Chen Fang is the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at the digital asset custody firm BitGo.^{[1] [2]} He joined BitGo's executive team in 2020 following the acquisition of Lumina, an institutional crypto portfolio management platform he co-founded and led as CEO.^{[1] [3]} Before becoming CRO, Fang held roles as Chief Product Officer (CPO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at BitGo, where he was instrumental in expanding the company's institutional product suite and operational capabilities.^[4]​

Education

Chen Fang attended Harvard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on Economics and Computer Science.^{[1] [2]}

Career

Early Career and Entry into Crypto

Fang's early career included positions at major technology and fintech companies. He managed teams at Microsoft and, in 2015, led the team responsible for building Zenefits Payroll, an enterprise-level service designed to automate tax calculations, payments, and filings across more than 10,000 tax jurisdictions in the United States.^[1] His interest in digital assets began as early as 2011, when he set up a homemade Bitcoin mining facility in his living room. This hands-on experience led him to identify a market need for more sophisticated infrastructure and tooling to support the mass adoption of digital assets by institutions.^[1]​

Entrepreneurship: Lumina

In November 2017, Fang co-founded Lumina and served as its CEO.^{[1] [3]} Lumina was an institutional-grade portfolio management and crypto finance platform. It was developed to serve as the "back-office of choice for crypto funds" by addressing key operational challenges for professional investors, including tax accounting, cost basis tracking, and performance reporting across multiple trading venues.^[4] In early 2020, BitGo acquired Lumina, integrating its technology and team into BitGo's operations.^{[1] [3]}​

BitGo

Following the acquisition of Lumina in 2020, Fang joined BitGo as its Chief Product Officer (CPO).^{[1] [3]} In this role, he led the company's product and engineering teams and was responsible for expanding BitGo's offerings beyond basic custody to include services like Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), institutional staking, and decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions.^[5]​

A key initiative under his product leadership was the launch of BitGo’s institutional-grade NFT custody and hot wallet solution in mid-2022. This was marketed as the first US-qualified custody platform for non-fungible tokens that could be paired with a hot wallet for interacting with marketplaces such as OpenSea.^[5] Fang highlighted the security gap this product addressed for institutional investors, stating, "You don’t want to keep a couple of million dollars worth of assets on your Chrome browser."^[5]​

On August 1, 2022, BitGo announced Fang's promotion to Chief Operating Officer (COO).^[4] His responsibilities expanded to oversee the company's operational execution and global scaling. Upon his promotion, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said, "Chen’s leadership and vision have been instrumental to BitGo’s growth and success since he joined the company in 2020."^[5] While COO, Fang also oversaw the launch of the Go Network Wallet in September 2022, a regulated, self-managed wallet for institutions.^[3]​

In late 2023, Fang transitioned to his current role as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), where he leads BitGo's global go-to-market strategy.^{[1] [3]} As CRO, he continues to act as a spokesperson for the company's strategic growth. In a November 2025 blog post, he described BitGo's philosophy: "Institutions today need more than custody; they need a partner that grows with an ecosystem changing daily. BitGo’s support across assets, chains, and protocols reflects what it means to be a long-term infrastructure partner, not just a service provider."^[6] He has also commented on strategic partnerships, such as BitGo's custody support for the Canton Network, stating that it "underscores our dedication to delivering institutional-grade security and services for emerging ecosystems."^[7]​

Interviews

Global and Local Dimensions of Cryptocurrency Regulation #01

An interview published on January 2, 2023, on the World Knowledge Forum YouTube channel features Chen Fang, Chief Operating Officer at BitGo, discussing structural characteristics of traditional financial markets in comparison to cryptocurrency markets. The session also includes Eunyoung Lee, co-founder of CAN (Community Alliance Network), and addresses regulatory considerations related to digital assets across different jurisdictions.

According to Fang’s account, traditional financial systems are organized through multiple distinct entities, including brokers, exchanges, clearing institutions, and transfer agents. These roles are distributed across separate organizations, creating layered processes for trading, settlement, and asset custody. This structure limits direct dependency on a single institution and distributes operational responsibilities across the market infrastructure.

In contrast, Fang explains that cryptocurrency markets frequently combine several of these functions within a single platform. Activities such as trading, custody, clearing, and settlement may be handled by the same entity. While this arrangement allows for faster transaction processing and reduced procedural steps, it also centralizes control over user assets and operational decision making.

Fang refers to past incidents within the cryptocurrency sector, including withdrawal suspensions and security failures, as examples of how centralized operational control can affect market participants. These cases are presented as outcomes of structural concentration rather than isolated events. From Fang’s perspective, separating custody services from trading platforms represents an approach drawn from traditional finance that may reduce exposure to single points of failure.

The interview also addresses regulatory responses in different regions. Fang notes that many jurisdictions have introduced clearer tax treatment for digital assets, while broader regulatory frameworks remain uneven. He contrasts enforcement-focused approaches, such as those implemented in China, with regulatory developments in other regions that continue to evolve. China’s restrictions on cryptocurrency activity are discussed alongside its parallel development of central bank digital currency initiatives.

Throughout the discussion, Fang presents a view in which cryptocurrency market structures are shaped by both technological design choices and regulatory environments. His commentary outlines how elements of existing financial infrastructure are being considered within digital asset markets as regulatory clarity and institutional participation continue to develop. ^[8]

Institutional Crypto Outlook and ETH ETFs #02

In an interview published on February 28, 2025, on the ETHDenver YouTube channel, Chen Fang discussed institutional participation in cryptocurrency markets, with focus on Ethereum exchange traded funds and market infrastructure. Fang spoke in his capacity as Chief Revenue Officer at BitGo and referenced his professional background, which includes early involvement with Bitcoin mining and subsequent work related to Ethereum.

According to Fang, institutional engagement with digital assets has been influenced by regulatory conditions in the United States, particularly periods in which oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission relied on enforcement actions rather than formal regulatory frameworks. He explained that legal proceedings and regulatory guidance affected banking relationships and accounting treatment for crypto related firms, which limited their integration with traditional financial institutions. Fang stated that the dismissal of certain lawsuits involving companies such as Gemini and ConsenSys, along with revisions to accounting guidance, altered these conditions and changed the regulatory environment faced by the sector.

The interview also addressed the launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in 2024. Fang described these instruments as regulated vehicles that allow institutional investors to gain exposure to digital assets through established financial structures. He noted that Bitcoin ETFs accounted for a measurable share of Bitcoin market capitalization, while Ethereum ETFs represented a smaller portion of the Ethereum market and remained at an earlier stage of adoption.

Regarding market structure, Fang outlined differences between traditional financial markets and cryptocurrency markets, particularly the combination of exchange and custody functions within single entities. He referenced recent security breaches to illustrate risks associated with this model. He further stated that institutional trading volumes on centralized platforms such as Coinbase had returned to levels observed in previous market cycles, while retail participation showed increased use of decentralized finance applications.

In closing, Fang described his view of market conditions as involving short term price variability alongside longer term structural developments. He indicated that regulatory adjustments and ongoing institutional activity suggested that the digital asset market continued to evolve, with changes in infrastructure and participation patterns shaping its development over time. ^[9]