tokenist.com
Jean-Michel Pailhon, Chief of Staff at Ledger, will be stepping down from his role at the company after six years, he said in a blog post on LinkedIn. The move comes as Pailhon plans to embark on a new journey to make digital art and NFTs “more accessible” to wider audiences.
Pailhon to Focus on NFT Curation After Six Years at Ledger
Ledger’s top executive Jean-Michel Pailhon is leaving the hardware crypto wallet developer to focus on his non-fungible token (NFT) art venture, he announced in a LinkedIn post. Pailhon, who served as Ledger’s chief of staff, will leave the company after six years.
“After almost 6 years at Ledger I will be leaving the company and embarking on a new entrepreneurial journey in the digital art and crypto assets worlds.”
– Jean-Michel Pailhon announced on LinkedIn.
In addition to pursuing his entrepreneurial ambitions in the NFT space, Pailhon said he will also offer his services “as an advisor for Web3 startups.” Pailhon believes that NFTs can potentially transform the art world in the following years, as well as numerous other industries.
More specifically, Pailhon said he would focus on “making digital art (through NFT) more accessible” to the broader public, such as institutions, investors, and art collectors. Separate reports suggested that Pailhon intends to look at NFT curation in particular.
However, it appears that Pailhon will not completely cut his ties with Ledger. The NFT enthusiast said he would continue collaborating with the Ledger team on its NFT Art Collection, a project announced in December. He will step down from his Manager Curator role of the collection and join its NFT Art Advisory Board.
Pailhon’s Focus on NFT Concides With Market Rebound
Pailhon’s exit from Ledger comes after nearly six years. Since joining the company in May 2017, Pailhon developed a close relationship with its CEO, Pascal Gauthier, who founded the crypto market data provider Kaiko.
The pair have collaborated on many strategic endeavors and projects, including “building the custodian Komainu, building the C-suite, several fundraisings, and opening offices in many countries,” he said in the post.
Pailhon’s decision to dive deeper into digital art follows a recent rebound in the NFT after a very harsh and slow 2022. NFT sales slumped significantly last year amid a broader market downturn triggered by harsh macroeconomic conditions and a string of collapses in the industry.
But recent data suggest that the worst might be over, with the leading NFT marketplace OpenSea seeing the first monthly sales increase in January in a year. In addition, NFT lending hit an all-time high in January following a significant surge in market activity.