John Zettler
I’m a product manager & founder with a hobby for investing.
I currently lead Coinbase's retail staking business, helping 5M+ customers earn interest on their crypto. My team & I run the “Earn” tab in the Coinbase app, generating ~$300M in Gross ARR.
I’ve founded a number of products, both as an entrepreneur and inside Coinbase. Most notable are cbETH — the 2nd largest liquid staking token on Ethereum — and R.A.R.E Art — one of the first NFT marketplaces for limited-edition digital art.
I publish some of my investment writing. My crypto builder experience + Wall Street hedge fund lens give me a unique perspective. Please subscribe if you’re interested.
Beyond my career, I love skiing, hiking, weightlifting, sport shooting, meditation, Phish & the Dead. Reach out if you'd like to chat :)
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Experience
Coinbase
Group Product Manager, Staking
(Jan 2023 – Present)
Staking (Coinbase Earn) helps customers earn interest on their crypto holdings
- Lead Coinbase's retail staking business, enabling 5M+ users to earn interest on the crypto they hold
- Responsible for the app's Earn tab and $300M of Gross ARR (i.e. "Blockchain rewards" revenue)
- Defend our staking business and respond to regulatory actions from the SEC & state agencies
- Lead 2 pods & company strategy on retail native staking, liquid staking, and staking asset addition
Product Lead & CoFounder, cbETH
(Feb 2022 – Jan 2023)
cbETH is a liquid staking token allowing anyone to earn yield without a lockup
- Launched cbETH as a 0→1 product, giving customers liquidity on yield-bearing staked ETH
- cbETH solved the lockup problem before Ethereum's upgrade, and now is used to avoid wait times
- Achieved 400k+ customers wrapping over $1B in staked ETH value, thus far
- Built & led the team, designed token mechanics, executed launch & DeFi go-to-market strategy
Product Lead & CoFounder, Coinbase Business
(Mar 2021 – Jan 2022)
This product sought to be the business checking account of the cryptoeconomy. It was deprioritized.
Product Lead & CoFounder, Coinbase Asset Hub
(Mar 2020 – Mar 2021)
Coinbase Asset Hub is where asset issuers list, launch, & grow their token
- Launched 0→1 product to accelerate asset addition & support our "Amazon of Assets" strategy
- Achieved 22 new asset listings in its first quarter, more than all prior-year listings combined
- Conceived product strategy, recruited resources, and executed through launch & v2 release
Product Lead, Coinbase Commerce
(Mar 2020 – Feb 2021)
Coinbase Commerce is a crypto payments processor for business
- Grew GPV/month by +619% to $87M & monthly transacting merchants by +120% to 4,600
- Drove market share from 9% → 29%, becoming #1 market leader in crypto payments
- Crafted a new product strategy & roadmap; turned on monetization
- Scaled ENG team by 3x and managed 1 PM
AngelList
Advisor, Crypto
(Aug 2021– Present)
Advise the CEO and Head of Product as a cryptocurrency subject matter expert
Rare Art Labs
CoFounder, CEO, Head of Product
(Feb 2018 – Feb 2021)
R.A.R.E Art was an early NFT marketplace for limited-edition digital art on Ethereum
Commandiv
CoFounder, CEO, Head of Product
(May 2015 – Feb 2018)
Commandiv was the 1st combined crypto & stock-trading platform for US investors
SeaStone Capital Management
Hedge Fund Investment Analyst
(Aug 2013 – May 2015)
SeaStone Capital was a long/short hedge fund focused on global equities & options
Morgan Stanley
Investment Banking Analyst
(Jun 2011 – Jul 2013)
Completed a 2-year investment banking analyst program in the Global Power, Utilities, and Clean Tech Group
Startups
R.A.R.E Art
R.A.R.E Art was an early NFT marketplace for limited-edition digital art on Ethereum.
After seeing CryptoKitties' launch, we knew that NFT technology could benefit artists creating natively-digital media (e.g. animators, videographers, digital illustrators, designers, & photographers). We figured they would bring their fans and build collector demand.
Demand was hard to come by in the 2018-9 bear market. We built an Apple TV app to display collections and told stories about our artists to promote their art. Ultimately, we were forced to put the project on the side and move on, and the site went down.
Commandiv
Commandiv was the 1st combined crypto & stock-trading platform for US investors.
We didn't set out to build in crypto, but customer demand brought us there. It was my first experience with Coinbase as a developer & customer, and I was very impressed. Around this time I fell down the Ethereum rabbit hole and haven't looked back since!
Commandiv was wound-down in Feb 2018 and we deregistered the RIA with the SEC. The product was growing and we passed an SEC audit, but compliance costs were high and our fundraise fell apart once Robinhood announced they were getting into crypto.
Product Demo
Onboarding Flow Demo
Resources
Passive Investing Rebalancer
Google Sheet • Excel Download
I use this tool to construct & rebalance my portfolio of index-tracking ETFs. It makes it easy to manage a portfolio of low-cost index funds.
Sector-by-Sector Rebalancer
Google Sheet • Excel Download
Similar to the passive investing rebalancer, but for rotating between sectors strategically. I don't try to time equities markets, but I do love lowest-cost, best-in-class ETFs :)
My Digital Library
View Workspace
This is where I take notes on books I find informative & important.
Hedge Fund Reading List
Google Sheet • PDF Download
Great reading list for aspiring investors, institutional & individual. (h/t to Blue Ridge Capital)
Writing
Why we stand by staking • Jul 14, 2023
Launching conversions for Coinbase Commerce • Oct 12, 2020
Launching R.A.R.E Art's Apple TV app • Aug 15, 2019
How to save a file on IPFS — a 7-step primer • Oct 10, 2017
How inflation erodes your purchasing power & wealth • Feb 23, 2017
5 rules for stock market investing • Feb 17, 2017
4 steps to invest in an index fund — the right way • Feb 8, 2017
I've also enjoyed press coverage on things I've built:
- the Financial Times on R.A.R.E Art
- Forbes on Commandiv
- the NY Times on the Rare Digital Art Festival
- and the WSJ with a fun piece on crypto gifts & tungsten cubes
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