Trio of JP Morgan Execs Leave For Crypto Jobs

The storied financial firm, slow to warm to crypto, is losing top talent to Web3 despite the bear market.

By Jason Nelson

Image: Shutterstock

Even as crypto firms shed workers and seek bankruptcy protection in a brutal market

Former JP Morgan executives Eric Wragge, Puja Samuel, and Samir Shah have all left the storied financial institution.

“I am thrilled to share that I have started with the Digital Currency Group as Head of Corporate Development,” Samuel posted on LinkedIn yesterday. “I am excited to help build out new strategic partnerships alongside an energized team that is driving change across the financial system.”

Before joining Digital Currency Group, the parent company of Coindesk and digital currency investment firm Grayscale, Samuel acted as Head of Ideation and Digital Innovation at JP Morgan.

“I wish to thank my former colleagues at JP Morgan for an amazing and extremely fulfilling three years and also my former colleagues at Citi, Citi Ventures, and New York Life Ventures for being a part of my professional journey,” Samuel added.

Eric Wragge, a former managing director at JP Morgan, joined the Web3 world via the Algorand Foundation. According to a post by Algorand, which is developing a cryptocurrency protocol and the ALGO coin, Wragge will chair the foundation’s investment committee and lead global initiatives and strategic partnerships in both traditional capital markets and decentralized finance.

“Coming from a leading global investment bank, I understand the uncompromising performance requirements for a Layer 1 blockchain to compete against and improve upon many aspects of traditional finance,” Wragge said yesterday in the release.

Finally, former JP Morgan banker Samir Shah announced on Monday that he had left the investment bank to become chief operating officer at Web3 investment firm Pantera Capital.

“After 12 fantastic years with JPMorgan, it is bittersweet for me to share that I will [be] starting a new professional chapter,” Shah posted on LinkedIn. “I am thrilled to share that I will be joining Pantera Capital as Chief Operating Officer.”

Before joining Pantera Capital, Shah acted as the head of asset management sales and digital solutions at JP Morgan. His move was first reported by Coindesk.