Warden has worked in the public and private sectors, as well as for a non-profit organization. She is now the CEO of the Algorand Foundation.
Algorand’s Prospects
The Algorand Foundation aims to develop an open, public, and permissionless blockchain by utilizing the Algorand protocol and open-source software.
With an estimated 1.7 billion people in the world without access to money, Warden argues that the Algorand protocol is best positioned to handle the problem at scale due to its speed, security, and decentralization.
In a statement, Algorand Foundation Board Chairman Kieron Guilfoyle said, “Staci recognizes the potential for Algorand to become a dominant layer-1 blockchain, and she has the knowledge and expertise to drive our worldwide efforts to expand and give tremendous value to our community.” “I’m sure she’ll move the Algorand Foundation into its expansion phase right away.”
Transaction costs are 0.001 ALGO, and the blockchain handles 1,000 transactions per second, according to Warden.
According to Coinmarketcap, the market value of Algorand’s native currency ALGO is approximately $7 billion, making it the 25th largest cryptocurrency, ahead of Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Warden’s Point of View on Blockchain & Algorand
Warden became a member of the Algorand Foundation board of directors in September. She will succeed Sean Lee, who served as CEO for the previous 18 months and is now looking for new possibilities outside the company.
She originally became interested in cryptocurrency while working at the Milken Institute, where she was the director of the organization’s worldwide market development practice.
While working at the non-profit, she was charged with providing financial education to the press, and in 2013, people grew interested in bitcoin.
Warden stated that she made it her personal mission to better grasp the digital asset and the technology that underpins it, spending her free time listening to industry pioneers like Gavin Andresen and Brock Pierce.
“I thought the idea of bitcoin’s proof-of-work and the idea that you could have a well-functioning monetary supply dynamic in a trustless environment was really wonderful.“
She would subsequently learn about Ethereum and the concept of programmable money with no middlemen.
She further added :
“I think it hit me particularly hard because I had such a deep experience in developing countries and emerging markets.”
Warden explained, “where financial intermediaries don’t function very well and can be really rent-seeking to people who are just trying to save money, invest it properly, and improve their lives.”
Warden has worked on capital market development and financial inclusion in underdeveloped nations in a variety of roles throughout her career.
She was an executive director at JPMorgan for eight years until joining the Milken Institute in 2013. She was in charge of the company’s public sector division in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, which was tasked with developing emerging market capital markets.
Prior to joining JPMorgan, she worked as an international economist for the US Treasury Department and then as the head of Nasdaq’s two micro-cap markets.
Warden wrote about crypto and blockchain for the Milken Institute’s publication after learning about it while at the Milken Institute.
“Fundamentally,” she added of the industry, “it is possibly the answer for financial inclusion, and that is really important to me.”
“You’re not really playing the game when you’re at a think tank; you’re more observing and trying to mold the game, and I guess I decided I wanted to be on the field.”
