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Diogo Mónica

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diogo Mónica
Born
EducationPhD in computer science
Alma materInstituto Superior Técnico
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • Engineer
Years active2011–present
Known forCo-founder and president of Anchorage Digital
Websitediogomonica.com

Diogo Mónica is a Portuguese-American entrepreneur and engineer who is the co-founder of Anchorage Digital, a cryptocurrency and digital asset platform headquartered in the United States. Prior to founding Anchorage, he led cybersecurity at companies like Square and Docker.

Early life and education

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Diogo Mónica was born in the U.S. state of California, but was raised primarily in Portugal.[1] His father was a captain in the Portuguese Navy.[2] Mónica attended the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in Taguspark,[3] earning a bachelor's degree in telecommunications and informatics engineering[4] and a master's degree in communication networks engineering.[5] He ultimately earned his PhD in computer science at IST.[6]

Career

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While still at university, Mónica presented a paper at a conference in the United States, garnering job offers from Google and Facebook. He opted to take a job with the startup payment platform, Square (now Block),[3] as lead security engineer. While working at Square, Mónica identified an issue with the online reservation service, OpenTable, that let users create bots to reserve tables as soon as a reservation became available. He also wrote code that would allow other users to do the same,[7] publishing the code and his findings on his eponymous blog.[8]

In 2015, Mónica left Square[3] to become the security lead at the software company, Docker.[9] Throughout his time at Square and Docker, he was also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, chairing the institute's Public Visibility Committee for a time.[10] In November 2017, he co-founded digital asset platform Anchorage Digital with Nathan McCauley, whom he had met while working at Square.[3] Mónica is the president of Anchorage,[11] which has the first federally chartered cryptocurrency bank in the United States[12] and received a valuation of over $3 billion in 2021.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Hussey, Matt (23 October 2019). "Anchorage founder Diogo Monica: Anything short of excellence is a threat to the industry". Yahoo!. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  2. ^ Tomé, João (3 July 2021). "Anchorage, o novo unicórnio a falar português? "Queremos é abrir as criptomoedas ao mundo"". Dinheiro Vivo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Fernandes, Filipe S. (23 November 2021). "O criptobanqueiro". Jornal de Negócios (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Diogo Mónica is among the 100 most influential people in crypto". Instituto Superior Técnico. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Técnico alumnus is among Fortune 40 Under 40 list of most influential people in the world". Instituto Superior Técnico. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. ^ Ferreira Nunes, Diogo (7 September 2020). "Há um português entre os melhores talentos sub-40". Dinheiro Vivo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  7. ^ Rao, Tejal (25 September 2013). "Coveted Restaurant Reservations Without the Groveling". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  8. ^ Parsons, Russ (25 July 2013). "Are reservation robots the next weapon in snagging the hottest seats?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  9. ^ Graham, Luke (23 March 2016). "BMO to launch biometric credit card program". CNBC. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  10. ^ Bilton, Nick (16 April 2015). "Why keeping your car keys in the freezer may protect you from digital thieves". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  11. ^ Lenihan, Rob (14 March 2022). "The European Union Delivers Great News to Crypto Fans and Investors". TheStreet. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  12. ^ Yue, Frances (21 December 2021). "'No longer just bitcoin and ether': Crypto industry braces for wider adoption, more competition and perhaps regulatory clarity in 2022". MarketWatch. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  13. ^ Dillet, Romain (15 December 2021). "Crypto company Anchorage raises $350 million at $3 billion valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
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