PayPal Blockchain Lead José Fernández da Ponte Joins Stellar

José Fernández da Ponte, formerly of PayPal, has taken the role of president and chief growth officer at Stellar Development Foundation, drawn by the organization’s focus on financial inclusivity in developing regions. Stellar, known for its collaboration with MoneyGram and partnerships for tokenizing real-world assets, aims to leverage blockchain technology for community-driven solutions. The organization also appointed Jason Karsh, a former Block executive, as chief marketing officer, to further bolster its public and developer relations. Fernández da Ponte expressed confidence in Stellar’s alignment with his vision of using decentralized systems to tackle financial inclusion. His move to Stellar reflects a strategic shift to work at the blockchain infrastructure level, a critical layer for applications like stablecoins. Stellar’s XLM token has seen significant performance growth, outpacing the CoinDesk 20 Index, signaling strong market approval.