Melissa Strait

Melissa Strait is a leader in fintech compliance, having built and overseen compliance programs at top-tier fintech and cryptocurrency firms. Currently, she serves as the Chief Compliance Officer of Coinbase, a position she has held since February 2021. In this capacity, Melissa oversees all aspects of Coinbase’s Global Compliance Program, including efforts related to anti-money laundering, counter terrorism, sanctions, and anti-bribery and corruption. Previously, she served as Global Head of Financial Crimes for Stripe, Inc., as well as the Chief Compliance Officer of Stripe Payments Company, a licensed money transmitter. Prior to joining Stripe in early 2016, she was a Compliance Operations Manager for Block (formerly known as Square). At these firms, Melissa led ground up builds of anti-financial crime programs tailored to their unique risks and characteristics. Melissa started her career at Kroll, where she was a Director in the Due Diligence practice. There, she managed teams producing in-depth due diligence research reports for banking and corporate clients, focused mainly in Asia and the Americas. She graduated from American University with degrees in International Studies and Spanish.