A British woman who created the credit default swap has emerged as one of the world’s richest cryptocurrency and blockchain tycoons.

Blythe Masters, formerly head of commodities at JP Morgan, was boss of Digital Asset Holdings, a start-up funded by some of the world’s largest banks, between 2015 and 2018.

The 51-year-old is still on the board of the company, which specialises in blockchain technology, which is a type of database.

Fortune: Blythe Masters, formerly head of commodities at JP Morgan, was boss of Digital Asset Holdings, a start-up funded by some of the world's largest banks, between 2015 and 2018

Fortune: Blythe Masters, formerly head of commodities at JP Morgan, was boss of Digital Asset Holdings, a start-up funded by some of the world's largest banks, between 2015 and 2018

Fortune: Blythe Masters, formerly head of commodities at JP Morgan, was boss of Digital Asset Holdings, a start-up funded by some of the world’s largest banks, between 2015 and 2018

She has amassed a personal fortune of £360million, according to research from online forum Traders of Crypto. 

It makes her the only Briton, and the only woman, in the top 25 richest cryptocurrency tycoons globally.

She was once labelled ‘the woman who invented financial weapons of mass destruction’, due to the role played by credit default swaps – a financial derivative or contract that allows an investor to ‘swap’ their credit risk with that of another investor – in the 2008 financial crisis.

Masters has defended the instruments saying ‘poor workmen tend to blame their tools’.

#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .footerText a:hover{text-decoration: underline;} #fiveDealsWidget .footerSmall{font-size:10px; padding-top:10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

You May Also Like

Will my mum lose a £175k inheritance tax allowance when she moves?

Heather Rogers: Find out how to ask her a tax question in the…

Taxi app Uber hails its first ever full-year profit as demand for its cabs soars

Uber has posted its first ever full-year profit as demand for its…

M&S shoppers go wild for an 85p hot meal – it’s super tasty and will save on your dinner

SOME may find that Marks & Spencer’s is usually the supermarket which…

Sainsbury’s opening times 2021: hours and online delivery advice

ALTHOUGH Sainsbury’s can still open over lockdown three, the store has made…