Linqto, a leading digital trading platform for private market securities, today announced Miguel Vias has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer, reporting to CEO and Co-Founder Bill Sarris. In this role, Miguel will utilize his considerable expertise building liquidity for new financial products by working with pre-IPO Unicorns, Secondary Market sellers and Digital Assets entrepreneurs to strengthen the Linqto Investment Platform.
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Linqto is democratizing the private markets space by making private investing accessible, affordable and liquid for accredited investors. One million accredited investors are invested in private markets, while there are forty-five million qualified to do so. Linqto reaches the unserved forty-four million by providing affordable entry into markets that were previously the exclusive domain of large institutional buyers.
“As we continue to make private markets accessible to accredited investors globally, I could not think of a better addition to Linqto’s leadership team than Miguel,” said Bill Sarris, Linqto CEO. “He joins us at a pivotal moment and brings a level of experience and expertise that will be critical in supporting Linqto as it becomes the global leader in private market liquidity.”
“Miguel is a wonderful addition to the Linqto team,” said Greg Kidd, a strategic advisor and investor in Linqto. “His management experience during Ripple’s hyper growth phase will be invaluable to Linqto as it looks to substantially expand over the next 12-18 months.”
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Miguel brings more than 20 years of financial markets and fintech experience to the role with expertise in management, liquidity growth, and financial products. He joins Linqto from Ripple, a provider of leading enterprise blockchain solutions, where he served as Head of XRP Markets, and was responsible for growing institutional adoption of XRP, the third largest digital currency, as well as cultivating partnerships for On-Demand-Liquidity, the company’s flagship remittance product. Prior to Ripple, he was Head of Precious Metals and Options for the CME Group, the largest futures exchange in the world. Prior to that, he held various precious metals trading positions at Mitsui, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley.
“I am thrilled to join Linqto and to have the opportunity to work with the amazing team Bill has assembled,” said Vias. “I look forward to helping accelerate the already substantial momentum they have created and am excited to continue finding new ways to provide our customers with liquid access to private markets.”