Eli Cohen

Eli Cohen is a legal and compliance executive whose career has focused on financial markets, securities infrastructure, regulation, and digital assets. He is Chief Legal Officer of Centrifuge and Chief Compliance Officer of Anemoy, and has previously held senior legal roles at Bullish, CME Group, SGX, and Euroclear. ^[1]

Education

Cohen graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Political Science and History in 1986. He then earned his MA in International Relations and Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988. In 1994, Cohen received his JD from Georgetown University. ^[2]

Career

Cohen began his career in the U.S. government, serving as a Presidential Management Intern at the Department of Defense from 1988 to 1990 and later as Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S.-USSR Standing Consultative Commission from 1990 to 1992. He subsequently joined Baker McKenzie, where he worked as an associate in Chicago, Washington, and Moscow from 1994 to 2001, focusing on financial transactions, securities custody, insolvency, regulatory compliance, and related legal matters.

In 2001, Cohen joined Euroclear Bank, initially serving as Director and Assistant General Counsel in Brussels and later as General Counsel for Asia in Hong Kong. During his tenure, he worked on securities settlement, regulatory matters, compliance, litigation, market infrastructure, and strategic transactions across multiple jurisdictions. He joined Singapore Exchange (SGX) in 2013 as Senior Vice President and Head of Legal (Regulation), where he worked on regulatory and legal matters across the exchange's business lines, including international licensing, derivatives clearing, and cross-border market initiatives.

From 2016 to 2019, Cohen served as Executive Director and Head of Legal for Asia at CME Group in Hong Kong, overseeing legal and regulatory matters across the Asia-Pacific region. He then joined Bullish in 2019 as Deputy General Counsel, where he worked on the establishment and regulation of its blockchain-based crypto exchange, licensing applications, trading compliance, and related transactions. Cohen joined Centrifuge as Chief Legal Officer in January 2022, overseeing legal matters for the company. Since September 2023, he has also served part-time as Chief Compliance Officer at Anemoy in the British Virgin Islands. ^[3]

Interviews

Distrupting Wall Street

In a March 2025 interview on The Index Podcast, Cohen discussed cross-chain infrastructure and the development of real-world asset tokenization. He discussed his transition from traditional financial markets into the digital-asset sector, focusing on the potential of tokenization to improve efficiency and transparency while expanding access to financial assets. Cohen also examined the evolution of Centrifuge's RWA activities from trade finance toward assets such as tokenized U.S. Treasuries, noting increased market interest following BlackRock's launch of a tokenized Treasury fund. The interview covered regulatory and banking challenges facing crypto companies, including restrictions during the Trump administration, as well as potential roles for self-custody wallets and API-based financial services. Cohen also discussed the growing role of politically associated meme coins and the legal, sanctions, liability, and reputational considerations that could become more significant as traditional investors enter digital-asset markets. ^[5]

TradFi vs DeFi

In a July 2023 interview with Cboe Digital, Cohen discussed venture capital, the development of Web3, and the investment environment for cryptocurrency companies. He examined the evolution of career interests among students and the different roles of developers and business professionals in Web3 compared with traditional startups, as well as investment activity in early-stage software, fintech, and crypto companies. Cohen discussed investments in companies such as Cove Markets and FairX, which were subsequently acquired by Robinhood and Coinbase, respectively, and noted that the venture and crypto markets had experienced a pullback following declines in valuations and increased regulatory uncertainty after 2022. He identified regulatory concerns as an important consideration for crypto investments and noted that infrastructure-focused businesses could face clearer regulatory conditions than other parts of the sector. Cohen also discussed the subdued M&A environment amid higher interest rates and market conditions, while pointing to continued institutional interest and the potential for greater regulatory clarity to support the development of the crypto market. ^[6]