Caroline Friedman is a legal, regulatory, and operations executive whose career has spanned national security, financial regulation, law enforcement, and digital assets. She is the Chief Operating Officer and a board member of Bastion, a company focused on stablecoin infrastructure and related financial technology services. ^[3]

Education

Friedman earned her BA in Political Science from the University of Arizona. She’s also received her Master of Laws in National Security from Georgetown Law and her JD from the University of Denver - Sturm College of Law. ^[2]

Career

Friedman began her career in legal and national security roles, serving as a law clerk at INTERPOL and as a research assistant at the National Defense University. She was also a National Security Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. In 2012, she joined Jones Day as an associate attorney in the firm's government regulations practice, where she worked on regulatory and compliance matters.

She later entered public service, serving as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the National Security and International Crimes Unit for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2014 to 2016. From 2016 to 2017, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Colorado, handling major crimes cases. Following her time in government, she became a fellow at New America’s Blockchain Trust Accelerator, where she focused on blockchain technology and public policy.

In 2019, Friedman joined Kraken as Chief of Staff and Regulatory Strategy Counsel, working on compliance, legal, and regulatory matters related to digital assets. She subsequently served as Chief of Staff for a16z Crypto at Andreessen Horowitz from 2021 to 2023. In February 2023, she joined Bastion as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing operational, regulatory, and strategic initiatives. She was appointed to the company’s board of directors in October 2024. Her work has focused on the intersection of financial regulation, digital assets, stablecoin infrastructure, and emerging financial technologies. ^{[1] [4]}