USDC governing body Centre adds JPM, R3 alum David Puth as CEO

Stablecoins • December 1, 2020, 9:50AM EST
The Block

The Centre Consortium, the governing body behind USDC, has tapped JP Morgan Chase alum David Puth as its CEO.

The Consortium announced today that it has onboarded Puth to grow Centre's membership and adoption of USDC on additional blockchain networks.

In addition to growing membership, Puth's other main charge will be to engage local and global regulators "to support the introduction of new fiat digital currencies built on Centre standards."

Puth spent 19 years of his career as Head of Currencies, Commodities, and Emerging Markets at Chase. He also put in an additional three years at State Street as Head of Global Markets before building his own consulting business, The Council. Puth also garnered blockchain-specific experience as a strategic advisor to blockchain software development company R3. 

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Now, he's taking that expertise to the Coinbase and Circle-backed Centre at a "pivotal" time for digital currencies, according to Centre's statement. 

"Now garnering the full attention of major policymakers, regulators and central banks, the rise of digital currencies on the public internet creates an enormous opportunity to establish technology, industry standards and networks for this new age of internet-based money," said the statement.

Indeed, USDC has seen considerable growth in the past year. Supply passed one billion this June, and both the Solana and Algorand began supporting the stablecoin with Stellar to follow in 2021. Puth said that growth is setting the tone for more expansion.

"The growth of USDC over the course of 2020 is indicative of what I expect will be the path for Centre business activities and that of future Centre-supported stablecoins,” said Puth.

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.