Blockchain startup Digital Asset Holdings has hired the former head of Swift's securities division and CEO of America's Chris Church as chief business development officer.
Church will be joined at Digital Asset Holdings by another fintech veteran Cris Conde, formerly of SunGard, who is coming onboard as a non-executive director.
The company, helmed by former JP Morgan big wig Blythe Masters, has been making waves in the blockchain space having recently acquired Hyperledger, Bits of Proof and Blockstack.io, as it bids to build out its portfolio.
The appointment of Church and Conde mark a significant statement of intent on the part of Masters, who is rumoured to have spurned the opportunity to head up Barclays' US investment bank in favour of betting big on the blockchain as a transformative technology for financial services.
Church left Swift in September, having spent seven years at the international banking co-operative.
In a statement announcing the new appointments, Master says: “With more than 50 years of combined experience in the financial and technology sectors, Cris and Chris have a deep understanding not only of the marketplace, but of what we are building and they will be invaluable to our continued growth."
The company is understood to be in talks with investors over a $35 million funding round that will give it a value of $100 million. Potential investors include Blythe's alma mater JPMorgan and Spanish bank Santander.