WisdomTree Inc. (NYSE: WT) appointed John Whelan as head of strategy for digital assets, the company announced.

Whelan joins from Banco Santander's Corporate and Investment Bank, where he served as managing director of digital assets and previously built and led the bank's blockchain lab starting in 2016. He also founded a blockchain startup focused on institutional credit ratings.

Whelan will report to Will Peck, head of digital assets at WisdomTree, and will be based in the United States. His responsibilities include leading business-unit strategy, overseeing strategic investment activities, and collaborating with business development and product teams on partnerships and product strategy.

"John is joining WisdomTree at an exciting time for our digital assets business," said Jonathan Steinberg, WisdomTree founder and CEO. "As we continue to scale our digital assets business globally, John's experience makes him an exceptional addition to our digital assets leadership team."

The appointment is part of WisdomTree's expansion of its digital assets business across global markets. Whelan will focus on deepening relationships with financial institutions and cryptocurrency firms and expanding the company's presence in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

WisdomTree currently manages approximately $168.7 billion in assets globally, including assets managed by Ceres Partners LLC. The company offers exchange-traded products, private market investments and digital asset-related products through its WisdomTree Connect institutional platform and WisdomTree Prime digital wallet.