Sr. Counsel - Regulatory

As Senior Counsel - Regulatory at Kraken (part of Payward), you own a significant volume of business-as-usual regulatory work for our EU and UK operations, freeing our most senior lawyers to focus on strategic licensing initiatives and complex transactions. You operate as a practical legal generalist advising on product offerings, cryptoasset compliance under MiCA and the UK Cryptoasset Regime, and payments and e-money regulation. This is a fully remote role based in the UK or EU, reporting to the EU/UK Regulatory Legal team.

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 EU/UK licensing or registration workstreams, including compiling application materials and coordinating with outside counsel
• Provide regulatory support on corporate transactions and structural changes affecting EU/UK entities such as change-of-control notifications and corporate client migrations
• Support day-to-day relationships with regulators for our licensed entities
• Translate complex regulatory frameworks such as MiCA, the UK Cryptoasset Regime, CBI and FCA rulebooks, AML/CTF, DORA, 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/Barrister of England and Wales, Irish Solicitor/Barrister, or equivalent admitted in an EU Member State)
• 10+ 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 business-as-usual regulatory workstreams
• Direct experience supporting regulator engagement with the CBI, FCA, or an equivalent EU competent authority, including notifications, information requests, and supervisory correspondence
• Substantive experience advising on MiCA or the UK Cryptoasset Regime (experience with one regime is sufficient)
• Substantive experience with e-money and payment services regulation in the EU or UK (experience in one jurisdiction is sufficient), including account-access and open banking obligations
• Experience in AML/CTF (anti-money laundering / counter-terrorist financing), including advising on related policies, controls, and regulatory expectations
• Experience advising on outsourcing arrangements and operational resilience compliance such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act in the EU or the FCA/PRA operational resilience regime in the UK
• 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 business-as-usual workload from day one

Nice to have

• Familiarity with 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 is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, founded in 2011 and trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions globally. Part of Payward, which operates NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks, Kraken offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services for both individual investors and institutional clients.