Experienced builders shaping the next generation of digital finance
Why We Built Crown
At Crown, we believe that real financial progress requires more than speed, it demands structure, transparency and trust.
We came together to solve a persistent problem: the lack of digital, enterprise-grade access to the Brazilian real. We believe delivering a solution to this problem requires first-principles thinking, focused on safety, transparency and compliance.
So we built something new: a financial foundation for Brazil’s digital future. Crown delivers a platform where safety is paramount, compliance is native and everything is made to minimize risk and maximize value to our institutional partners. Programmable, liquid, institutional-grade infrastructure, designed from day one for the most demanding builders and markets.
Crown isn’t just building stablecoins. We’re making money work better in emerging markets.
Founding
Team
John Delaney
Co-Founder & CEO
John is a builder and investor with 15+ years of experience in crypto and financial markets. Prior to founding Crown, he led major web3 finance and infrastructure projects in both operating and board roles, served as COO at Xerpa (backed by Kaszek and QED, acquired by Betterfly), and was an international finance lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb. John holds a J.D. from Georgetown University and a B.A. in international relations from the University of Washington.
Vinicius Correa
Co-Founder and Principal Engineer
Vinicius is a product-minded engineer with a track record of building products in complex domains from the ground up. He was co-founder and CTO at Pipo Saúde (backed by Kaszek, Monashees, and Thrive) and began his career as an early engineer at Nubank. He has led technical teams across financial infrastructure and B2B healthcare platforms. Vinicius holds a B.Eng. in Computer Engineering from the University of São Paulo (USP).
Alex Gorra
Founding Partner & Head of Ecosystem
Alexander brings over 30 years of experience in high-trust roles across global finance. He was Managing Partner at Brainvest, a $5B multi-family office, and previously held leadership roles at ARX Investments, UBS, Rothschild, and JP Morgan. He has deep expertise in structuring BRL carry trade products and advising institutional clients. Alexander earned his degree in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Bruno “BL” Passos
COO
Bruno brings two decades of experience at the intersection of technology, risk, compliance, and operations. Prior to joining Crown, he led cross-functional teams at Hashdex, where he played a key role in scaling crypto investment infrastructure across global markets with a focus on operational excellence and regulatory alignment. Earlier in his career, Bruno held leadership roles at Polo Capital, where he developed risk management systems and cloud-based solutions, and managed IT and engineering teams.
Bianca Soares
Head of Marketing
Vitor Makoto
Founding Engineer
Board of Directors
John Delaney
Crown
Ed Wible
Nubank co-founder
Michael Anderson
Framework Ventures
Bruno Batavia
Valor Capital, former Brazilian Central Bank
Backed by
