Digital Asset's technology platform will also bring the benefits of speed and cryptographic security to transferring, tracking and settling of mainstream financial assets.

Digital Asset also announced that Blythe Masters has been appointed as its chief executive officer. Masters joins Digital Asset after an accomplished career at J.P. Morgan in a variety of senior roles including head of global commodities, chief financial officer of the investment bank, head of global credit portfolio and credit policy and strategy and head of commercial and investment bank regulatory affairs. Masters was also the chair of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).

The number of institutions looking to transact in crypto assets is expected to grow exponentially. However, there remain substantial obstacles in settlement of transactions converting crypto assets to and from conventional currencies. In addition, there is often a lack of transparency and trust in engaging with counterparties using crypto assets.

Digital Asset's technology addresses these fundamental problems and creates a trusted ecosystem comprised of previously agreed and vetted counterparties. This new technology is expected to make it possible for regulated financial institutions to accommodate customers wishing to transact in crypto assets and also to utilize cryptographic technology to settle and track transfers of mainstream financial assets more quickly and at lower cost.

"Digital Asset has a revolutionary technology platform that eliminates the counterparty risk and lack of transparency that has hindered mainstream adoption of cryptographic technology. The possibilities for reducing cost and risk in settlement are enormous," said Masters. "I'm thrilled to join the team to grow the company and drive broad-based adoption of our platform. Digital Asset has a talented team and technology that is uniquely positioned to solve challenging settlement issues facnt issues facing global financial institutions. I look forward to partnering with Sunil and Don to bring this to market."

"Blythe's unique vision, leadership qualities and dynamism were the key ingredients that we looked for in a CEO to help re-invent the aging, costly and hack-prone legacy processes and infrastructure of settlement services," said Hirani. "We are thrilled to have someone of Blythe's caliber as CEO of Digital Asset."

Wilson said, "The solutions Digital Asset will help scale and commercialize under Blythe's leadership have the potential to transform fundamentally how we think about the creation, settlement, tracking and transfer of assets and currencies. Blythe's experience at building successful teams and defining cultures will be a huge benefit for Digital Asset and its clients."

Digital Asset has assembled a world-class management and development team with expertise in the financial industry as well as cryptography. These employees are based in New York, Chicago and Tel Aviv. Digital Asset's technological achievement is the brainchild of Hirani and Wilson, who are both on Digital Asset's Board of Directors and have successful track records of creating and running best-in-class technology-based companies in the financial industry.