Ziglu CEO Mark Hipperson resigns

“As a founder, it's never easy to step away from something you've built from the ground up, but I feel it's the right time for me to take a step back and pursue new opportunities.”

Ziglu’s founder and CEO Mark Hipperson has resigned from the crypto-focused neobank.

Hipperson shared the news on LinkedIn, stating that he will now support the company as a director and shareholder.

He founded Ziglu in 2018, and went on to launch the banking services company in June 2020, fully regulated and fully authorised by the FCA – it was one of the first three companies with FCA registration as a crypto-asset firm.

Hipperson started Ziglu just a few years after co-founding Starling Bank, where he served as the digital bank’s second chief technology officer (after Monzo co-founder Tom Blomfield), having left when the company received its banking licence.

“As a founder, it's never easy to step away from something you've built from the ground up, but I feel it's the right time for me to take a step back and pursue new opportunities,” Hipperson wrote.

“I leave Ziglu as one of only a few firms to be licensed and certified for banking services and crypto in the UK and EU with its own purpose-built technology. 

“We have a highly talented team, and a supportive Board and we will, I’m sure, continue disrupting the fintech industry.”

According to Hipperson’s LinkedIn profile, he transitioned from CEO to non-executive director in January.

Ziglu did not reply to AltFi’s request for comment at the time of publication, and it is currently not known who the company’s next CEO will be.

Last year, US digital wealth giant Robinhood had been set to acquire Ziglu, with the deal set for $170m.

Just a few months later, Robinhood slashed its offer, as exclusively revealed by AltFi, to c.£60m ($72.5m).

Hipperson wrote that despite the recent collapse of the Robinhood deal, he is proud of what he and the Ziglu team have accomplished, saying “I know that Ziglu has a bright future ahead”.