Brazil’s Nubank appoints former Coinbase director as crypto lead

Key Takeaways

• Nubank, Brazil’s largest digital bank, named Michael Rihani, ex-Coinbase director, as Head of Crypto.
• Rihani oversaw non-trading products and helped launch nearly $1 billion in Bitcoin-backed loans at Coinbase.

Brazil’s Nubank, a digital financial services platform with over 123 million customers, appointed Michael Rihani as Head of Crypto today. Rihani recently left his role at Coinbase, the US-based cryptocurrency exchange, where he led non-trading products.

Rihani will report to Nubank’s executive director of crypto and digital assets, focusing on advancing the Nubank Crypto platform for digital asset services. His departure from Coinbase on September 23 highlighted his role in launching Bitcoin-backed loans nearing $1 billion in onchain originations.

Nubank’s crypto service now allows direct card payments with USDT and USDC stablecoins, which account for 90% of local crypto usage in Brazil as of September 22. The platform has integrated Bitcoin’s Lightning Network for payments among its 100 million Latin American customers.

Nubank holds over 60% of Brazil’s adult population as customers and maintains a market cap exceeding $75 billion as of September. The appointment signals the company’s continued expansion into digital asset services in the Latin American market.

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