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UK-based crypto exchange Bitstamp has hired Sameer Dubey, the former director of the payments team at financial services firm Barclays, as COO.
In an announcement Thursday, Bistamp said he would appoint Dubey to the management position as part of his efforts to expand the business. Dubey worked as a Payments Manager for Barclays Corporate Division and was a member of the team behind the bank’s blockchain and distributed ledger board. Until recently, he was also responsible for the operations of the British neobank N26.
The crypto exchange said the addition of Dubey would bring the company “global leadership in fintech and traditional banking.” The former Barclays executive would replace outgoing chief executive Vasja Zupan, who later joined the UAE-based Matrix Exchange as chairman.
“I think in a few years we won’t really be talking about a cryptocurrency industry,” Dubey said. “It will be a different part of finance and innovative crypto companies will be viewed as fintechs in the same way that N26 is viewed today.”
He added:
“As crypto merges with finance, the role we play is going to take on new meaning. Part of what makes this space so exciting is that we really can’t figure out where we’ll be in, say, 10 years.
Bitstamp is one of the oldest exchanges in the crypto space, with trading entities based in multiple countries. In October 2020, former Gemini executive Julian Sawyer became the company’s new CEO, replacing founder Nejc Kodrič.
