There are an increasing number of individuals who worked in traditional finance who are moving to executive roles in cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies. For example, Gary Cohn, who worked at Goldman Sachs and later for the Trump administration, has accepted a seat on the board of Spring Labs, a blockchain startup, less than a year after leaving the White House.
Breanne Madigan, who also used to work at Goldman Sachs, joined Blockchain as the head of institutional sales and strategy, stating in an interview: “I think it’s become increasingly clear that blockchains will completely reengineer the way we operate in the future, broadly speaking.”
The trend certainly seems to be strengthening, as Crypterium’s new CEO, is an ex-Visa veteran. Steven Parker worked for Visa from 2006 to 2013, and succeeds Mark O’Brien, who also used to work for Visa.
About Crypterium
For those who are unaware, Crypterium is an Estonia-based startup that raised $52 million in its ICO. It wants to be a leader in the “crypto card” space, which is why it is no surprise that it is hiring former executives from Visa, one of the world’s largest card payment organizations, that processes trillions of dollars in payments per year.
Crypterium markets itself as a “cryptobank for crypto people”, and wants to make it easy for individuals to spend their cryptocurrency, to rival the convenience with which individuals and businesses around the globe spend fiat currency.
Although an official cryptocurrency credit card has not been launched; users can pay through a Crypterium app through their mobile phones currently.
Official Statements
Steven Parker offered, about the appointment as CEO, and the cryptocurrency markets in general: “I believe it is going through a very interesting time, coming out of a speculative market and maturing, letting serious players continue to build attractive customer propositions.”
Crypterium COO and co-founder Austin Kimm stated: “[Steven]’s vast experience in the global financial industry will strengthen our company’s position and be a great asset as Crypterium expands its global presence.”
