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John Velissarios
Global Managing Director - Blockchain and Multiparty Systems - Digital Assets, Custody & CBDC Lead
John Velissarios is a seasoned technology and financial services professional with expertise in blockchain, digital assets, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). He served as the Global Managing Director - Blockchain and Multiparty Systems - Digital Assets, Custody, and CBDC Lead at Accenture for nearly 20 years until March 2023. In this role, he led global initiatives for digital currencies and financial systems transformation, working with central banks and financial institutions worldwide.12
John has over 25 years of experience in IT security, cryptography, and digital financial markets. His career includes leadership roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he specialized in technology risk services, and as Co-Founder & CEO of Armory Key Management Services, a Bitcoin startup.1 He is also recognized as an industry thought leader, frequently speaking at conferences and contributing to publications on blockchain and CBDC topics.123
Currently, John is the Founder & Director of Otranto Limited, a consultancy focused on digital financial markets and CBDC solutions. He also serves as Chief Advisor to the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s Digital Tenge Project and as an Expert Advisor to organizations like the Digital Euro Association.12 John holds advanced degrees in Computer Science with a specialization in cryptography from Concordia University.1
Highlights
The first CBDC transactions integrated with bank card payment schemes in a limited production CBDC, aka ‘Real Money’. Visa, Mastercard
Almaty, Kazakhstan Today - 15/11/2023 The 30th Anniversary of the Tenge
A wonderful and exciting day at the XI Kazakhstan Financial Congress - Tenge: Road to the Global Markets and the launch of the limited production rollout of the Digital Tenge.
The project also covered other exciting areas including transport payments, Swift, Binance, Bank for International Settlements – BIS mBridge, securities settlement with Stock Exchange, Kazakhstan Stock Exchange
This is a result of a multi-year journey with many people involved. I’m proud and honoured to be here with team to showcase the results of this great national and global achievement and to mark the beginning of a new journey in the broader deployment of the Digital Tenge. This project should also serve as a lighthouse for all Central Banks that are looking at deploying CBDC in their markets. Onwards and upwards!
Binur Zhalenov, Ainur Kenzhayeva, Dias Savetkanov, Aigerim Babagaliyeva, Anton Musin, Vincent Mele, National Payments Corporation of Kazakhstan, The National Bank of Kazakhstan.
