Another PayPal Co-Founder Is Embracing Blockchain's 'Seismic Shift'

Sharing economy startup Origin has tapped a PayPal co-founder and early YouTube employee as its latest hire.

Yu Pan, who is also a former Google employee and the co-founder of Kiwi Crate, an educational subscription kit service for kids, is the company's newest research and development engineer, co-founder Josh Fraser told CoinDesk.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, Origin's open source protocol facilitates the development of peer-to-peer decentralized marketplaces that eliminate what it describes as "Rent-seeking middlemen" in other sharing economy services like Airbnb.

Origin co-founder Matthew Liu, another early YouTube employee, approached Pan about the position, which will also be his first blockchain endeavor.

Despite his recent entry into the space, Pan told CoinDesk that his decision to join Origin fits into his longstanding career interests.

"During my career I've been oscillating between financial and media startups," he said via email, adding that "For financial startups I've always looked for something that can create a seismic shift in the way commerce is done - I believe Origin Protocol can be one of those."

Origin recently received a similarly strong endorsement from investors, announcing the conclusion of a $28.5 million SAFT sale in April.

Notable participants included Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, former Y Combinator partner Garry Tan and venture capital firm Foundation Capital.

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