JPMorgan Chase’s Blockchain Center of Excellence lead Amber Baldet, is leaving the company to start her own venture, according to an internal bank memo sent by the bank’s head of blockchain initiatives Umar Farooq on Monday and seen by Reuters.
“Amber is extremely talented and helped build the outstanding team we have today. We respect her desire to start her own venture and we wish her nothing but the best”,
JPMorgan spokeswoman Jessica Francisco told Reuters in a written statement.
Being one of CoinDesk’s Most Influential in Blockchain in 2017 and named on the Fortune 40 Under 40 list, Baldet oversaw partnerships with the company behind ZCash, with the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, and the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts. In her role at JPMorgan, Baldet had set the corporate and investment bank’s blockchain strategy and pioneered JPMorgan’s Quorum initiative, a blockchain the bank developed for enterprises to build business applications.
It was reported by Reuters last month that the bank was considering spinning off Quorum. The spin-off underlies the challenges Wall Street firms have after developing new technologies for the industry but failing to get much adoption. As reported by the Financial Times, rival banks could have been reluctant to use Quorum because it was so closely associated with JPMorgan.
JPMorgan is one of several banking giants exploring the business case for blockchain technologies, the underlying technology powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan stands to benefit is the technology is able to facilitate cheaper, faster and more secure financial transactions.
After heading the Blockchain Center of Excellence since its inception in 2015, Baldet will now be replaced by senior product manager Christine Moy, according to the internal memo. Moy had collaborated with Baldet from the start, and has led blockchain product development across JPMorgan’s investor services and capital markets businesses.
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Resources:
JPMorgan’s Blockchain Center of Excellence
JPMorgan’s Quorum Blockchain
Media Coverage:
Cointelegraph: Amber Baldet to Embark on New Venture
Reuters: Blockchain Executive Amber Baldet to Leave JPMorgan
CNBC: JPMorgan’s Top Blockchain Executive to Leave for Her Own Startup
Fortune: JPMorgan’s Blockchain Chief is Setting Out on Her Own
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