Institutional Business Development Lead

Function is building the premier infrastructure layer for making Bitcoin a productive asset across DeFi with their core product, FBTC, a secure, omnichain wrapper for Bitcoin. They are seeking an experienced Institutional Business Development Lead to drive growth by integrating with retail platforms/wallets/custodians/exchanges and fostering adoption within institutions. This high-ownership role involves shaping strategy, validating go-to-market paths, and leading execution with key ecosystem partners and institutional LPs, owning the full institutional pipeline from sourcing to scaling.

Must Have

• Build, own, and manage a revenue-focused pipeline across exchanges, custodians, asset managers, funds, market makers, and platforms
• Drive FBTC adoption across institutional users and enterprise partners
• Negotiate commercial terms, rev-share deals, merchant programs, and integration economics
• Lead BD with wallets, custodians, structured product desks, staking providers, and earn platforms
• Scale the FBTC Merchant Program
• Identify new institutional verticals for BTC yield, RWA flows, treasury solutions, and structured yield pathways
• Collaborate with CEO, COO, and R&D to match partner needs with product roadmap
• Translate institutional partner needs into product specs with Product & Engineering
• 10–15+ years of experience across institutional sales, BD, capital markets, or crypto infrastructure
• 4+ years in crypto, ideally with experience selling into custodians, exchanges, funds, or institutional platforms
• Understanding of BTCFi, LSTs, cross-chain markets, and vault mechanics
• Understanding of institutional market structure
• Proven track record of negotiating and closing complex deals
• Ability to move from market mapping to experiments to execution
• Comfortable in 0→1 environments with ambiguity and velocity
• Ability to work cross-functionally with technical and non-technical teammates
• Structured in thinking, clear in writing, persuasive in BD

Good to Have

• Helped grow a protocol’s TVL from early traction with institutional adoption
• Identified and executed flywheel revenue generation opportunities
• Built frameworks or growth loops that scaled beyond your immediate team
• Contributed to DAO governance, incentive design, or cross-chain integration

About FBTC

Function is building the premier infrastructure layer for making Bitcoin a productive asset across DeFi. Our core product, FBTC, is a secure, omnichain wrapper for Bitcoin that enables yield generation, lending, and DeFi composability without counterparty risk. Currently we have over $1.5B in TVL across 10 chains.

Backed by leading investors including Galaxy, Antalpha, Mirana, and Mantle, we are scaling aggressively across DeFi, RWAs, and institutional distribution channels.

The Role

We're looking for an experienced Institutional BD Lead to help drive our growth across integration with retail platforms/wallets/custodians/exchanges and adoption within institutions. You will work closely with the CEO and core contributors to shape our strategy, validate go-to-market paths, and lead execution with high-leverage ecosystem partners and institutional LPs.

This role sits at the intersection of structured strategic thinking, fast-paced, crypto-native execution and professional institutional relationship management. You'll be expected to demonstrate ownership over your domain, source and structure deals, and deliver results.

This is a high-ownership, high-leverage role that acts as the connective tissue between:

• Leadership
• Business development
• Institutional partners
• Wallets, custodians, and exchanges
• RWA originators and BTCFi yield providers

You will own the full institutional pipeline—from sourcing to closing to scaling—and lay the foundation for a multi-billion-dollar liquidity network.

Key Responsibilities

1. Institutional Pipeline & Revenue Generation

• Build, own, and manage a revenue-focused pipeline across exchanges, custodians, asset managers, funds, market makers, and platforms
• Drive FBTC adoption across institutional users and enterprise partners
• Negotiate commercial terms, rev-share deals, merchant programs, and integration economics
• Track, forecast, and report on revenue KPIs and partner performance metrics

2. Channel & Ecosystem Expansion

• Lead BD with wallets, custodians, structured product desks, staking providers, and earn platforms
• Scale the FBTC Merchant Program—identifying new minters, strategic market makers, and liquidity partners
• Coordinate with ecosystem partners (Mantle, Solana, CEXs, RWA issuers) to expand cross-chain distribution

3. Strategic Partnerships & Market Development

• Identify new institutional verticals for BTC yield, RWA flows, treasury solutions, and structured yield pathways
• Collaborate with CEO, COO, and R&D to match partner needs with product roadmap
• Evaluate strategic pathways for credit products, BTC yield vaults, RWA integrations, and institutional liquidity routing
• Develop commercial frameworks, playbooks, onboarding flows, and deal templates

4. Product Alignment & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Translate institutional partner needs into product specs with Product & Engineering
• Partner with Marketing to create institutional GTM campaigns and product narratives
• Ensure high-quality execution across onboarding, compliance, integration, and partner success
• Serve as a direct conduit between market feedback and product iteration

Who You Are

• 10–15+ years of experience across institutional sales, BD, capital markets, or crypto infrastructure
• 4+ years in crypto, ideally with experience selling into custodians, exchanges, funds, or institutional platforms
• DeFi knowledge: Understanding of BTCFi, LSTs, cross-chain markets, and vault mechanics
• TradFi knowledge: Understanding of institutional market structure
• Dealmaker: Can source, structure, and close deals; proven track record of negotiating and closing complex deals
• Strategic Operator: Can move from market mapping to experiments to execution
• Builder: Prefer 0→1 environments with ambiguity and velocity
• Collaborative Leader: Can work cross-functionally with technical and non-technical teammates
• Communicator: Structured in thinking, clear in writing, persuasive in BD

Bonus Points

• You’ve helped grow a protocol’s TVL from early traction with institutional adoption
• You’ve identified and executed flywheel revenue generation opportunities
• You’ve built frameworks or growth loops that scaled beyond your immediate team
• You’ve contributed to DAO governance, incentive design, or cross-chain integration

What Success Looks Like (First 90 Days)

• Fully built institutional pipeline across funds, custodians, wallets, and exchanges
• First set of institutional integrations confirmed and in progress
• Merchant program expanded with new minters and liquidity routes
• Clear revenue model and partner tiers established
• Documented GTM playbooks and internal alignment across BD, product, and R&D