Legal Remote (Americas) Full-time

Legal Counsel, Trading and Markets (Mid-Level) — Americas

Reports to: CEO  ·  Type: Full-time  ·  Location: Fully remote, with a preference for candidates based in the USA or working US time zones

About GRT

GRT is a global proprietary digital asset trading firm providing institutional liquidity across leading centralized and decentralized venues. We trade our own capital across systematic and discretionary strategies, and partner with token issuers, protocols, foundations, exchanges, and institutional investors to support healthy market structure and sustainable ecosystem growth. We operate across proprietary trading, liquidity provisioning, prediction markets, OTC trading, and treasury solutions.

The Role

We are hiring a mid-level Legal Counsel to cover the commercial, regulatory and corporate legal work behind our trading business: market-making mandates, OTC documentation, token loans and financing, regulatory characterisation and counterparty disputes. You will work day to day with the CEO, trading, business development, operations and compliance.

This is a hands-on role for someone who has done this job at a crypto market maker before, knows how these agreements work in practice, and can give clear, commercial advice quickly.

Responsibilities

Market making and liquidity

  • Draft and negotiate market-making agreements with token issuers, foundations and exchanges, including designated market-maker programs, KPIs and reporting obligations.
  • Structure the token loan and call option terms that sit behind market-making mandates.

OTC

  • Negotiate OTC trading terms, master trading agreements, CSAs and confirmations for spot and derivatives activity.
  • Keep OTC documentation aligned with how the desk actually trades and settles.

Loans and financing

  • Structure and negotiate token lending and borrowing agreements, venue credit lines and collateral arrangements.
  • Support financing for the trading book, balancing commercial terms against counterparty and collateral risk.

Cryptocurrencies and DeFi services

  • Advise trading and operations on exchange onboarding, venue terms, DeFi protocol participation and custody arrangements.
  • Assess on-chain, smart contract and counterparty risk in new venues and products.

Regulatory characterisation, KYC/AML and sanctions

  • Analyse how tokens, products and trading activities are characterised (securities, commodities, derivatives and payment rules) and prepare clear memos.
  • Work with compliance on counterparty onboarding, KYC/AML and sanctions screening, and advise on higher-risk counterparties, venues and jurisdictions.

Commercial disputes

  • Manage counterparty disputes with token issuers, exchanges and trading counterparties, from early negotiation through settlement.
  • Instruct and manage external counsel to a budget.

Corporate governance and legal infrastructure

  • Maintain the group's entity records, board and shareholder resolutions, filings and signing authorities across a multi-entity structure.
  • Build and maintain templates, playbooks, NDAs and contract records so the business can close deals quickly and consistently.

Requirements

  • Must have prior legal experience at a crypto market maker.
  • Roughly 4 to 7 years of legal experience, in-house, at a law firm, or both.
  • JD or equivalent law degree; admitted and in good standing in at least one US state, or an equivalent common law jurisdiction.
  • Hands-on drafting and negotiation of market-making, OTC, and token lending agreements.
  • Working knowledge of US digital asset regulation (SEC and CFTC frameworks) and of how tokens are characterised under it.
  • Experience running commercial disputes and managing external counsel.
  • Fluency with centralized exchanges, DeFi protocols and custody, enough to follow the trading and operations teams without translation.
  • Practical judgment: you give answers the business can act on, not just a list of risks.
  • Based in the USA or able to work US business hours, with flexibility for occasional calls across Asia and Europe.

Nice to Have

  • Earlier training at a law firm in financial services, derivatives or fintech.
  • Experience with crypto derivatives, including perpetuals and options.
  • Exposure to prediction markets or tokenised real-world assets.
  • Familiarity with international frameworks such as MiCA, and with groups operating across several jurisdictions.
  • Experience as the first or second lawyer in a startup.

What We Offer

  • Competitive compensation structure with performance-based incentives.
  • Direct exposure to trading, strategy, and senior leadership.
  • Fully remote role with company benefits.
  • Fast-paced, entrepreneurial culture with significant growth opportunities.

To apply: careers@graniteriver.io

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