Marina
Abramova
Fintech, Web3 & Payments — Product, Compliance, Operations.
16+ years building, licensing and running fintech, crypto and payments businesses across the UK, France, Switzerland, Latvia and beyond — as an operator, not just an advisor.
An operator's view of regulated finance
I've spent the last 16+ years building, licensing and running fintech, crypto and payments businesses — as an operator, not just an advisor. My work has spanned the UK, France, Switzerland, Latvia and beyond: leading a payment institution through licensing and launch, advising EMIs and crypto projects on compliance and market entry, and building products end-to-end.
Since 2025 I've been Managing Director of Advolta Digital GmbH (Zug), where I lead licensing, compliance and product advisory work for fintech, payments and Web3 clients. Outside fintech, I've also built and self-funded a connected hardware and software product from scratch — a beauty-tech device brand, CE-certified and cloud-based — proof I can take a product from concept to market without outside capital.
I'm a Certified Crypto Finance Expert (Switzerland, 2023) and completed Harvard Business School's Fintech program the same year. Today I'm focused on product, compliance and operations leadership, and board or advisory mandates in fintech and Web3.
Experience
- Lead licensing, compliance and product advisory for fintech, payments and Web3 clients across Europe
- Structure EMI/PSP licensing strategy and compliance frameworks for clients entering regulated markets
- Advised fintech and crypto startups and scale-ups on product, licensing and compliance across multiple concurrent engagements — including MSB registration in the US and Canada, SRO membership in Switzerland, and entity structuring in BVI and Singapore
- Selected engagements among a broader client portfolio: Strondy (Compliance, Interim CEO), Enter.global (product launch), Pontem Network (compliance function), and others
- Owned regulated product delivery end-to-end across product, ops, compliance, legal and engineering in a payments environment
- Delivered a multi-currency payments stack — IBANs, SWIFT, SEPA, ACH, Faster Payments, CHAPS and 15+ other rails — across 38 currencies, contributing to 4x revenue growth in 12 months
- Built digital KYC onboarding that cut average onboarding time from 2 weeks to 1 day; established screening workflows and operational governance with compliance and risk stakeholders
- Led product and business banking strategy for the retail/business banking division
- Concurrently served as Board Member of the group's microfinance subsidiary
- Progressed across risk and product functions at multiple banks, building the foundation for a product and compliance career in regulated finance
16+ years across the UK, France, Switzerland, Latvia and Russia in fintech, payments, crypto and banking.
Insights
Notes on regulation, product and the market, written from the operator's side of the table.
Regulation · August 2026
Who Makes AMLA's List of 40?
The EU's new AML authority will directly supervise 40 institutions from 2028. Nobody has seen the list, but the selection criteria are public.
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Product & Hiring · August 2026
Building Got Cheap. Distribution Didn't.
Why product hiring is shifting from PMs to distribution roles, and what a 2026 CPO Insights Report reveals about the rise of AI-assisted “Product Builder” hybrids.
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Regulation · August 2026
MiCA, One Year In: Who Actually Survived It
Only ~309 of roughly 3,000 EU crypto firms hold a MiCA license as the transition period closes. What the licensing data says about where the market is heading.
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Security · March 2026
Crypto Recruiting Has a New Scam Vector
Scammers are using fake senior-role recruiting outreach to target compliance and tokenomics professionals. The red flags that give it away.
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Regulation · October 2025
Where's the Regulator in the Room?
Reflections on regulatory dialogue — and its absence — at Europe's fintech and crypto industry events, and what Swiss regulation could learn from other markets.
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Licensing · August 2025
What Circle's French EMI License Signals
Circle's Electronic Money Institution license from France's ACPR, and why France keeps winning fintech and crypto market-entry decisions in Europe.
Read the full piece →Let's talk
Whether it's an advisory engagement, a consulting project, or a leadership conversation — I'd like to hear from you.