José Fernández da Ponte is President and Chief Growth Officer of the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organization focused on working with and supporting changemakers to create equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. At SDF, his focus is on ecosystem growth, scaling portfolio companies, and growing adoption across payments, tokenization, and open finance.

Most recently, José was the SVP of the Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies team at PayPal, where he drove efforts to increase access to digital currencies and expand their utility for millions of consumers globally. He led the company’s initiative in digital currencies since 2021, driving new product developments and utilization of digital currencies.

José is a frequent contributor to the digital assets space, focusing on payments, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation. His commentary has appeared in Forbes, Fortune, Reuters, MSNBC, and Bloomberg, among others.