Neel Kashkari is an American banker and politician who currently serves as the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. He was previously a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he worked in investment banking and equity financing from 2002 to 2006. In 2008, Kashkari ran for the office of Governor of California, but lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger in a close race.
Kashkari has been involved with cryptocurrency since his tenure at Goldman Sachs, when he helped finance several early-stage blockchain startups such as Coinbase and Ripple. After leaving Goldman Sachs, Kashkari became an advisor to Pantera Capital Management LLC, one of the first institutional investors in Bitcoin and other digital assets.
In 2018, after being nominated by President Donald Trump for president of the Federal Reserve Bank System’s Minneapolis branch to replace Narayana Kocherlakota (the first Indian American leader), Neel started taking up topics related to cryptocurrencies more seriously. His public stance on cryptocurrencies has been generally positive: while expressing caution about potential risks associated with them such as fraudulent activity or cyber security issues; he also believes that digital currencies could potentially offer greater efficiency benefits than existing payment systems over time if they are properly regulated.
He has advocated further research into understanding how distributed ledger technology can be used within banking systems worldwide – both publicly through speeches delivered at various events around Minnesota’s Twin Cities area as well as privately via meetings held between himself and representatives from major financial institutions across America alongside government regulators such as FINRA & SEC officials
