Ex-JPMorgan Transactions Exec Joins Bitcoin Startup Circle As CFO

Circle Internet Financial has hired a veteran banking industry executive to serve as its new chief financial officer (CFO).

Paul Camp, who formerly held the title of global head and managing director at JPMorgan’s transactions services unit, will act as corporate treasurer and executive vice president of financial operations as well as CFO at Circle. Camp was chosen after a year-long process, according to the company.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said that Camp will be a key member of the leadership team, overseeing the company’s financial architecture and acting as an ambassador to investors, regulators and the wide range of industry participants Circle will seek to enroll in its platform.

According to Allaire, Camp brings a wealth of knowledge from his years serving in the banking system, which included time at Deutsche Bank during the birth of the euro.

Allaire also pointed to Camp's unique perspective on digital currencies, telling CoinDesk:

“Paul is a very intelligent person, a very smart person. I think the vision of an Internet platform – a common Internet platform for value exchange – really captured his imagination. I think he’s also at the point in his career where he’s grown these businesses within big companies and was really excited to build something from the ground up.”

Camp is also the latest executive to migrate from the traditional banking and finance world to the cryptocurrency industry.

In October, former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Arthur Levitt joined the advisory boards of BitPay and Vaurum (since renamed Mirror), while last month finance veteran and banking family scion Matthew Mellon took on a volunteer leadership role at the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

History as transactions architect

Throughout the interview, Allaire cited Camp’s 20-odd years in the banking and finance industry, which, in addition to time at JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, includes a stint at Bank of America. Camp left his position at JPMorgan earlier this year.

In particular, Allaire noted Camp’s role in building Deutsche Bank’s euro settlement business into the largest firm of its kind. From the time of the euro’s development in the mid-1990s and through its growing pains in the early 2000s, Camp was in a position to see a new currency system taking shape.

Allaire continued:

"He got to watch the establishment of a new, multi-country currency with a new electronic, transfer protocol – SEPA – that was built to facilitate that, and all the regulatory issues that emerged with a new, common currency."

The CEO added that “there’s a pretty good chance” that most businesses that conduct global transactions with a company or consumer in the eurozone are relying on the platform that Camp had a role in developing.

Images courtesy of Circle