Cryptocurrency September 10, 2026 05:00 AM

Orbs Elevates Ran Hammer to CEO as Company Prepares Next Phase of DeFi Expansion

Leadership shift places a long-serving executive at the operational helm while founder moves to executive chairman to focus on strategy

By Priya Menon
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Orbs has appointed Ran Hammer as chief executive officer and named Nadav Shemesh executive chairman. Hammer, a member of Orbs since 2017 and its former chief business officer, will lead ongoing product development and ecosystem growth for the Layer-3 blockchain focused on advanced on-chain trading. Shemesh will concentrate on long-term strategy while remaining closely involved with the company.

Orbs Elevates Ran Hammer to CEO as Company Prepares Next Phase of DeFi Expansion
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Key Points

  • Ran Hammer appointed CEO; Nadav Shemesh moves to executive chairman - impacts governance and operational leadership within Orbs.
  • Hammer has been with Orbs since 2017 and previously served as chief business officer, leading integrations and partner network development - this affects business development and ecosystem partnerships.
  • Orbs provides Layer-3 execution infrastructure for DeFi, supporting advanced orders, liquidity aggregation, and decentralized derivatives - relevant to decentralized exchanges and institutional on-chain trading.

Tel Aviv, Israel, September 10th, 2026 - Orbs, the decentralized Layer-3 blockchain infrastructure that supports advanced on-chain trading, has announced an executive leadership change. Ran Hammer has been promoted to chief executive officer, and Nadav Shemesh will transition into the role of executive chairman.

Hammer has been involved with Orbs since the project’s inception in 2017. Prior to his promotion, he served as chief business officer, where his remit covered protocol-suite integration and partner development. In that capacity he worked with internal teams and external partners to deploy Orbs-powered products across the decentralized finance, or DeFi, ecosystem and to convert initial integrations into enduring commercial relationships that underpin the protocol’s partner network today.

"Having been part of Orbs from the beginning, I’ve had the opportunity to see the technology, ecosystem, and community develop firsthand," Hammer said. "My focus as CEO will be on building on that foundation, working closely with our team and partners to expand the role Orbs can play in advancing the adoption of on-chain finance across retail, institutional, professional, and agenic flows."

The appointment formalizes a shift in day-to-day leadership while preserving continuity at the board level. Shemesh, who has led Orbs as CEO, will retain close involvement through his new executive chairman responsibilities, concentrating on long-term strategy and support for the leadership team.

Throughout his tenure at Orbs, Hammer engaged across multiple functions, including technology, business development, partnerships, and community outreach. He has acted as a public representative of the project, communicating product developments and engaging with stakeholders on the protocol’s direction.

Orbs has positioned itself as a Layer-3 execution layer that extends smart contract capabilities to support more complex trading functionality. The protocol’s infrastructure is used by decentralized exchanges and other Orbs-powered protocols to offer advanced trading orders, liquidity aggregation, and decentralized derivatives — capabilities intended to improve on-chain execution.

Powered by a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, Orbs describes its stack as providing trading infrastructure for on-chain finance, with Orbs-powered protocols marketed as offering leading spot and perpetuals execution for professional traders and institutions moving on chain.

Hammer’s elevation to CEO comes as Orbs continues to develop its technology and broaden its presence across the DeFi ecosystem. The leadership change places a senior, long-standing member of the Orbs organization at the center of the company’s next phase of operational execution while keeping the company’s long-term strategic oversight with Shemesh.


Contact
Shawn O’Donaghue
[email protected]

Risks

  • Execution risk during leadership transition as day-to-day responsibilities shift from the former CEO to Hammer - this could affect product development and partner coordination in the DeFi sector.
  • Continued technology development and ecosystem expansion are ongoing objectives; failure to advance Layer-3 functionality or maintain integrations could limit adoption among professional traders and institutions - impacting trading infrastructure markets.

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