Jose Fernandez da Ponte said it’s crucial to engage with world leaders to understand industry’s opportunities and challenges.
PayPal, a major payment processor based in California, has enlisted the aid of an expert panel to advise on bitcoin, blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.
On Tuesday, PayPal announced the appointment of six members to its Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies advisory council, which would help to support its existing and future products as well as its objective of building a more inclusive digital financial environment.
PayPal will be joined by officials from the Bank of England, Federal Reserve Board, and the Financial Conduct Authority. The list also includes former Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Timothy Massad, MIT Sloan School of Management finance professor Antoinette Schoar, MIT Digital Currency Initiative director Neha Narula, and Fortress Investment Group co-CEO Peter Briger.
“We believe it is crucial to engage with the world’s best leaders to better understand the industry’s most compelling opportunities and complex challenges,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s senior vice president and general manager for Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies.
From a business or regulatory standpoint, all six experts have years of experience in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. Briger was said to have advised Softbank Group founder Masayoshi Son to invest millions in Bitcoin (BTC) months before the 2017 bull run. Goldwasser was part of a group of MIT researchers that invented zero-knowledge proof as an encryption method decades before crypto.
During her tenure with the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, Narula was in charge of a project to assist the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston develop a digital currency intended for retail usage. Brummer was reportedly considered for CFTC chair before Rostin Behnam was chosen as President Joe Biden’s nominee. After leaving his position as CFTC chairman, Massad stated that regulators should approve an exchange-traded fund that would offer exposure to bitcoin.
There’s no telling whether the advisory group is intended to help PayPal expand into crypto and blockchain. In October 2020, PayPal announced that customers based in the United States would be able to purchase cryptocurrencies via the platform, and this service would soon be extended to cryptocurrency payments at millions of its worldwide merchants. According to reports, PayPal plans to introduce its own stablecoin called PayPal Coin in the near future.
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