Bitstamp crypto exchange hires former Barclays exec as new COO

U.K.-based crypto exchange Bitstamp has hired a former director of financial services company Barclays’ payments team as its chief operating officer.

In an announcement today, Bistamp said it would be appointing Sameer Dubey to the executive position as part of its effort to scale across the firm’s businesses. Dubey worked as the director of the head of payments for Barclays corporate and was a member of the team behind the bank’s blockchain and distributed ledger council. He was also the head of operations for U.K. neobank N26 until recently.

The crypto exchange said the addition of Dubey would bring “global leadership in fintech and traditional banking” to the firm. The former Barclays exec will reportedly be replacing outgoing COO Vasja Zupan, who went on to join the United Arab Emirates-based Matrix Exchange as president.

“I think that in a few years, we won’t really be talking about a cryptocurrency industry anymore,” said Dubey. “It will be another part of finance and innovative crypto businesses will be considered fintechs similarly to how N26 is perceived today.”

He added:

“As crypto merges with finance, the part we play is going to take on new meaning. Part of what makes this space so exciting is that we really can’t know where we’ll be in, let’s say, 10 years.”

Bitstamp is one of the oldest exchanges in the crypto space, with business entities based in several countries. In October, former Gemini exec Julian Sawyer became the firm’s new CEO, replacing Nejc Kodrič for the first time in the crypto exchange’s history.