Former JPMorgan Executive Samir Shah Joins Pantera Capital as COO

Samir Shah – who spent 12 years at JPMorgan as Global Head of Digital Solutions – announced his departure from the financial institution. His next career step includes joining the investment firm focused on cryptocurrencies – Pantera Capital – as a Chief Operating Officer (COO).

From Traditional Finance to Crypto

It is safe to say that the cryptocurrency sector has been significantly affected due to the price decline of most digital assets, including bitcoin. As a result of the panic and investor outflow, numerous companies in the field decided to lay off a chunk of their employees. The leading exchanges – CryptoCom, Coinbase, and Bybit – are among these.

Contrary to that trend, Samir Shah – a former top executive at JPMorgan – disclosed he will hop on the crypto bandwagon by joining Pantera Capital as its Chief Operating Officer. He said his 12 years at the Wall Street giant were “fantastic” and that the feeling of parting with his old team is “bittersweet.”

“JPM is a very special space, and I will be forever grateful to my colleagues for shaping my professional and personal journey in such a profound way. I leave humbled, as a very proud alum and a forever champion of the firm,” he added.

On the other hand, he displayed his excitement to take a role at Pantera Capital and join forces with its leaders – Dan Morehead and Joey Krug. Shah described the crypto firm as a leading investor in blockchain technology and vowed to take it to “new heights.”

Pantera Capital’s Bitcoin Stance

Unlike many crypto critics, such as Paul Krugman and Richard Bernstein, who claim that bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme, in December 2021, Dan Morehead – Founder and CEO of Pantera Capital – argued that bond markets are “manipulated” by the Federal Reserve and they are the real fraudulent scheme:

“Governments should stop obsessing about Bitcoin and look inward. The biggest Ponzi scheme in history is the U.S. government and mortgage bond market – 33 trillion-with-a-T dollars – all being driven by one non-economic actor with a dominant position who is trading based on material, non-public information.”

In February this year, Pantera Capital issued a report called “The Next Mega-Trade,” in which it outlined its reasons why the primary cryptocurrency could start a bull run soon. Specifically, the company opined that the price increase should occur somewhere around April 18th (known as “Tax Day”).