Exclusive

Business development exec involved with Gemini stablecoin exits

Quick Take

  • Gemini’s managing director of corporate development Sarah Olsen has left the company, several sources confirmed to The Block
  • Olsen was involved in the exchange’s stablecoin business 
  • Despite several attempts to boost GUSD’s volumes on the market, the stablecoin’s market share plunged by 95%

Sarah Olsen, a managing director at Gemini who played a role in the exchange's stablecoin effort, has left the cryptocurrency exchange, according to sources familiar with the matter. 

Olsen had been with Gemini since 2017, first serving as the head of business development then the managing director of corporate development, per her LinkedIn profile. It is unclear at the moment what her next steps are. Gemini has not responded to The Block's requests for comment.

While at Gemini, Olsen was involved in the exchange's efforts to push its stablecoin Gemini dollar. In Oct. 2018, Olsen published a paper on stablecoins, in which she praised GUSD's compliance status with the New York State Department of Financial Services as "paramount" in mitigating the counterparty risk. 

During her tenure, the firm made several attempts to boost GUSD's market share, including partnering with crypto wallet SPEDN to allow users to spend GUSD at retail stores and listing the stablecoin on crypto lending platform BlockFi. 

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Despite these efforts, the market share of GUSD continues to shrink. The company's GUSD market share plunged by 95% since February to $4,683,637, according to CoinMarketCap.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Celia joined The Block as a reporter after earning her BA in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. Having spent years pondering over why 2+2 cannot equal 5, she is interested in the history and philosophy of mathematics, computation, and cryptography. She also had a very brief stint at Crunchbase News.