Exclusive: Bitstamp chief executive walks out over boardroom row
Crypto exchange Bitstamp has rushed to appoint a new chief executive after Julian Sawyer walked out over a boardroom disagreement.
Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux, who has led Bitstamp’s Europe division since 2021, has taken the reins as the company’s new global chief.
In an announcement Bitstamp said Sawyer, who is leaving the company after just 18 months, quit to “pursue other opportunities.”
In comments to City PM Sawyer struck a different tone revealing that he left the exchange over a boardroom disagreement.
“I’ve been working with the board and we have a difference of opinion over the strategy of the business,” Sawyer told City PM, without elaborating on the dispute.
Sawyer first signalled his exit from the firm over the weekend when his Twitter and LinkedIn bios were updated to include the title “ex-CEO of Bitstamp.”
Sawyer, who co-founded challenger bank Starling and was briefly a director at rival crypto exchange Gemini, told City PM he is interested at pursuing opportunities in the “fintech, banking, payments” sector and “looking for the next big challenge.”
Founded in 2011 Bitstamp, the world’s eleventh largest crypto exchange by trade volume, recently announced plans to expand into the US.
“Bitstamp thanks Julian Sawyer for his hard work and commitment to growing Bitstamp as a globally recognised and trusted brand,” a spokesperson for the exchange told City PM.
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