Former traditional finance executives are leaving their banking roles to join the cryptocurrency industry. Lisa Wade, former head of innovation and sustainability at National Australia Bank, and Guy Dickinson, former treasurer of HSBC Australia, both believe that the crypto industry provides greater freedom to take innovative risks compared to the banking sector. For them, the motivation behind the move wasn’t driven by money but rather a quest for personal fulfillment. They see crypto as the future of finance and predict widespread adoption in the coming years.
Simon Dixon, CEO of investment platform BnkToTheFuture, attempted to create a traditional bank in 2011 before building a regulated crypto securities business. However, he found out that creating a traditional bank was actually a massive risk. He later discovered Bitcoin and took an interest in the fact that funds are owned in self-custody, spent peer-to-peer, and backed by full reserve math and code.
Despite plenty of regulatory action in the United States and an ongoing crypto winter, former TradFi executives who have pivoted to crypto said there’s no desire to return to their old banking lives. The banking industry is slowly dying, and jobs in traditional finance are not as safe as they once were due to constant layoffs and technological efficiencies rendering many professional service roles at risk. Many TradFi executives have been making the move to crypto for some time. Two JPMorgan executives, Eric Wragge and Puja Samuel, resigned to pursue a career in the crypto industry. Wragge joined Algorand (ALGO) as its head of business development and capital markets, while Samuel took on the position as head of corporate development at Digital Currency Group.