LONDON (Reuters) - Coinbase has appointed former Stripe executive Melissa Strait as chief compliance officer, as the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange prepares for a direct listing, the company said on Wednesday. Strait will oversee the company’s global compliance programs, including know-your-customer and anti-money laundering initiatives, and manage the exchange’s work with law enforcement, Coinbase said. Founded over eight years ago, Coinbase has grown into one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally, catering to both retail and professional investors. Last month it revealed plans to go public through a direct listing. At digital payments company Stripe, Strait most recently served as global head of financial crimes and was previously U.S. compliance officer. Prior to Stripe she oversaw daily compliance operations at Square Inc, the payments firm led by Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey. “Implementing industry-leading compliance programs will be critical to earning and maintaining the trust of our retail and institutional customers,” Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, said in a statement.