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| Place of birth | California |
| Category | DeFi |
| Alma mater | Columbia University, Master in Business Administration |
Biography:
Dan Schatt is a fintech and Peace Corps veteran. Hailing from California, he studied law, international relations and business at Columbia University. His career includes a six-year tenure at PayPal as general manager of financial innovations and another five years as the chief commercial officer of Stockpile. Since 2018, he has been involved in the blockchain industry and advocacy groups, co-founding crypto lending company Cred that same year.
Schatt’s 2020:
2020 started quite well for Schatt, whose company was able to benefit from increasing interest in crypto lending solutions. Cred partnered with several notable promoters, including NBA player Spencer Dinwiddie.
Unfortunately, Schatt’s fortunes came crashing down toward the end of the year. As solvency issues gradually began coming to light in October, Cred quickly collapsed in November, filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A “fraudulent incident” resulted in the company being unable to service its debt; out of a maximum of $100 million in assets, its liabilities total up to $150 million.
Many of the platform’s users are now locked out of their funds, with few prospects of a reimbursement.
Schatt’s 2021:
Cointelegraph hopes that Schatt can repair at least some of the damage to customers caused by his company’s demise. The damage to his reputation, however, may be too great for a return to the scene in 2021 — or possibly, ever.
Nonetheless, Schatt’s story in 2020 served as a crucially important reminder of why crypto’s ideals of self-custody — and the extension of those ideals through decentralized finance — are so important. Though DeFi carries its own set of risks, the transparency and trustlessness inherent to the movement make it ultimately superior to crypto neobanks.
As we head into the new year, the story of Schatt and Cred should continue to serve as a cautionary tale for what DeFi shouldn’t be.