Counsel - Regulatory (UK)

As Counsel - Regulatory at Kraken (part of Payward), you join the Regulatory Legal team responsible for maintaining and growing Kraken's product offerings across the EU and UK. You will provide practical legal guidance on cryptoasset regulation, payments and e-money compliance, and product advice, working closely with Compliance, Product, and senior leadership to keep licensed entities running smoothly and regulatory relationships strong. This is a fully remote role for a qualified lawyer in the UK.

What you'll do

• Provide legal support on cryptoasset, e-money and payment services regulatory requirements, including advising on account-access obligations and related operational compliance questions
• Support active licensing applications and other in-flight UK licensing or registration workstreams, including compiling application materials and coordinating with outside counsel
• Provide regulatory support on corporate transactions and structural changes affecting UK entities, for example change-of-control notifications and corporate client migrations
• Support the day-to-day relationship with regulators for Kraken's licensed entities
• Translate complex regulatory frameworks such as the UK Cryptoasset Regime, FCA rulebooks, AML/CTF, operational resilience requirements, outsourcing requirements, and e-money and payment services regulation into pragmatic, actionable guidance for the business
• Foster a culture of clarity, favouring plain-English communication, measurable risk tradeoffs, and decision-ready recommendations

What you bring

• Qualified lawyer (Solicitor or Barrister of England and Wales, or equivalent)
• 6+ years' post-qualification experience in financial services regulatory law gained at a regulated financial services institution such as a bank, payment institution, broker-dealer, exchange, or crypto services provider, or in a law firm supporting such clients, with demonstrated ability to independently own BAU regulatory workstreams
• Direct experience supporting regulator engagement with the FCA, including notifications, information requests, and supervisory correspondence
• Substantive experience advising on the UK Cryptoasset Regime, specifically FCA authorisation for regulated cryptoasset activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026
• Substantive experience with e-money and payment services regulation in the UK, including account-access and open banking obligations
• Experience in AML/CTF (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing), including advising on related policies, controls, and regulatory expectations
• Experience advising on outsourcing arrangements and operational resilience compliance, for example the FCA/PRA operational resilience regime
• Outstanding analytical, drafting, and organisational skills with crisp, plain-English writing
• Ability to efficiently and confidently distil complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, actionable guidance for non-lawyer stakeholders
• Pragmatic, commercially accountable approach to legal and regulatory risk that prioritises providing stakeholders with a useful range of options and clear recommendations
• Comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy and owning a broad, fast-moving BAU workload from day one

Nice to have

• Familiarity with the UK's onshored MiFID regime (as retained and modified under UK law, originally derived from EU MiFID II) and its application to investment services, including derivatives, equities, and emerging tokenised financial instruments
• Experience supporting change-of-control notifications or other regulatory aspects of corporate transactions
• An authentic interest in crypto and digital assets, and familiarity with Payward's and competitors' products

About Kraken

Kraken, founded in 2011, is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services for both individual investors and institutional clients. Kraken is part of Payward, which operates a global financial infrastructure platform including NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks.