Figure announced Hirji’s addition Wednesday, saying the longtime financial executive will oversee the company’s growth. Figure CEO Mike Cagney said in a statement that the company would be creating a new merchant bank with Hirji’s help.
Asiff Hirji, the former president and chief operating officer of Coinbase, is the new president of Figure Technologies, the blockchain-based lending firm backed by Morgan Creek Digital.
Cagney is perhaps best known for being the co-founder and former CEO of SoFi, the digital consumer finance company.
“Asiff has already been a critical advisor to me on how we manage the growth of Figure in order to drive the transformation of financial services across categories and around the world”, he said.
Figure raised $103 million last month, and has a valuation of more than $1.2 billion. The company has secured backing from MUFG, the Japanese bank’s VC arm, Digital Currency Group, Libra Association member Ribbit Capital, DCM, HCM Capital, RPM Ventures and The Partners at DST Global.
Prior to Coinbase, Hirji served as president and COO at TD Ameritrade and operating partner at Andreesssen Horowitz. He said in a statement that he believes blockchain will reduce the costs of financial services.
«The opportunity now is to scale to more financial products and open this capability to all financial institutions. I feel fortunate to be able to help make the promise of blockchain a reality,» he said.
Former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan Joins DeFi Blockchain Project Findora
Balaji Srinivasan, the former CTO of Coinbase, has just joined decentralized finance blockchain project Findora.
Announcing the news on Wednesday, the firm said Srinivasan is to help guide the firm as a strategic adviser. Professor Dan Boneh, head of Stanford University’s Cryptography Group is also joining in the same role.
“We are excited to welcome Professor Dan Boneh and Balaji Srinivasan to our team as we work towards a new global financial system where users control their own financial data, identity and assets”, said Findora CEO Charles Lu. “These renowned industry experts have unrivaled knowledge in fintech, digital infrastructure, blockchain, cryptography, and beyond, putting them at the forefront of their respective fields.”
Prior to joining Coinbase, Srinivasan was a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and co-founder and CEO of Earn.com (formerly 21 Inc). He also co-founded and is still a board member at blockchain advocacy group Coin Center.
Findora describes itself as a “cryptographically transparent public blockchain for building decentralized financial applications.”
The firm has the grand ambition to build global financial infrastructure allowing anyone – from individuals to SMEs or corporations – to develop and use financial services.
Appealing to privacy-seeking enterpises, the Findora network keeps data confidential, but still allows auditing in order to comply with financial rules. The platform says it aims to support numerous applications, including open banking, asset securitization, trading and peer-to-peer lending.
Professor Boneh has authored over 100 publications and is a recipient of the Packard Award, the Alfred P. Sloan Award, the RSA Award in Mathematics, and the Okawa Foundation Award, according to the announcement.
On joining the firm, Boneh said:
“Findora’s vision is to be the internet of the finance world, and to decentralize and revitalize the global financial system. Blockchain alone will not replace trust in our financial institutions. There is a strong need for privacy and data safety features of the type Findora is developing and that will make Findora a powerful hub for storing the world’s financial data.”
