Ripple Exec Joins Algorand
Last week, Devan Moorthy, former senior manager of business development at Ripple ($XRP), joined the Algorand Foundation as the Head of Ecosystem Access. Current CEO Staci Warden extended a warm welcome over Twitter, saying “He will wake up every morning worried about whether the $ALGO and ASAs are listed on exchanges and in wallets etc.” Of course the tweet is incomplete without a sarcastic jab at ripple.
Moorthy’s departure from Ripple comes as Ripple Labs earned a spot on Inc. Magazine as a top 5000 list due to their rapid growth. John Alan Woods, a technical contributor for Cardano, also recently jumped ship.
Why does it matter?
Devan Moorthy joins Algorand at a time when the company is at a turning point. Recently, CEO Steve Kokinos departed, with W. Sean Ford taking his place as Interim CEO. Silvio Micali credited Kokinos with the immense growth of the Algorand platform since its inception, saying “he has been instrumental to the initial success of our business.” Ford joined Algorand in 2018 after serving as Logmein’s Chief Marketing Officer.
By leveraging Ford’s marketing expertise, and now recruiting Moorthy to head up ecosystem access, it is clear that Algorand is preparing to enter into a new chapter — devoting more resources to marketing — an area desperately lacking in the ecosystem. To anybody that knows the Algorand ecosystem, the chain needs no introduction. Its strengths are many, and its conquest of the blockchain trilemma an achievement in itself. The only complaint faithful Algonauts make is the lack of exposure.
Combining marketing expertise with knowledge of the ecosystem, the Algorand Team can accelerate the blockchain to new heights. Imagine a world where everybody raves about how amazing DeFi on Algorand is — where newcomers to the world of DeFi start on Algorand, not a chain with exorbitant gas fees, and TradFi mixes seamlessly with DeFi. Imagine a robust ecosystem, where the best and the brightest collaborate in a borderless economy to solve real world issues like climate change and global access to finances. The groundwork is there, and now its up to the community to grow the ecosystem like never before. The best way to do that is through exposure.
