Global blockchain payments provider BitPay has hired Eden Doniger as general counsel and chief compliance officer. She is the Atlanta-based firm's first top lawyer. 

A privacy and cybersecurity expert, Doniger most recently served as assistant general counsel for Cox Enterprises Inc., a global conglomerate that's also headquartered in Atlanta. She initially helped manage litigation and legal disputes before she began overseeing the firm's privacy programs and serving on its compliance team. 

Doniger said in an interview Friday that she left Cox to work in the burgeoning blockchain industry's challenging compliance landscape. BitPay's clients include AT&T Inc. and Microsoft Corp., and the firm processes more than $1 billion in blockchain payments globally.