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Key people at Zerocap.
Zerocap operates as a digital asset trading and liquidity provider, functioning as a sell-side flow desk for sophisticated investors. The company facilitates crypto and FX spot and derivatives trading, offering over-the-counter execution via chat, GUI, or API. Complementary services include market making, staking, and secure digital asset custody, leveraging advanced MPC technology and institutional-grade infrastructure for its global clientele.
Founded in 2017 by Jonathan de Wet, Ryan McCall, and Trent Barnes, Zerocap emerged from an understanding of the evolving digital asset landscape. The founders, possessing diverse backgrounds in finance, technology, and entrepreneurship, initially built on foundations as a proprietary trading firm focused on foreign exchange and commodities. Their collective insight led to the creation of a dedicated platform to bridge traditional capital markets with the nascent digital asset space.
Zerocap serves a global base of wholesale clients, institutions, and forward-thinking investors seeking exposure to digital assets. The company's vision centers on achieving "zero friction, borderless finance," aiming to streamline access and foster efficient participation within the digital economy. It continues to expand its offerings, anticipating and adapting to the future needs of institutional digital asset management and trading.
Key people at Zerocap.
Zerocap is a market-leading digital asset investment firm specializing in institutional-grade services like trading, liquidity, custody, staking, and structured products for private clients and institutions globally.[1][2][3] Its mission centers on delivering "zero friction, borderless finance" by bridging traditional capital markets with Web3 through regulated infrastructure, including a Financial Services License (AFSL) with derivatives capability, Lloyd’s of London insurance, and SOC 2 auditing.[1][2][3][5] Zerocap's investment philosophy emphasizes governance, compliance, and innovation in digital assets, focusing on key sectors such as crypto spot and derivatives trading, market making, wallets, and blockchain staking (excluding Australia).[2][3][6] It impacts the startup and broader ecosystem by pioneering products like crypto structured notes—making it one of Australia's only licensed issuers—and fostering education and liquidity solutions that integrate TradFi with digital assets.[3][6]
Headquartered in Melbourne with a team of around 50, Zerocap serves wholesale investors via OTC trading, API liquidity, and portfolio management tools, backed by Australia's Victor Smorgon Group family office.[3][4][5] This positions it as a sell-side flow desk handling over $1B in notional spot volume, with leadership blending tech, finance, and trading expertise.[1][2][3]
Founded in 2017 and bootstrapped in Melbourne, Australia, Zerocap emerged from three co-founders' conviction that digital assets would go mainstream, combining tech, finance, and entrepreneurial backgrounds.[3][4] Key figures include CEO Ryan McCall, CIO Jon de Wet, and Principal Trent Barnes, supported by executives like CTO Maomao Hu, Head of Trading John Toro, and non-executive board members such as Glenn Poswell (Ellerston Capital founder) and Peter Edwards (Victor Smorgon Group MD).[1][4][6] Anchor backing from the Victor Smorgon Group, one of Australia's largest family offices, enabled early infrastructure buildout for execution, custody, and trading.[3][4][5]
The firm's evolution shifted from core crypto services to a full-stack model, including Australia's first crypto structured products via its derivatives license, amid growing institutional demand.[3][6] Pivotal moments include securing unique Lloyd’s insurance, Fireblocks custody partnership, and awards like Blockchain Organisation of the Year in 2023 for innovations like ETH Merge Notes and Bitcoin strategies.[2][6]
Zerocap rides the trend of digital assets mainstreaming, acting as a bridge between TradFi and Web3 by solving liquidity, custody, and compliance hurdles for institutions and family offices.[1][4][6] Its timing aligns with post-2022 maturation—regulatory clarity (e.g., AFSL), rising institutional adoption, and innovations like structured products that mirror traditional finance tools amid crypto volatility.[3][5] Market forces favoring it include borderless crypto demand, growing insurance capacity, and tech enabling redundancy/encryption beyond legacy assets.[2][5]
Zerocap influences the ecosystem through education (academic partnerships), liquidity enhancement on exchanges, and pioneering Australian crypto derivatives, fostering inclusive blockchain growth and setting governance benchmarks globally.[3][6]
Zerocap is poised to expand its global footprint in institutional digital assets, leveraging regulated infrastructure to capture private wealth and institutional flows amid maturing crypto markets.[4] Trends like tokenized real-world assets, AI-driven trading, and clearer global regs (e.g., post-MiCA in Europe) will amplify its structured products and liquidity services, potentially scaling beyond $1B volumes.[2][3][6] Its influence may evolve from Australian pioneer to borderless leader, deepening TradFi-Web3 integration via new partnerships and tech upgrades—cementing "zero friction" as digital finance goes fully mainstream.[1][4] This builds directly on its mission to make digital assets accessible for forward-thinking investors.
