John O’Connor

John O'Connor is the CEO and founder of RealFi, a stablecoin investment platform bridging decentralised finance with real-world market investments. Through its flagship product USDR - a yield-bearing stablecoin pegged to the US dollar - RealFi enables stablecoin holders to earn sustainable, high-yield returns. Built on the Cardano blockchain and integrated with the Lace wallet, the platform is designed to make DeFi yields simple, transparent and accessible to users worldwide.

A senior fintech and crypto operator, John brings deep experience across digital assets, stablecoins, financial infrastructure and emerging-market technology. He was the first hire at the Cardano Foundation, where he played a pivotal role in scaling the Cardano ecosystem to approximately $100 billion. He went on to become a Partner at Lighthouse, a circa $50 million crypto multi-manager fund.

Beyond financial markets, John has also worked at the intersection of technology and social impact. He led the design and early deployment of a five million-user digital identity pilot in Ethiopia, supporting the rollout of national-scale digital public infrastructure.

Entrepreneurial and hands-on, John combines strategic vision with deep technical expertise in stablecoins, crypto markets and product development. At RealFi, he is focused on making yield-bearing stablecoins a cornerstone of the next generation of decentralised finance.