From McDonald's Employee to Encryption Business Leader: Johann Kerbrat's Robinhood Journey

Fifteen years ago, 21-year-old Johann Kerbrat spent his youth in a small apartment near the French Riviera. During the day he worked at a fast-food restaurant, and at night he taught himself programming. Today, Kerbrat has become the Senior Vice President and Director of Encryption Business at a well-known fintech company, leading the company to launch a series of ambitious encryption products.

Starting a Business

Kerbrat fondly recalls his first studio, "possibly smaller than a typical family bathroom." Before entering the University of Nice, he quit his job to start his first fintech startup. It was a no-code payment company aimed at helping small merchants build e-commerce websites without a technical background.

"That was when e-commerce was just starting out. Merchants either had to spend tens of thousands of euros to hire agencies or could not conduct online business at all. Our idea was to enable people to create their own stores without needing technical knowledge, somewhat like some of the well-known e-commerce platforms today."

This idea comes at the right time. In the early 2010s, online commerce was booming, and Kerbrat's tools provided small businesses with the opportunity to compete. At the same time, this experience made him realize the vulnerabilities and high costs of the global financial system.

Bitcoin Enlightenment

Kerbrat later recalled that a conversation with a Greek classmate made him realize the limitations of the traditional banking system. His classmate told him that during the Eurozone crisis, his family's bank accounts were frozen, and life came to a standstill for a while. Meanwhile, merchants on his platform also continuously reported high fees, complicated refund processes, and uncontrollable credit card fraud issues.

"Then I read the Bitcoin white paper," he said, "and I thought at that moment: 'This could be the solution to all problems.'"

It was 2010. Kerbrat began assembling mining machines, deploying wallets, and trying to build a payment interface based on Bitcoin. He did not use Bitcoin to get rich quickly, nor did he become a speculator, but instead worked hard to understand the true potential behind this technology.

"At that stage, you will realize that cryptocurrency is not just an asset, but a structural transformation."

Career Transition

After that, Kerbrat joined several well-known technology companies and became a core engineer. Before joining the current company, he served as Vice President of Engineering in a blockchain project focused on privacy technology, mainly researching privacy technologies like zero-knowledge proofs. This experience brought him back to the encryption field and made him realize that "user experience" is the biggest shortcoming in the encryption industry.

In 2021, he officially joined the current company as Chief Technology Officer, and in 2023, he was promoted to Senior Vice President and General Manager.

Breakthrough in Encryption Business

Under the leadership of Kerbrat, the company has successively launched several important products:

1. In 2022, a non-custodial wallet was launched. This is a Web3 browser aimed at beginner users, with a simple and easy-to-use interface.

2. Starting in 2023, support for Bitcoin transfers and on-chain asset withdrawals will begin, marking the company's transition from "trading interface" to "encryption infrastructure."

3. In 2024, the company acquired a European encryption exchange, leveraging its more than 50 licenses as a foothold to enter the European market. Kerbrat believes that this is an inevitable choice given the unclear regulatory situation in the United States.

He emphasized that "compliance is not an obstacle, but a market barrier." This is also the key for the company to establish a foothold in the encryption business.

New Product Launch

Recently, the company announced a series of new initiatives:

• Expand the issuance of tokenized US stocks and ETFs in Europe
• Launching encryption currency staking services in the United States
• Provide perpetual futures for eligible EU traders
• Launching a new Layer 2 blockchain optimized for real-world asset settlement and 24/7 trading.

Kerbrat stated that their goal is to make encryption technology "invisible" in the background, just like plumbing. "You don’t think about how the water flows to your faucet; you just expect it to be available as soon as you turn it on."

These new products include:

• Tokenized US stocks and ETFs available to users in 30 EU and EEA countries.
• The Ethereum and Solana staking services launched in the United States
• Provide up to 3x leverage for cryptocurrency perpetual futures in Europe
• Upgrades such as smart exchange routing, tax batch management, and advanced charting tools

"When we talk about mass adoption," Kerbrat said, "this is what it looks like. A product that people use without needing to understand how it works."

Personal Review

For Kerbrat, this product launch is also a profoundly significant return. His parents specifically came to watch the launch event. They still remember those early days - the cramped apartment, the first line of code, and the endless conversations with merchants who questioned his ideas.

Kerbrat said: "We chose this place because the license approval and the conference are held here, but I won't pretend that this feels good." He paused for a moment, organized his thoughts, "I never thought I would come back in this way."

From a young man working at a fast food restaurant to now leading the encryption business of a large fintech company, Kerbrat's experience showcases the rapid development of the encryption industry and the significant achievements that individuals can realize in this field.