dan schatt

 

 

Dan Schatt is a Peace Corps and fintech veteran. He was born in California and attended Columbia University to study law, international relations, and business. He spent six years at PayPal as the general manager of financial innovations and another five years at Stockpile as the chief commercial officer. He has been active in the blockchain business and advocacy groups since 2018, co-founding crypto lending firm Cred in the same year. His company, which benefited from increased interest in crypto loan solutions, had a good start in 2020. Cred teamed up with a number of well-known promoters, including NBA player Spencer Dinwiddie.

 

His fortunes, however, began to crumble at the close of the year. Cred rapidly fell in November after financial difficulties surfaced in October, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The corporation was unable to discharge its obligations due to a "fraudulent occurrence," with liabilities totaling up to $150 million out of a maximum of $100 million in assets. 

 

 

Nonetheless, His narrative in 2020 served as a key reminder of why crypto's self-custody values — and their extension through decentralised finance — are so significant. Though DeFi has its own set of hazards, the movement's intrinsic transparency and trustlessness make it ultimately superior to crypto neobanks.

The narrative of Schatt and Cred should serve as a cautionary tale for what DeFi should not be as we enter the new year.