Aya Kantorovich is a finance and technology professional who specializes in blockchain, digital assets, and institutional markets. She is the co-founder and co-CEO of August, a prime brokerage platform for institutional clients operating on-chain. ^[1]

Education

Kantorovich attended The George Washington University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and Finance. ^[10]

Career

Kantorovich began her career in 2011 with the Clinton Foundation’s Alliance for a Healthier Generation, where she supported initiatives related to childhood obesity. In 2013, she interned in the office of Senator Christopher Murphy of the United States Senate. The following year, she worked as an intern at the Knesset, assisting with legislative research, translations, and constituency matters. In 2015, she interned at UBS, where she provided support to financial advisors.

From 2016 to 2017, she worked as a consultant in banking and capital markets at Navigant. She then joined Tegus in 2017 as a manager, where she contributed to building business processes, managing client accounts, and expanding the team. In 2018, she moved to Pantera Capital as an associate, gaining experience in digital asset investments.

Between 2019 and 2022, Kantorovich was part of the founding team at FalconX, serving as Head of Institutional Coverage and contributing to the development of the firm’s sales and trading division. During the same period, from 2019 to 2021, she was a board member for Jewish Women International, participating in its Young Women’s Leadership Network.

In 2023, she co-founded August (formerly Fractal), where she serves as co-CEO, focusing on initiatives in blockchain and finance. ^{[5] [11]}

August (formerly Fractal)

In 2023, Kantorovich co-founded August, an institutional-grade prime brokerage platform for digital assets. The company was previously known as Fractal. August is designed to provide institutional investors with secure and capital-efficient access to decentralized finance (DeFi). The platform's mission is to serve as a comprehensive infrastructure provider, enabling institutions to clear, settle, and manage collateral for digital asset trades directly on-chain. This model is intended to reduce counterparty risk by ensuring assets remain within August's accounts and by providing on-chain auditability. The platform aggregates various services, including swapping, staking, liquidity provision, and access to over-the-counter (OTC) products across multiple blockchain networks. ^{[1] [5]}

Interviews

August’s Trading Engine

On the Zima Red podcast in April 2025, Kantorovich discussed her role as co-founder and co-CEO of August, a prime brokerage platform for digital assets valued at $12 billion. During the conversation, she reflected on her career path, which included roles at Tigus, Pantera, and Falcon X, noting her early interest in cryptocurrency sparked by observing client behavior and consulting for major financial institutions. Kantorovich explained the complexities of building a platform that aggregates multiple services while prioritizing transparency and user experience in the face of industry volatility. She emphasized the shift towards utilizing smart contracts for improved risk management and transparency in lending. The discussion also touched on the necessity of sound hiring practices, the importance of cultivating a healthy company culture, and the vision for August to serve as a comprehensive trading and lending platform across both centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) in the future. ^[4]

Banks x DeFi

On The Block’s The Scoop podcast in February 2025, host Frank Chaparro discussed the state of crypto, DeFi, and AI Agents with Kantorovich. Kantorovich also shared her journey from traditional banking to the crypto sector, detailing her experience with various firms and the transition to founding her own company, which focuses on on-chain Prime services. She noted the increasing interest from institutional investors in cryptocurrency, although many remained cautious due to regulatory constraints that prevented them from directly engaging with DeFi. Kantorovich noted that while institutional exposure to crypto had increased, it had not necessarily reduced market volatility, as cascading liquidation events continued to occur, indicating a similarity to past market cycles. She emphasized the resilience of DeFi platforms during downturns and underscored the need for transparency and regulation as conversations about DeFi gained momentum in the financial industry. Additionally, she discussed the potential of AI agents to enhance operational efficiency in managing investments in DeFi, while highlighting the importance of implementing guardrails to ensure security and control. ^{[2] [3]}

Red Pilling

On The Defiant podcast in July 2023, host Tegan Klein interviewed Kantorovich, who shared her journey in the cryptocurrency space, starting from her early days at Pantera Capital in 2018. Kantorovich discussed the profound impact of the FTX collapse on institutional players and the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) following the implosion of several centralized finance (CeFi) companies. She highlighted how Fractal aims to bridge the gap for institutions entering DeFi by providing a transparent and capital-efficient platform to manage on-chain positions. Throughout the conversation, Kantorovich elaborated on the evolving relationships between institutional investors and decentralized platforms, as well as the necessity for better risk management and transparency. She expressed confidence in the future adoption of crypto custody among institutions, anticipating that all would eventually move towards self-custody practices as the industry matures. ^[8]

Panels

Liquidity Management

During DeFiCon in August 2022, a panel discussion focused on liquidity management in decentralized finance (DeFi) highlighted the changes and trends that had emerged since the previous DeFi summer. The panelists included Kantorovich (FalconX), John Morrow (Gauntlet), Alex Michelsen (Hedgey Finance), and Ben Spickard (Ichi). They engaged in discussions about the current market's liquidity challenges, the effectiveness of tokenomics, and the competition between decentralized and centralized finance (CeFi). They noted that the current phase was a "build market" rather than a winter, emphasizing the need for sustainable liquidity models and authentic yields. The conversation reflected on shifts in user behavior, the importance of cash flows from productive activity, and the potential for integrating off-chain assets while managing risks associated with cross-chain bridges. Throughout the discourse, participants expressed cautious optimism for innovation in liquidity management and the evolving landscape of DeFi, recognizing the need for more robust mechanisms to support long-term capital efficiency and the potential risks posed by unregulated environments. ^[9]