Revolut Ltd. Chief Revenue Officer Alan Chang will leave the U.K. financial super app company to launch a cryptocurrency platform after launching an effort to rake in $100 million in financing, Bloomberg reported Friday (March 11).
Chang’s fundraising effort will give investors future access to tokens, people familiar with the situation told Bloomberg. He has invested millions of his own dollars in the effort so far, one of the people said.
“After almost seven years, Alan Chang will be leaving Revolut,” a spokesperson for the firm told Bloomberg. “We wish him every success in his new venture.” Chang, who was Revolut’s fifth employee, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
In July, Revolut raised funds at a $33 billion valuation, including from SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global Management.
U.K. filings show Chang registered as director of a new company March 1, after resigning as director from Revolut in late February.
Related: Revolut Lets Users Book Trips Now, Pay Later
In February, Revolut unveiled a new tool for its travel product Stays that lets customers book their stay and pay when they arrive. Revolut Stays lets customers in the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area make a reservation with the app and choose to pay when they arrive for their stay with their Revolut card or pay upfront using the app at the time of booking.
When paying with Revolut, Premium and Metal customers will get 10% cash back, while Standard and Plus customers will receive 7.5% cash back.
Chang is not the only one leaving his firm to launch a cryptocurrency startup.
See more: Citi’s Two Digital Assets Leads Exiting to Launch Startup
Co-heads of Citigroup’s digital assets group are leaving the bank less than a year after being put in charge of the new crypto-centered unit, which was launched in June 2021 inside Citi’s wealth management unit.
Greg Girasole and Alex Kriete announced separately on LinkedIn that they were leaving Citigroup to start a new venture and would reveal more details soon.
Also read: Bitcoin-Friendly Senator Reveals Details of Crypto Regulation Bill
Meanwhile, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., intends to fix the complex crypto taxation conundrum with her Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which she described as a “bill to fully integrate digital assets into our financial system.”
A strong crypto proponent and bitcoin owner since 2013, the freshman senator said she is working with colleagues and crypto industry advocates to put “the final touches” on it in a Wednesday (March 9) Twitter announcement.