Caitlin Long

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Caitlin

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Caitlin Long is the Founder and CEO of Custodia Bank (formerly Avanti Financial Group), a U.S.-chartered depository institution focused on digital asset banking, custody, and payment solutions. She is a recognized authority on Bitcoin, blockchain technology, and financial market infrastructure, with more than 22 years of experience on Wall Street spanning both traditional finance and the digital asset ecosystem. Before founding Custodia Bank, Long held senior roles at leading global financial institutions including Salomon Brothers, Credit Suisse, and Morgan Stanley, where she developed deep expertise in capital markets, risk management, and financial regulation. She later became one of the earliest institutional advocates for Bitcoin and blockchain adoption within regulated financial systems, bridging the gap between legacy banking and emerging digital asset markets. In addition to her role at Custodia, Long is a Senior Contributor on Digital Assets at Forbes, where she writes on cryptocurrency, financial innovation, and regulatory policy. She also serves as Chair of WyoHackathon, a Wyoming-based blockchain education and development initiative she has led since 2018.

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CRYPTO & BLOCKCHAIN LEADERSHIP

Since 2018, Caitlin Long has played a pivotal role in positioning Wyoming as one of the most blockchain- and crypto-friendly jurisdictions in the United States.
She volunteered to lead efforts to modernize state financial law and was instrumental in helping Wyoming enact a landmark series of blockchain-enabling statutes in 2018 and 2019, which have since become a model for digital asset regulation nationwide.
Long has been appointed by two Wyoming governors to serve on the Wyoming Legislature’s Blockchain Task Force and Blockchain Select Committee, where she has advised lawmakers on digital asset custody, banking, and regulatory frameworks.
She also co-led an early institutional blockchain initiative that delivered market index data to Vanguard using distributed ledger technology, demonstrating practical enterprise applications of blockchain.
Prior to founding Custodia Bank, Long served as Chairman and President of Symbiont, a blockchain infrastructure company recognized as Fintech Company of the Year (2017) by Custody Risk.

Before entering the digital asset space full time, Caitlin Long built a distinguished Wall Street career spanning more than two decades.
She was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, where she ran the firm’s Pension Solutions business in New York and served as Head of the Corporate Strategies and Pension Solutions Group.
In that role, she advised on the settlement of nearly $40 billion in pension obligations for major corporations including General Motors, Verizon, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Motorola, and J.C. Penney.
Earlier, Long held senior positions at Credit Suisse in New York and Zurich, where she helped lead the initial public offerings of MetLife, Manulife, Prudential, Principal, and John Hancock.
She was also a top-ranked equity research analyst covering the life insurance sector and worked directly with the firm’s co-CEOs on a major business restructuring initiative in Zurich.

MEDIA PRESENCE & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Caitlin Long is a widely recognized thought leader in digital assets, banking innovation, and financial regulation.
She has been featured or quoted by leading financial media outlets including Forbes, Yahoo Finance, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, and the Financial Times, and has appeared on CNBC, American Banker, Bitcoin Magazine, CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, and other major platforms.
She is also a frequent guest on Real Vision, where she discusses crypto markets, monetary policy, and financial system modernization.
Her leadership and influence have been recognized through numerous industry honors, including American Banker’s Top American Banking Innovator (2023), Forbes 50 Over 50 (2021), the MarketsMedia Women in Finance Award for Excellence in Blockchain (2016), and Inc.’s 10 Business Leaders Changing the World Through Technology (2016), among others.

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