Boards & Governance
Boards & Non-Executive Directors
- Independent Web3 & AI risk perspective for risk and audit committees
- Digital asset oversight and governance for board mandates
Banker on the Blockchain
Omar Moonis — Banker on the Blockchain
Global Head of Self Custody Risk · Top 3 Crypto Exchange · 25 Years in Institutional Finance
I help boards, regulators, and financial institutions make confident decisions about digital assets, AI, and Web3 risk.
Currently Thinking About
How AI agents with on-chain wallets are about to make every compliance framework written before 2024 look like it was designed for a different planet.
25+
Years Experience
$115MM+
Programs Managed
3
Continents
400%
Regional Growth
Career background
Citibank
TRM Labs
OKX
Columbia Business School
University of Pennsylvania
Let's Find Out If I'm the Right Partner
Three audiences. Three very different problems. One through-line: navigating digital assets and AI with confidence.
Financial Institutions
Banks, Payment Firms, & Regulators
- Stablecoins, cross-border payments, and on-chain risk frameworks
- Regulatory engagement and digital asset policy advisory
Executive Transition
Executives & Founders Entering Web3
- Career transition coaching from TradFi into Web3 & AI roles
- Leadership strategy and board readiness for digital asset conversations
How We Can Work Together
Alongside my full-time leadership role, I selectively take on board mandates, training engagements, and executive coaching clients each year. Three concrete formats — not open-ended retainers.
Board & NED Advisory
Independent Web3 & AI risk perspective for your board.
- Risk & audit committee support on digital assets
- Board-level digital literacy briefings
- Review of tokenization / stablecoin initiatives
Typically an annual mandate or quarterly retainer. 1–2 seats available per year.
Discuss a Board Mandate →Training & Education for Teams
DeFi and Web3 training for regulated institutions.
- Executive workshops on DeFi, bridges, and on-chain risk
- Custom curricula for regulators & compliance teams
- Scenario planning around AI agents in finance
Typically a 1-day workshop or 2-session programme for teams of 10–50.
Schedule Training for Your Team →Executive Coaching & Career Transition
For senior leaders moving from TradFi into Web3 & AI.
- 1:1 coaching on role transitions and portfolio careers
- Strategy for entering Web3 without blowing up your reputation
- Board readiness for AI / digital asset conversations
6–10 sessions over 3–5 months. A small cohort accepted each quarter.
Apply for Coaching →Where Traditional Finance Meets the Digital Frontier
With over 25 years at the intersection of institutional finance and emerging technology, Omar Moonis brings rare operational depth to the most complex challenges in modern financial services.
His career spans leading $115MM+ transformation programs at Citibank across Asia Pacific and Europe, driving 400% regional growth as Head of APAC Business Development at TRM Labs, co-founding a chain-agnostic DeFi investment platform, and currently serving as Global Head of Self Custody Risk at a Top 3 Global Crypto Exchange.
A Columbia Business School MBA and University of Pennsylvania engineer, Omar advises boards, institutions, and technology companies on navigating the convergence of regulated finance and decentralised innovation.
25+
Years Experience
$115MM+
Programs Managed
3
Continents
400%
Regional Growth
25+ Years at the Intersection of Banks and Blockchains
Global Head of Self Custody Risk
Developing the risk management framework for one of the world's leading self-custodial Web3 businesses, advising on new product lines as part of a global expansion strategy.
Co-Founder
Pioneered a chain-agnostic DeFi investment platform on Base and Sui, demonstrating cross-chain interoperability for digital asset yield optimisation.
Head, APAC Business Development
Built go-to-market across 8 APAC markets. Strategic partnerships with banks, digital asset firms, and government agencies drove 400% regional growth.
Director — Multiple Roles, APAC / EMEA
Directed a $115M APAC restructuring program as part of Citi's $1B global transformation. Established a 50-person Digital Banking COE generating $6M in new revenue. Earlier, Interim Retail Bank CFO in Warsaw managing a $400M P&L through the Global Financial Crisis.
Education
Columbia Business School
MBA — Marketing & Finance
New York, USA
University of Pennsylvania
BS — Electrical Engineering
Philadelphia, USA
Board Directorships
Both roles reflect the same through-line: applying risk governance and digital transformation perspective to industries navigating structural change.
X-Press Feeders Pakistan (Private) Ltd
Board Director
Shipping & LogisticsPakistan Gum and Chemicals Limited
Board Director
Specialty ChemicalsOpen to 1–2 additional board or advisory roles in financial services, infrastructure, or regulated fintech.
Discuss a Board Opportunity →Speaking & Media
Conference panels, podcast appearances, and event keynotes on Web3 risk, DeFi, and the TradFi-to-crypto transition.
DigiJanus Podcast
Opportunities and Risks in Decentralized Finance
2024Clueless Capitalists Podcast
Understanding the Blockchain
2024Singapore Fintech Festival
Blockchain Fundamentals & Cross-Chain Integration
2023Singapore Fintech Festival
Blockchain Analytics & Institutional Adoption
2022Thought Leadership on Web3, AI & Finance
Writing that reflects where the conversation is heading — on digital assets, institutional risk, and the future of finance.
AI Agents Have Credit Cards. The Risk Framework Hasn't Caught Up.
Robinhood's May 2026 launch of an Agentic Credit Card put a virtual payment credential in the hands of AI agents for the first time at a major consumer brokerage. Over $73 million in agent payments have already settled across 176 million on-chain transactions, with 98.6% running through a single stablecoin issuer. The liability question of who bears responsibility when an agent exceeds its mandate has no regulatory answer yet. The infrastructure is live. The frameworks are not.
Cross-Chain Bridges: The CDOs of DeFi?
Two cross-chain exploits in one news cycle, $292 million from KelpDAO, $10.8 million from Thorchain, triggered $4 billion in asset migrations and exposed a textbook concentration risk that was hiding in plain sight. DeFi built interconnected financial infrastructure at scale without anyone running a counterparty exposure report; TradFi learned that lesson in 2008, and the cost of relearning it tends to compound. Whether the exodus is a market correctly repricing risk or the first leg of a longer unwind is the question DeFi hasn't yet answered.
A Tale of Two IPOs
The SpaceX IPO will be the largest in recorded history, but the most consequential question isn't about Starlink's revenue or the Mars narrative. Thousands of investors hold tokenized SpaceX exposure through pre-IPO wrapping structures, synthetic instruments, and offshore perpetual futures whose settlement mechanics have never been tested at real institutional scale. Clean settlement validates the on-chain private market thesis in a way no whitepaper ever could. Messy settlement sets that narrative back by years, and the damage won't be contained to SpaceX tokenholders.
Let's Start a Serious Conversation
If you're a board, regulator, or senior leader wrestling with digital assets, AI, or Web3 risk, I take on a small number of high-impact engagements each year.
Whether it's a board mandate, an institutional training programme, or a leadership transition — the first step is the same.
Book a Discovery Call
A 30-minute video call. We'll clarify your context, what you're trying to solve in the next 6–12 months, and whether I'm the right partner.
Pick a Time →Follow My Thinking
Daily insights on financial services, digital assets, and leadership — every weekday on LinkedIn.
Follow on LinkedIn →