Blockchain.com has added former Microsoft executive Lisa Nelson and former Global X ETFs chief executive Luis Berruga to its board, bringing venture-capital, public-company finance and exchange-traded fund governance experience to one of cryptocurrency's longest-running consumer platforms.
The appointments, announced by Blockchain.com on Nov. 9, place two executives with deep backgrounds in institutional oversight alongside a company that operates self-custody products and services for institutions across more than 70 jurisdictions. The additions could strengthen the company's board-level expertise in audit, capital allocation, compliance and corporate governance as crypto businesses face greater scrutiny from regulators, financial partners and customers.
Nelson spent nearly 15 years at Microsoft in senior roles across finance, investor relations and business development. She also co-founded M12, Microsoft's venture fund, where Blockchain.com said she helped deploy hundreds of millions of dollars into more than 80 startups globally.
Berruga previously served as chief executive officer and board chairman of Global X ETFs. During his tenure, Global X reported $85 billion in assets under management across more than 150 exchange-traded funds operating on four continents, according to Blockchain.com's announcement.
Nelson brings venture and operating experience
Nelson's background spans large-company finance and early-stage technology investing, a combination that can be valuable for a crypto company balancing established products with newer infrastructure and services.
After her career at Microsoft, she joined the boards of Banqer Software, Spark New Zealand and Brooks Running, according to Blockchain.com. She also advises venture funds and technology startups. Her early professional experience included work at EY, and she is a certified public accountant.
Her time at M12 may be particularly relevant for a company operating in a sector where partnerships, strategic investments and product expansion often overlap. Corporate venture funds typically evaluate emerging technologies while also looking for businesses that can connect with an established parent company's commercial priorities.
Blockchain.com has built its brand primarily around consumer wallet services, though it also offers institutional products. A board member experienced in both technology operations and venture investing could help assess where the company should build internally, partner with other firms or make targeted investments.
The company said it has supported more than 95 million wallets and 44 million confirmed accounts since its founding in 2011. It also reported more than $1.1 trillion in crypto transactions across its operations.
Those figures illustrate the scale of the company's historical user reach, although wallets and confirmed accounts do not necessarily represent active individual customers. Like other long-established crypto platforms, Blockchain.com operates across a global market where users may maintain multiple accounts and wallets.
Berruga adds ETF governance credentials
Berruga's arrival gives Blockchain.com a board member whose experience is closely tied to regulated investment products and fund governance.
In addition to his former Global X leadership role, Berruga serves as an independent director at SOL Strategies, a digital-asset-focused company. He is lead independent trustee and audit committee chairman at the Tidal ETF platform, an independent trustee of KraneShares ETFs, and an independent director at the VistaOne Fund, which is backed by Vista Equity Partners.
Before moving into asset management leadership, Berruga worked at Jefferies and Morgan Stanley. His experience spans brokerage, investment banking, fund oversight and corporate boards.
That mix is increasingly relevant as cryptocurrency companies interact with a more conventional financial system. The approval and expansion of regulated spot crypto exchange-traded products has brought asset managers, custodians, trading firms and market-makers into closer contact with digital-asset platforms. Board oversight now requires familiarity with issues that extend beyond technology, including audit processes, risk controls, disclosure standards and product governance.
Blockchain.com did not outline any specific transaction, fundraising plan or change in corporate structure alongside the appointments. The announcement focused on the directors' professional backgrounds and the company's existing business lines.
A board built for a more regulated market
The appointments arrive as crypto platforms face a different operating environment from the one that shaped the industry's early consumer growth. Companies serving retail users and institutions are under pressure to demonstrate stronger controls around custody, cybersecurity, governance and regulatory compliance.
Blockchain.com said its offerings are designed around regulation and privacy standards, alongside self-custody and institutional services. Self-custody allows users to control the private keys associated with their crypto holdings rather than leaving assets under a platform's direct control. That model can reduce reliance on a centralized intermediary, though it also places more responsibility on users to secure their credentials.
For Blockchain.com, Nelson and Berruga bring complementary forms of oversight. Nelson's experience connects technology strategy, corporate finance and startup investment. Berruga contributes public-markets and fund-governance expertise, including audit committee leadership.
The company's board expansion suggests that Blockchain.com is prioritizing governance capacity alongside product operations. In a market where institutional clients and regulators increasingly examine who sits at the boardroom table, the appointments give the firm experience drawn from Microsoft, Wall Street and the global ETF industry.
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