Bob Bench is an assistant vice president in the Secure Payments group for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In this capacity, Bob is tasked with performing FinTech market research and experimentation to inform Federal Reserve System policy and decision makers about the implications of FinTech on the financial services industry and Federal Reserve’s mission broadly. The group’s current focus is blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and private and fiat digital currencies. Bob brings over 15 years of experience across the intersections of financial regulation, law, and technology.

Prior to joining the Boston Fed, Bob was the chief compliance officer and associate general counsel of Circle Internet Financial, a consumer internet company focused on financial services and blockchain technology. While at Circle, in addition to leading the compliance and regulatory functions of the firm, Bob closely engaged with U.S. and global lawmakers, regulators, and law enforcement on blockchain technology and its impact on current legal and regulatory frameworks.

Before his role at Circle, Bob’s career focused on the regulation of U.S. banks and foreign banking organizations. Bob began his career as an examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Bob is a graduate of the Boston College Carroll School of Management and the Northeastern University School of Law.