Block.one, publisher of the EOSIO blockchain software protocol and seller of the EOS Token, a top-five cryptocurrency by market cap at approximately US$8 billion, has announced that former Jefferies Asia CEO Mike Alexander has joined as CEO of its US$1 billion EOS VC venture capital arm, effective today.
Mike Alexander, BlockOne
Based in Hong Kong, Mike Alexander will serve as a member of the Block.one Executive Committee.
As CEO of the venture business unit, Alexander is responsible for managing both direct venture investments and EOS VC partnerships, with a focus on sourcing and investing in projects developing on the EOSIO ecosystem.
EOS VC aims to grow, develop and support the EOSIO ecosystem through venture capital investment, partnership and mentorship activities targeting game-changing blockchain-based products and entrepreneurs across the globe. It has so far allocated approximately US$700 million through VC partnerships in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Incoming Block.one Group President Rob Jesudason said:
Our partnerships and investment efforts through EOS VC are critical in driving adoption and innovation in the EOSIO ecosystem. We are committed to supporting companies that want to build businesses and DAPPs on the platform. Mike has extensive experience in investment banking and is one of the most respected individuals in the financial services industry in Asia. I am delighted he is joining the team.
“Block.one is shaping the next generation of technology and the internet,” said Alexander. “The vision of its founders has resulted in it being one of the fastest-growing organizations in the world and I am excited to be joining. The company’s unique position as the publisher of the EOSIO open-source code means that it is poised to lead the way in investments related to the burgeoning platform.”
Mike Alexander had been at Jefferies for just under eight years and has more than 25 years of experience in Asia capital markets. Before joining Jefferies, he was Group Head of Sales and Sales Trading at CLSA Hong Kong, Director of Asian Proprietary Trading at Deutsche Bank Hong Kong, and Head of Proprietary Trading at JPMorgan Hong Kong and Ord Minnett.
Block.one is a software publisher specializing in high performance blockchain technologies. Its first project, EOSIO, an open-source blockchain protocol designed to enable secure data transfer and high-performance decentralized applications, has received global recognition as the first performant blockchain platform for developers, following its introduction in May 2017.
The EOSIO engineering team is led by Dan Larimer, the inventor of the revolutionary Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) consensus mechanism. DPOS processes the majority of blockchain transactions globally and powers the EOSIO software launched in June 2018.
Block.one is a Cayman organization employing over 200 people globally, with offices in Hong Kong, California, and Virginia.
The EOS VC program offers developers and entrepreneurs the funding they need to create community-driven businesses leveraging EOSIO. It provides support through venture capital partnership funds that primarily aim to achieve sustained utilization of the EOSIO ecosystem by investing in a concentrated and diversified portfolio of blockchain-focused companies building on the EOSIO software.
In December 2017, Block.one committed to investing over US$1 billion in the EOSIO platform through EOS VC. The venture arm has announced deployment of capital through partnerships, including with: Derek Rundell of Eric Schmidt’s TomorrowVentures, Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, Finlab AG (ETR:A7A), Michael Cao’s EOS Global, and City of London-based SVK Crypto.