Former Swift CEO Joins Stablecoin Firm OpenTrade as Chairman

Former Swift Chief Lazaro Campos Takes Helm as OpenTrade Chairman

Lazaro Campos, the former chief executive officer of global financial messaging network Swift, has officially joined OpenTrade as chairman. The London-based company, which specializes in providing institutional-grade stablecoin yield products, announced the high-profile appointment on Friday. The move bridges mainstream global banking infrastructure with decentralized technology, placing a veteran leader of international financial communication at the forefront of digital asset settlement and yield generation.

Campos’s appointment comes nearly six months after OpenTrade raised $17 million in a funding round targeted at scaling its business operations. The platform works directly with fintech companies, cryptocurrency exchanges, and digital wallet providers, enabling them to offer yield-bearing returns on their stablecoin balances. OpenTrade expects Campos to play a strategic role in steering the company’s expansion as institutional adoption of stablecoins gathers pace across traditional financial firms.

Highlighting the ongoing transformation in global value transfer, Campos underscored the role of yield in driving utility for digital assets. I’ve spent most of my career on the infrastructure the world uses to move money. Stablecoins are the next chapter, and yield is what makes them useful to businesses and the people they serve, Campos said.

Rapid Growth in Transaction Volumes and Total Value Locked

Alongside the leadership announcement, OpenTrade shared notable milestones regarding its platform usage and asset growth. The company reported that it has processed more than $1 billion in transactions over the past 12 months. Concurrently, its total value locked (TVL)—the aggregate value of assets deposited within the platform—has climbed to $300 million.

This upward momentum reflects substantial growth since earlier in the year. In May, when OpenTrade unveiled its $17 million capital raise, the company held just over $200 million in locked assets and had recorded $250 million in cumulative transaction volume over the preceding 12-month period. The latest figures show a fourfold increase in transaction throughput alongside steady inflows into its yield-generating infrastructure.

Why This Matters

The transition of senior leadership from institutions like Swift to digital asset platforms underscores the accelerating convergence between traditional finance (TradFi) and blockchain-based financial rails. As cross-border payment providers, fintechs, and corporate treasuries look to mitigate inflation and optimize cash management, stablecoins backed by productive yield offer a functional bridge. Having an established figure who previously oversaw the world’s primary interbank messaging system lends regulatory and institutional credibility to OpenTrade as it seeks to scale integrations across corporate and institutional balance sheets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Lazaro Campos?

Lazaro Campos is a financial technology executive and former chief executive officer of Swift, the global cooperative that powers the interbank messaging infrastructure used by thousands of financial institutions worldwide. He has now taken on the role of chairman at OpenTrade.

What does OpenTrade do?

OpenTrade is a London-based financial technology company that enables fintechs, digital wallets, and crypto exchanges to provide yield-earning opportunities on their stablecoin balances.

How much has OpenTrade grown recently?

Over the past 12 months, OpenTrade has facilitated more than $1 billion in transaction volume and reached $300 million in total value locked (TVL), expanding from $250 million in volume and $200 million in TVL reported in May.