MobileCoin’s new CEO wants to focus on cross-border payments

Sara Drakeley was previously the CTO of MobileCoin

September 15, 2023 04:20 pm

Dang Pham/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

MobileCoin has appointed Sara Drakeley as CEO of the global payment infrastructure company.

Drakeley was previously chief technology officer at the firm, though she told Blockworks that she joined MobileCoin five years ago as an engineer following stints at SpaceX and Disney Animation Studios.

MobileCoin, known for its partnership with encrypted messaging app Signal, was in the news earlier this year after its chief product officer, Bob Lee, was killed in San Francisco.

Lee was also the creator of Cash App. The SFPD announced an arrest in connection with his killing in April.

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

In an interview with Blockworks, Drakeley explained that part of her focus for MobileCoin (MOB) is “solving real problems for real people.”

In particular, she noted, she wants to focus on cross-border payments. Sending “money should be as easy as sending Signal messages,” said Drakeley.

“We are enabling communities globally to take control of their assets securely, hopefully leading to more economic development and stability through reliable infrastructure and easy-to-use mobile applications,” Drakeley said in a press release announcing her appointment on Wednesday.

She added: “The way that the traditional payments infrastructure works today is broken; taking anywhere from a day to a month for people to access their money is unacceptable in the age of rapid technological advancement.”

Drakeley also added that she believes stablecoins are critical for the infrastructure of global payments, and noted that there’s an appetite for them.

In October of last year, MobileCoin — in partnership with Reserve — announced its own stablecoin, Electronic Dollars (eUSD), which is its own stablecoin. According to the announcement on the MobileCoin site, eUSD is “always backed by a basket of fully collateralized stablecoins.”

The company is also eyeing an expansion into Latin America and Africa.

“The goal is to provide innovative solutions that cater directly to these markets’ unique needs and challenges and continue its global expansion through feedback from these users,” the press release said.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

Kinetiq Protocol: From LST Infrastructure to HIP-3 Deployer

Kinetiq has established itself as Hyperliquid's dominant liquid staking protocol, holding 82.5% of LST market share with $610M in TVL. The protocol is now expanding beyond its kHYPE staking core into higher take-rate verticals: iHYPE for institutional custody rails, Launch for HIP-3 capital formation, and Markets for builder-deployed perpetuals. We view Markets, launching Jan. 12, as the highest-potential product line given its mechanically scalable, activity-linked unit economics. Near-term revenue remains anchored by kHYPE's KIP-2 fee schedule (~$1.6M annualized), while Markets provides embedded optionality if HIP-3 economics normalize post-Growth Mode. KNTQ's setup is relatively clean: zero insider unlocks until November 2026, 6.2% buyback yield from staking revenue, and cleared airdrop overhang. Risks center on unproven Markets execution, declining kHYPE TVL despite ongoing incentives, and competition from Hyperliquid's native initiatives.

by Shaunda Devens