Plasma, the company behind the first stablecoin-native neobank and the infrastructure powering it, announced the appointment of Zaheer Ebtikar as Chief Strategy Officer. The appointment reinforces Plasma’s commitment to making stablecoins practical for everyday use worldwide, beginning with the launch of its stablecoin-native neobank, Plasma One.
Ebtikar brings more than eight years at the centre of crypto markets, combining macroeconomic insight with deep relationships across the institutional, trading, and infrastructure layers of the ecosystem. As Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Split Capital, he built one of crypto’s most prominent hedge funds. He has also held senior roles at LedgerPrime, Deribit, and Immutable Capital.
The global stablecoin supply has nearly doubled in the past year. Institutions worldwide are racing to define their strategies, yet no product has bridged the gap between stablecoin infrastructure and a full consumer banking experience. Plasma One is designed to be exactly that: the first stablecoin-native neobank, turning stablecoins into a practical tool for everyday spending, saving, and business use across markets.
To support that ambition, Plasma is building a vertically integrated licensing and technology stack, acquiring regulatory licenses in key markets and bringing critical infrastructure in-house. This own-the-stack approach is designed to deliver lower costs, greater reliability, and a defensible long-term position in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Chief Strategy Officer, Zaheer Ebtikar, said: “I remember visiting the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and seeing the sheer volume of over-the-counter transactions between cash, lira and USD₮. That moment made clear to me that stablecoins aren’t a niche, they’re becoming the backbone of how people actually move money. What drew me to Plasma is that they’re not just building another chain. They’re building the first product that puts a stablecoin-powered banking service in anyone’s hands, and assembling the licensing infrastructure to make it work at scale.”
CEO, Paul Faecks, said: “Zaheer brings a rare combination of deep market intuition, institutional credibility, and genuine conviction in what we’re building. As we move from mainnet to product launch, his strategic leadership will be critical in driving Plasma One into the hands of users worldwide.”
About Plasma
Plasma builds financial products for consumers and businesses using stablecoins instead of traditional banking rails. Plasma One, its first product, lets users send, spend, save, and earn with stablecoins. Everything runs on Plasma’s own blockchain, built from the ground up for speed, reliability, and scale.