Former PayPal Executive Appointed CFO at Hyperion DeFi
Date: 2025-09-30 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: BUSINESS
David Knox, who previously held senior positions at PayPal, has joined digital asset management company Hyperion DeFi. He will now be responsible for the company's financial strategy and development. He led equity and credit finance at PayPal for approximately eighteen months, and previously worked at SoFi Technologies and Cantor Fitzgerald. According to Knox, his move represents a "rare opportunity to be at the center of financial innovation."
Hyperion is actively building a cryptocurrency portfolio, including the HYPE token, associated with the Hyperliquid platform. Previously known as Eyenovia Inc. and traded on the Nasdaq, the company has raised approximately $50 million in funding since its rebranding in July, and its shares have more than quadrupled since the summer.
The appointment coincides with a debate in the crypto industry over controversial methods for valuing crypto treasury firms. NYDIG research representative Greg Cipolaro stated that the mNAV metric should not be used because it misleads investors.
He stated that the metric ignores some operating assets, focusing solely on cryptocurrency positions. Furthermore, it incorrectly accounts for convertible debt, treating it as equity. Cipolaro emphasized that, in reality, holders of such debt will demand repayment in cash rather than shares, creating a much more serious liability for companies.
The expert's statements came shortly after Strive acquired Semler Scientific. This event marked the first merger of companies operating in the crypto treasury sector. According to Cipolaro, the share price of the combined entity will be determined by how investors value the assets—at a premium or discount to net asset value.
Additional attention to the topic was also sparked by WSJ reports in September, which noted that US regulators were investigating cases of possible insider trading in digital asset companies.
Thus, Knox's appointment to Hyperion DeFi and the concurrent discussions around digital asset valuation methods demonstrate active changes in the industry: leading experts from traditional finance are moving to crypto companies, and the companies themselves are increasingly becoming the focus of both investor interest and regulatory scrutiny.
