Fireblocks Appoints Former Bank of England Head as Director of CBDC

Varun Paul, former head of fintech at the Bank of England (BoE), has accepted the role of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and Market Infrastructure director at the digital asset security company, Fireblocks.

Fireblocks Hires Former Bank of England Head

In an official press release today, the firm noted that Paul’s vast experience working with the Bank of England would boost Fireblock’s efforts to develop infrastructure for CBDC integration.

CryptoPotato first reported in April that Paul left the financial institution after more than 13 years to take a role at a crypto firm. He held multiple positions at the BoE, including spearheading the bank’s fintech hub.

In his new role at Fireblock, the former BoE head will engage with market infrastructure bodies and central banks as they begin adopting digital assets and their underlying technologies on a larger scale.

He will also help the firm explore the potential benefits of participating in the DeFi market while educating key decision-makers on secure and scalable solutions for digital asset transactions.

Commenting on his new role, Paul said:

“Fireblocks is the clear leader when it comes to providing secure, scalable technologies for digital asset and crypto-forward businesses. Financial innovation in CBDC, DeFi, and tokenization is rapidly accelerating, and my new role at Fireblocks allows me the privilege and opportunity to work alongside some of the most forward-thinking organizations in the world as they prepare for one of the sector’s greatest transformations.”

More Central Banks Explore CBDC

The development comes as central banks in different countries research or plan to issue a digital form of their local fiat currencies.

Fireblocks intends to be at the forefront of this global revolution, providing central banks and other important bodies with the technical knowledge and infrastructure to integrate CBDC.

“From CBDC developments to the tokenization of traditional financial assets, bridging digital assets and blockchain technologies to traditional institutions at scale will require strong working relationships with the central bank community. We are excited about Varun’s ability to help support the digital asset strategy of central banks and market infrastructure,” Fireblock’s head of corporate strategy, Adam Levine, said.