Stripe’s head of crypto has determined to lean much more into crypto. John Egan introduced Monday that he’ll join Polygon Labs, a distinguished blockchain developer, as chief product officer. The previous Stripe government will begin on Tuesday, Egan instructed Fortune.
Whereas he declined to specify precisely what he’ll sort out when he begins his new job, Egan mentioned he’ll deal with enhancing funds throughout Polygon’s ecosystem, which features a handful of blockchains constructed on prime of the blockchain Ethereum.
Conversations between Egan and Polygon Labs started in early August, and rapidly progressed from there, Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, instructed Fortune. “He’s going to be, frankly, very, very impactful on all our funds efforts,” Boiron mentioned.
Fintech to crypto
Stripe is a $91.5 billion funds behemoth whose merchandise embody on-line checkout providers and billing software program. Over the previous 12 months, the fintech big has leaned closely into crypto, an effort that Egan helped orchestrate.
In October, Stripe announced that it deliberate to purchase Bridge, a startup that focuses on stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to underlying belongings just like the U.S. greenback. The deal was for $1.1 billion and closed in February.
Then, in June, Stripe said it deliberate to purchase the crypto pockets firm Privy for an undisclosed value. And, in September, the fintech mentioned it was creating its personal blockchain referred to as Tempo in partnership with the crypto enterprise capital big Paradigm.
Egan had a hand in all of Stripe’s greatest crypto strikes. “My function as head of crypto crosses all of these actions: Overseeing product technique, construct, execution, government relationship, exterior M&A choice making,” he mentioned.
As Stripe’s crypto footprint grows, Egan’s determination to depart the fintech might immediate onlookers to ask why he’s leaping ship simply as his function was rising in significance.
However the incoming chief product officer at Polygon Labs mentioned he thinks “it’s not notably uncommon” for somebody engaged on one section inside a bigger company to need to dive even deeper into that vertical elsewhere. “It will be significant to bear in mind at Stripe, there’s a $80-plus billion enterprise that isn’t essentially totally centered right here,” he mentioned, referring to the world of blockchain. However he’s “all in” on crypto, Egan mentioned.
As for why he’s determined to join Polygon Labs, Egan pointed to Polygon’s place as a frontrunner in stablecoin micropayments, or small transfers of cash. About $2.9 billion in stablecoins circulated on Polygon’s payments-focused blockchain in July. That’s far under Ethereum’s $158 billion, in accordance to blockchain knowledge supplier Artemis Analytics. However, that very same month, 4.5 million energetic addresses in July (a tough measure for customers) despatched or obtained stablecoins on Polygon, outstripping Ethereum’s 2.9 million, per Artemis.
In different phrases, Egan mentioned he believes the information reveals that on a regular basis customers, not simply deep-pocketed crypto merchants, are transacting on Polygon. “I’m a extremely large fan of any expertise layer, any platform that has like, rapid use, rapid developer consideration,” he added.
A former engineer at Meta and graduate of the famed startup incubator Y Combinator, the incoming Polygon Labs government plans to solely take sooner or later of trip between his previous and new job. “I’ve by no means been good at taking time without work,” he conceded.
