BSA/AML Officer

CoinDesk; New York (NY); On-site; USD 175,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

CoinDesk seeks a BSA/AML Officer to lead the US compliance program for Bullish’s regulated digital trading business. This role is based in NYC and requires driving BSA/AML and OFAC initiatives across fiat and crypto activities.

You will oversee regulatory reporting, audits, and training, collaborate with regulators, and ensure robust controls to mitigate risk in a fast-evolving crypto environment.

Qualifications

• Extensive knowledge of BSA/AML, OFAC, and related US and international regulations.
• Experience managing regulatory examinations with entities such as NYDFS, FINRA, SEC, and CFTC.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the US compliance program for fiat and crypto trading to meet regulatory requirements.
• Oversee BSA/AML and OFAC policies, monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping.
• Coordinate audits, regulator interactions, and internal training on policies.
• Ensure timely SAR filings and regulatory reporting obligations.
• Manage risk assessments and continuous improvement of controls.

Skills

Financial crime experience

BSA/AML

Regulatory examinations

Compliance management

Risk assessment

Education

Bachelor’s Degree/University degree

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

CoinDesk is the most trusted media, events, indices and data company for the global crypto economy. Since 2013, CoinDesk Media has led the story of the future of money and investing, illuminating the transformation in society and culture that comes with it. Our award‑winning team of journalists delivers news and unparalleled insights that bring transparency, comprehension and context. CoinDesk Events gathers the global crypto, blockchain and Web3 communities at annual events such as Consensus, the world’s largest and longest‑running crypto festival. CoinDesk Indices offers expertise in digital asset indices, data and research to educate and empower investors. For more information on CoinDesk media and events, please visit http://coindesk.com. For breaking headlines, data and indices visit http://coindeskmarkets.com.

In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. For more information on Bullish, please visit https://bullish.com. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence.

Reports To

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Position Overview

We are seeking a BSA/AML Officer for Bullish’s regulated US digital currency trading business. In this role, you will be a key pillar in our US business expansion by leading the US Compliance program and acting as the regional BSA/AML Officer. This role supports the spot, derivative, and tokenized securities business lines in the US, encompassing the MTL businesses (spot), FCM, and Broker Dealer entities. You will be responsible for our BSA/AML & OFAC Sanctions programs and ensuring that we maintain compliance with all applicable local, US, and international laws and regulations impacting the digital currency industry. This position is based in NYC and will be required to work from our NYC office a minimum of 4 days per week.

Responsibilities

• Lead the compliance program for both fiat and crypto trading to meet all applicable state and federal regulatory requirements and reflect the nature of a rapidly changing risk landscape, including:
  • BSA/AML compliance;
  • fraud risk;
  • market integrity;
  • Compliance with state licensing requirements;
  • Oversight over compliance with applicable state and federal cybersecurity requirements;
  • Other business conduct requirements.
• Implement the domestic BSA/AML and OFAC compliance programs in line with U.S. regulatory requirements.
• Maintain risk-based BSA/AML and OFAC policies and procedures addressing all areas of BSA/AML and OFAC; advise Bullish staff and management of deficiencies and ensure that required changes are made.
• Direct the domestic BSA/AML and OFAC compliance monitoring program to ensure there are sufficient internal controls to promote an effective control environment.
• Coordinate with offshore affiliates and exercise oversight to ensure any controls performed on behalf of the U.S. entity by the affiliates are performed to a standard that meets U.S. requirements.
• Oversee regulatory reporting to FinCEN, SEC, CFTC, FINRA, NFA, NYDFS, and other federal and state regulators, as necessary, to comply with Bullish’s BSA/AML reporting obligations, including ensuring the timely filing of suspicious activity reports (SARs).
• Ensure the BSA/AML program strictly adheres to FINRA Rule 3310 (for the Broker Dealer) and NFA Compliance Rule 2‑9(c) (for the FCM).
• Prepare monthly and quarterly management reporting of BSA/AML‑related metrics.
• Identify, elevate, track, and remediate, as necessary, BSA/AML compliance‑related issues.
• Perform BSA/AML, CIP, and OFAC risk assessments as needed and work with stakeholders and various forms of data to inform, update, streamline and optimize the BSA/AML and OFAC program.
• Lead the process for ensuring all BSA/AML and OFAC reports are filed as required and all BSA/AML and OFAC related records are maintained according to regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to building a compliance culture across the firm by training Bullish employees on key policies, procedures, and their responsibilities in preventing financial crime.
• Continually review and refine alert thresholds and organizational configurations in the transactional monitoring system to ensure alerts are appropriately set and suspicious activity is detected as expected.
• Coordinate with and serve as point‑of‑contact for audits and regulatory examinations of the compliance program and represent Bullish in meetings with regulators.

Experience & Qualifications

• Sufficient experience in one or a combination of the following to satisfy the requirements to be appointed into the role: financial crime, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Anti‑Money Laundering (AML), financial crime investigations, and/or risk management, audit, compliance, specifically with exposure to digital assets.
• Experience in managing regulatory examinations and relationships with examiners (e.g., NYDFS, FINRA, NFA, SEC, CFTC), auditors, and banking partners.
• Extensive knowledge of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), USA PATRIOT Act, OFAC regulations, as well as SEC, CFTC, FINRA, and NFA rules and requirements.
• Awareness of regulatory requirements including local and U.S. laws, international and industry standards.
• Strong attention to detail and strong organizational, problem‑solving, analytical, and management skills.
• Ability to execute in a fast‑paced, high‑demand environment while managing multiple priorities.
• Bachelor’s Degree/University degree or equivalent experience; Advanced degree (e.g., JD, MBA, etc.) preferred.
• Active FINRA Series 7 and 24 (or 14) licenses, and Series 3 are strongly preferred (or willingness to obtain them within a specified timeframe).
• Certified Anti‑Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM), Certified Financial Crime Specialist (CFCS) and/or related professional certification preferred.

Compensation

Bullish US LLC & CoinDesk Inc. are committed to offering competitive compensation and benefits. The anticipated base salary for this position is $175,000 – $215,000 plus discretionary annual target bonus and performance incentives/benefits. Offered salary will be reflective of job‑related knowledge, skills and commensurate experience.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

In an effort to attract, retain, develop and promote the most qualified individuals, CoinDesk is committed to treating all applicants and employees in a nondiscriminatory manner with respect to the terms and conditions of employment, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status/service, physical or mental disability, or any other classification protected by applicable law. This mandate governs all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection, promotion, training, education, social and recreation programs, compensation, discipline, termination and access to benefits.

ACCOMMODATION

CoinDesk is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the application process, please send an e‑mail to [e-mail] and let us know the nature of your request.