CHARLES CASCARILLA remains unique in the cryptosphere, owning the only blockchain infrastructure to be regulated by a centralised body.
But who is the crypto entrepreneur and just how much is his firm Paxos worth?
Who is Charles Cascarilla?
Charles Cascarilla was born in 1976 And grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended the prestigious private school called Saint Ignatius High School.
After completing his studies he moved to Indiana where he attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance in 1999.
From there he entered straight into the world of finance and was hired by the Bank of America as an analyst before later joining Goldman Sachs and then the investment firm Claiborne Capital Management.
But by 2004, just five years after graduating from university, Cascarilla was ready to be his own boss. He and a friend set up their own asset management firm called Cedar Hill Capital Partners.
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In total he spent 10 years working at the partnership, and it was during his time at Cedar Hill that he first learnt about cryptocurrency.
Having worked in finance during the 2008 economic crisis, Cascarilla was acutely aware of the risks and flaws in the global market system. When he first heard of Bitcoin in 2010, he saw blockchain technology as the solution to these problems.
“We were there from the very beginning,” he said in a media interview as he spoke about being among the first to adopt Bitcoin.
“I know I definitely was not patient zero but I’ve got to be like patient 100 or something of the whole network.”
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In 2012 Cascarilla went about setting up Paxos – though it was initially called itBit Bitcoin exchange – to make use of the opportunities offered by crypto.
The firm aimed to become the vehicle that would allow traditional investors to interact with crypto. It allows assets to move frictionlessly between physical and digital money and commodities.
In 2019, Paxos teamed up with Binance to make the stable coin Binance USD (BUSD). It was launched with the blessing of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDPS).
Appearing in front of a US House of Representatives committee on financial services in 2021 he also outlined why he believed blockchain technology offered a new and better approach to finance and why it should be adopted by the major established firms.
“During my 22-year career in financial services as an analyst, investor, and entrepreneur, I have witnessed the shortcomings and systemic risks of our financial market infrastructure firsthand — and I’ve seen how digital assets, and the blockchain technologies they’re based on, could solve many of those problems,” he said in written testimony.
“The financial industry has been slow to adapt to changing technologies and shifts in consumer demand – and remains vulnerable to some of the same dangers that caused the 2008 financial crisis.”
Paxos has undertaken more than $1trillion in FX trades and commodities since it launched.
What makes Paxos unusual is that in 2015 it became the first – and the only – regulated blockchain infrastructure platform.
Explaining his decision to apply to be regulated from the outset, he said last year: “We think of ourselves as a technology company and as a regulated financial institution. What’s important for us is being trustworthy and being very credible. So we created a trust company in New York in May 2015.”
Initially, the decision to be regulated appeared paid off, with Paxos boasting it was largely unimpacted by the May 2022 crypto crash. The firm was able to seamlessly move investments from crypto into other financial markets, avoiding customers withdrawing money at large.
Writing on Paxos’s blog at the start of 2023, Cascarilla hailed a “tremendous year” for his company “despite market turmoil”.
“We continue to measure our success by our ability to act with integrity, protect customer assets and innovate within established regulatory frameworks,” he said.
“Paxos also successfully navigated market fallout following the collapse of FTX.
“Today, we remain vigilant in ensuring robust liquidity on our exchange amidst market volatility. We continue to monitor and mitigate partner and counterparty exposure from the broader contagion following FTX.
“Our business is stronger than ever because of our vigilant risk mitigation and consistent, regulatory-first approach.”
However, in February 2023 Paxos was hit with a setback over its decision to be regulated. The NYDPS called on Paxos to stop minting BUSD over “several unresolved issues” related to the investment firm’s oversight of its relationship with Binance for the token.
Paxos decided to end its relationship with Binance as a result in order to remain in check with the regulator.
What is Paxos’ net worth?
Paxos is thought to have a valuation of as much as $2.4billion.
It has undertaken a number of investment rounds since first being set up, receiving over $500million in funding in total. Backers include PayPal Ventures, Declaration Partners and others.
What is Charles Cascarilla’s net worth?
Charles Cascarilla’s personal net worth remains a mystery. With Paxos remaining a privately owned trust company, there is little way of identifying his exact net worth.
Some websites have speculated his net worth is between $5-10million. Given he is understood to still own a significant stake in his $2.4billion firm, it is likely he is worth at least that amount, if not more.
