Coindesk Logo

Bitcoin Startup Execs Join Uphold Team

Bitcoin Startup Execs Join Uphold Team

Bitcoin Startup Execs Join Uphold Team

Two former bitcoin startup executives have joined the leadership team for Uphold, the digital money platform.

Two former bitcoin startup executives have joined the leadership team for Uphold, the digital money platform.

Two former bitcoin startup executives have joined the leadership team for Uphold, the digital money platform.

AccessTimeIconOct 20, 2016, 12:21 PM
Updated Aug 18, 2021, 5:19 PM

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Two bitcoin startup executives have joined the leadership team for Uphold, the digital money platform.

Bitnet CEO and co-founder John McDonnell and chief data architect Jiri Novak will become part of a new offering called Uphold Merchant Services, which will aim to provide payment and financing services to businesses that use the Uphold platform. Bitnet was acquired as part of the deal.

The company, formerly known as Bitreserve, was founded by CNET founder Halsey Minor and formally launched in late 2014. The platform later rebranded as Uphold.

McDonnell and Novak join the startup months after Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten acquired Bitnet's assets. Former Bitnet employees Fergal Downey and Stephen McNamara would go on to become part of a new blockchain lab founded by Rakuten, using the company's assets to kickstart that effort.

McDonnell, who will serve as CEO of Uphold Merchant Services, said in a statement:

“Uphold is uniquely positioned as the first ‘cloud-based’ financial services platform that leverages the operating efficiencies of blockchain technology while providing access to the legacy bank and payment networks."

The announcement comes two years after Bitnet announced that it had raised $14.5m in a Series A funding round. That round, led by Highland Capital Partners, notably included participation from Rakuten, and set the stage for the e-commerce company's eventual acceptance of bitcoin payments.

Image via Shutterstock

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Bitnet. 

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.