Securitize Appoints Former PayPal Legal Head Jerome Roche to Bolster Tokenization Compliance

Quick Breakdown

• Securitize hires Jerome Roche, former PayPal Head of Legal, as a key compliance officer to support the growth of tokenized real-world assets.
• Roche brings two decades of regulatory expertise from PayPal, Stripe, and HSBC to navigate complex securities rules.
• Move positions Securitize to accelerate institutional adoption of blockchain-based securities under evolving U.S. frameworks.

Securitize, a leading digital securities platform, has appointed Jerome Roche as its new Chief Compliance Officer to drive regulatory strategy for tokenized assets. Roche, who previously served as Head of Legal at PayPal, joins with extensive experience in global financial compliance and blockchain integration. The hire comes as Securitize expands its platform for institutional clients seeking compliant access to real-world assets, like funds and private equity, on the blockchain.​

We are pleased to welcome Jerome Roche as our new General Counsel.

Roche joins Securitize from @PayPal , where he served as Head of Legal for Digital Assets and built a reputation as one of the fintech industry’s most respected legal technologists. pic.twitter.com/JrOoTfCnEJ

— Securitize (@Securitize) December 9, 2025

Roche’s regulatory expertise targets the tokenization boom

Roche spent over six years at PayPal overseeing legal operations across payments, crypto, and regulatory affairs, managing a team that handled U.S. securities filings and international expansions. Before PayPal, he led compliance at Stripe. He held senior roles at HSBC, giving him deep knowledge of anti-money laundering rules, KYC standards, and SEC oversight, all of which are critical for tokenized securities. Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo highlighted Roche’s track record of scaling compliant fintech platforms amid tightening regulations, noting that his role will ensure seamless integration between traditional finance and blockchain rails.​

Strategic push aligns with institutional RWA demand

Demand for tokenized real-world assets has surged in 2025, with platforms like Securitize facilitating over $1 billion in digital security issuance, according to industry reports. Roche’s appointment supports Securitize’s partnerships with BlackRock and Hamilton Lane, enabling on-chain trading of funds compliant with Reg D and Reg S. This move reinforces Securitize’s edge in a competitive field, where firms like Kraken recently acquired Backed Finance to expand tokenized stocks in Europe, signalling broader tokenization momentum under MiCA and U.S. clarity.​​

Meanwhile, Securitize has received EU regulatory approval to launch a distributed ledger-based trading and settlement system. This new platform, operating on the Avalanche blockchain, will enable the regulated issuance and trading of tokenised assets, such as equities and bonds, across all 27 EU member states, connecting directly to Securitize’s existing US system. The approval, granted by Spain’s CNMV under the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime, is described as a major step for institutional adoption of blockchain finance.  

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