Aleo Announces Former Circle Financial Exec Josh Hawkins As EVP Strategy, Policy & Communications

[PRESS RELEASE – San Francisco, California, May 16th, 2025]

Hawkins Was Instrumental in Strategy, Marketing & Communications That Helped Drive Global Adoption of the USDC Stablecoin, Will Play Central Role at Aleo in Shaping Privacy and Security, Pioneering Voice and Policy Engagements

The Aleo Network Foundation (Aleo), the leading platform for building private, secure, scalable, and programmable Web3 applications, today announced the appointment of Josh Hawkins as Executive Vice President of Strategy, Policy & Communications.

Hawkins joins from Circle Financial, the global fintech firm behind the $60 billion USDC stablecoin, where he served as Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications, most recently building a team in Strategy and Policy focused on strategic positioning and global thought leadership, playing a central role in shaping the company’s voice and executive presence.

At Circle, Hawkins helped guide the company through its rapid ascent as one of the most trusted names in digital assets. He led global communications strategy during critical moments of industry evolution, helped manage regulatory engagement across key markets around the world, and was a public voice for transparency, trust, and responsible innovation in crypto. His leadership extended beyond media and messaging — helping Circle navigate policy frameworks, expand its global footprint, and build institutional confidence in the crypto economy.

At Aleo, Hawkins will oversee global communications and policy. His focus will be on amplifying Aleo’s mission to bring programmable privacy to the Web3 world and the enterprise while helping shape the broader conversation around privacy, security, and compliance in the decentralized internet.

“Aleo is playing a critical role in enabling blockchain to deliver on its true potential by offering the most secure privacy in the history of technology,” said Hawkins. “The teams commitment to open-source values, cutting-edge cryptography, and thoughtful engagement with policy and developer communities is exactly what the industry needs. I’m looking forward to joining this exceptional team to help scale that vision globally.”

“We’re excited to welcome Josh to Aleo,” said Leena Im, Chief Operating Officer of the Aleo Network Foundation. “His deep expertise at the intersection of communications, policy, and fintech will be invaluable as we grow our presence in the global Web3 ecosystem. Josh’s leadership will help position Aleo as not just a technology leader, but a public voice for what responsible privacy can look like on the internet.”

Aleo is backed by top-tier investors including a16z, Haun Ventures, SoftBank, Samsung Next, and others. In 2024, Aleo announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to support the deployment and scalability of zero-knowledge applications with a robust developer infrastructure.

About Aleo

Aleo is building the infrastructure for the next generation of private, decentralized applications. Using zero-knowledge cryptography, Aleo enables scalable, off-chain execution with on-chain verification — delivering privacy without compromising programmability. Developers can build powerful, secure applications without exposing user data.

As the industry continues to push toward more secure and privacy-first solutions, Aleo remains committed to making privacy a native, accessible feature for all builders on the decentralized web. For more information about Aleo and to stay updated on its latest developments, visit www.aleo.org.