Job description
Building the Future of Open Finance
Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.
Before you apply, we encourage you to explore our culture page to understand what drives us and how we work.
The team
Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.
Kraken's VIP team supports the firm's highest-value private clients; high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) who expect a premium, secure, and highly tailored experience. We ensure Kraken remains the exchange of choice for VIPs by delivering white-glove relationship management, personalized trading enablement, and high-impact benefits.
We are looking for a Senior VIP Relationship Manager, Asia to help us scale our VIP client book and growth across the region. This is a hybrid role: part white-glove relationship management, part growth and business development; building Kraken and Payward's presence inside Asia's VIP trading and investor communities, running local marketing and events, and sourcing new whale relationships.
We're looking for someone who isn't afraid to be bold, can build and scale initiatives from the ground up, and is humble enough to fail fast and move on to the next challenge. If you thrive in ambiguity and can operate in a fast-paced, scrappy environment, this role is for you.
The opportunity
Serve as the trusted point of contact for Kraken's top private clients across Asia, delivering consistent, high-quality white-glove service and building deep, durable relationships.
Own the regional VIP book end to end: onboarding, tier progression, retention, and proactive intervention on at-risk and lapsing clients.
Drive AOP growth and net deposits as your primary KPIs: notional asset growth, alongside revenue and trading volume.
Bring Kraken's private client and VIP offerings to market locally, including yield and earn campaigns, lending against tokenized equities and crypto collateral, OTC execution, and structured private-client benefits; ensuring they remain impactful and competitive against regional exchanges and desks.
Source and convert new whale relationships through direct outreach, referral, and introducer networks; family offices, proprietary trading firms, OTC desks, miners, project treasuries, and high-volume individual traders.
Get inside Asia's VIP trading communities: private trading groups, investor clubs, KOL and trader networks, WeChat/Telegram/LINE ecosystems, and closed-door investor circles. Be the Kraken face those communities know and trust.
Design and run local marketing and events (VIP dinners, trader meetups, conference-adjacent programming, and co-marketing with regional partners and KOLs) in partnership with Kraken's Marketing and Regional teams.
Build and manage introducer and referral partnerships that produce a repeatable pipeline of qualified private clients.
Act as Kraken's ear on the ground: competitive intelligence on regional exchanges, product gaps that cost us whale business, and the local narratives that move capital.
Partner with Product, Marketing, Compliance, Banking and Client Service to champion new efforts that drive private client growth and loyalty; and to make sure every play you run is inside Kraken's licensing and compliance perimeter.
What you bring
5+ years of experience in relationship management, account management, private banking, brokerage, or private client sales, including at least 2 years in the crypto space, with a track record of working with high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).
An existing, personal network among Asia's crypto HNWIs, traders, family offices, OTC desks, funds, or trading communities in Greater China, Hong Kong, Taiwan or Singapore. This is the single most important qualification for this role.
Native or near-native Mandarin plus fluent English required. Cantonese is a strong plus.
Demonstrated ability to originate business, not just service it; you have personally brought in clients, run events, or built a community presence that produced measurable pipeline.
Deep understanding of trading product solutions, including spot, margin, and futures trading, as well as OTC trading, lending, and yield/earn products. Familiarity with how deposits and client balances drive an exchange's lending economics is a strong plus.
Comfort operating in a regulated environment across multiple Asian jurisdictions, and the judgment to know when to involve Compliance early.
Highly data-driven, with expertise in analyzing KPIs such as assets on platform, net deposits, client portfolio revenue, and trading volume.
Ability to be scrappy, bold, and unafraid to explore alternative and creative solutions to achieve results.
You bring deep knowledge of cryptocurrency ecosystems, their players, frameworks, and market dynamics beyond just blue-chip tokens.
Skilled at building meaningful partnerships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels and across diverse backgrounds.
Willingness to travel up to 30% across the region for client meetings, events, and conferences.
Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.
We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.
Our commitment
Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.
We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.
As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.
Stay connected
Requirements
- Languages
- English, Chinese
- Work mode
- Hybrid
- Seniority
- Senior
- Eligibility
- Hong Kong