Noted Economist Professor Susan Athey Joins Board of Directors for Ripple Labs

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 8, 2014) - Ripple Labs today named Susan Athey, Professor of Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economics Policy Research, to its Board of Directors. Professor Athey was previously an advisor to the company.

"I am excited to join Ripple Labs," said Professor Athey. "I believe in the future, money will flow through a digital network like Ripple that empowers individuals and institutions alike to instantly and seamlessly exchange many different types and items of value. The Ripple network provides an opportunity for substantial efficiency gains in the movement of money, and with those gains, global commerce can be expanded."

Professor Athey received her bachelor's degree from Duke University in economics, mathematics and computer science. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford, and she holds an honorary doctorate from Duke University. She previously taught at the economics departments at MIT, Stanford and Harvard. In 2007, Professor Athey received the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded by the American Economic Association to "that American economist under the age of forty who is adjudged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge." She was elected to the National Academy of Science in 2012 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008. She is the co-director of the market design working group at the National Bureau of Economics Research. 

Professor Athey's current research and teaching cover the economics of the internet, marketplace design, and the intersection of computer science, machine learning and economics. Her recent research focuses on internet search, online advertising and the news media, and virtual currencies. She advises governments and businesses on the design of auction-based marketplaces.

"We are thrilled to welcome Susan to a more formal role with Ripple Labs," said Ripple Labs co-founder and CEO Chris Larsen. "Her insightful, objective and expert point of view on the future of payments and digital currencies will continue to be a tremendous asset as we grow the ecosystem surrounding the Ripple protocol."

Ripple Labs created Ripple, an open-source, distributed payment protocol that powers a new global value web. The Ripple payment protocol enables free and virtually instant payments with no chargebacks in any currency or unit of value. Businesses of any size can easily build payment solutions, such as prepaid or remittance apps, and accelerate the movement of money on Ripple. Ripple enables the world to move value like information moves today.

For more information about Ripple, please visit http://www.ripple.com. 

About Ripple Labs

Ripple Labs developed the Ripple protocol, which makes transacting as easy as emailing. The San Francisco-based startup is funded by Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, IDG Capital Partners, FF Angel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, The Bitcoin Opportunity Fund and Vast Ventures.

The software company's team of 45 is comprised of deeply experienced cryptographers, security experts, distributed network developers, Silicon Valley and Wall Street veterans. They contribute code to the protocol and create tools to enable businesses of any size to easily build payment solutions and accelerate the movement of money globally. The team shepherds a movement to evolve finance so that payment systems are open, secure, constructive and globally inclusive.

Ripple Labs was named one of the 50 Smartest Companies for 2014 by MIT Technology Review.

About Ripple

Ripple is an open-source, distributed payment protocol. It enables nearly free and instant payments with no chargebacks and in any currency -- including dollars, yen, euros, Bitcoin, and even loyalty points. Businesses of any size can easily build payment solutions, such as banking or remittance apps, and accelerate the movement of money on Ripple. Ripple enables the world to move value like information moves today. Ripple is currently in beta. For more information about Ripple, please visit http://www.ripple.com.