JPMorgan nabs former Gemini executive to work on wholesale payments innovation

Sarah Olsen, a former executive at crypto exchange Gemini, has joined the ranks of JPMorgan's blockchain staff, a spokesperson for the bank confirmed to The Block. 

Olsen, who previously was a managing director at Gemini, joined JPMorgan in June, according to her LinkedIn profile. As an executive director in JPMorgan's corporate investment bank, Olsen will be responsible for business development within the firm's wholesale payments innovation team. 

The hire is just the bank's latest high-profile acquisition from the digital asset world. JPMorgan recently brought on Mike Blandina, previously the chief executive of Intercontinental Exchange venture Bakkt, to head up wholesale payments technology, as Reuters reported in April. 

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JPMorgan's blockchain business spans a number of initiatives, including a stablecoin-like project called JPMCoin and Quorum, an enterprise version of public blockchain Ethereum. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that JPMorgan was "in talks to merge" Quorum with crypto startup Consensys. 

During her time at Gemini, Olsen was involved in the exchange's efforts to push its own stablecoin, the Gemini dollar. She left the company in March.

Olsen previously held positions in marketing at financial-services firms including Apollo Global Management and Brightwood Capital. 

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Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].