Varun Paul – Head of the Fintech Hub at the Bank of England – parted ways with the institution after spending more than 13 years there. He will take a role at the cryptocurrency security company Fireblocks.
To the next chapter
In a recent LinkedIn post, Paul announced he would be leaving the Bank of England after working there for more than a decade. He described his departure as an “emotional day”, revealing that he had enjoyed the years at the financial institution:
“I have loved my time here – because of the great people and the varied and incredibly rewarding work. And because I’ve been given the space to drive forward the agenda on the things I’m passionate about.”
Paul held the position of Head of Fintech Hub at the Bank of England.
Bank of England: a Harsh Crypto Critic
Paul’s decision to leave the UK’s central bank and join a crypto company is interesting because the monetary institution is among the keenest opponents of the digital asset industry.
In May last year, Andrew Bailey – the Governor of the Bank of England – warned investors to be extremely cautious when looking at the sector. According to him, cryptocurrencies “have no intrinsic value” and individuals who invest in them could lose all their money:
“I’m going to say this very bluntly again. Buy then only If you’re prepared to lose all your money.”
At one point, the governor expressed his “concerns” about El Salvador’s decision to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. He felt that most locals don’t understand “the nature and volatility of the currency they have.”
The President of the Latin American country – Nayib Bukele – ironically answered Bailey’s comments:
“Bank of England is ‘Worried About El Salvador’s Adoption of Bitcoin?’ Really?
I suppose the Bank of England’s interest in the welfare of our people is genuine. To the right?
I mean, they always cared about our people. Still.
Gotta love the Bank of England.
Fireblocks’ Recent Endeavors
Earlier this year, Fireblocks secured a $550 million Series E fundraiser led by Spark Capital, Mammoth, General Atlantic, and other investors. The financing boosted the organization’s valuation to $8 billion.
Michael Shaulov – CEO of Fireblocks – revealed that the company will distribute capital in innovations for the DeFi sector, NFTs and payments:
“Everything that’s happening at the cross-section of DeFi, NFTs, gaming, streaming, and entertainment will be the biggest emerging use cases in the next year and a half.”
Shortly after, Fireblocks acquired Israeli crypto-payments platform – First Digital – for around $100 million. The latter is a company that provides stable API-based settlement solutions to institutional clients.
