analytical, drafting, and organisational skills with crisp, plain-English writing

• Ability to efficiently and confidently distill complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, actionable guidance for non-lawyer stakeholders

• Pragmatic, commercially accountable approach to legal and regulatory risk that prioritises providing stakeholders with a useful range of options and clear recommendations

• Comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy and owning a broad, fast-moving BAU workload from day one

  Nice to haves

• Familiarity with MiFID II and its application to investment services, including derivatives, equities, and emerging tokenised financial instruments

• Experience supporting change-of-control notifications or other regulatory aspects of corporate transactions

• An authentic interest in crypto and digital assets, and familiarity with Payward’s and competitors’ products

  Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Our commitment

Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.

We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

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