Ex-Jefferies Asia CEO Alexander Joins Crypto Firm Block.one

(Bloomberg) -- Jefferies Group LLC's former top banker in Asia is joining Block.one, the firm behind a recent $4 billion cryptocurrency offering.

Michael Alexander, who until recently was Asia chief executive officer at Jefferies, will head Block.one's venture capital arm, with a focus on developing projects that rely on the firm's EOSIO blockchain software, according to a Block.one statement. He will be based in Hong Kong and serve on the company's executive committee.

Alexander adds to the list of bankers and investors who have joined cryptocurrency firms. Bitcoin surged to a peak of almost $20,000 in December 2017, but has since lost 65 percent of its value amid security and regulatory concerns.

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Cayman Islands-based Block.one plans to invest more than $1 billion in EOSIO projects through the venture fund, and has partnerships with billionaire Michael Novogratz among others, according to the statement. Earlier this year, it raised more than $4 billion in an offering of EOS tokens, the fifth-most valuable cryptocurrency according to data from Coinmarketcap.com.

Alexander, who joined Jefferies as Asia CEO eight years ago, will remain as an adviser to the brokerage in the region, a spokesman for the New York-based firm said in an emailed statement. He previously worked at CLSA Ltd. and Deutsche Bank AG.

--With assistance from Marcus Wright.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Lam in Hong Kong at elam87@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, ;Marcus Wright at mwright115@bloomberg.net, Russell Ward, Sam Mamudi

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