- Nemil Dalal’s exit ends a game-changing chapter at Coinbase, where he helped shape projects like USDC and made crypto easier to use.
- His work pushed Coinbase deeper into DeFi and stablecoins, proving crypto can grow safely while still reaching everyday users.
- Dalal’s projects like x402 and CDP opened doors for simpler onchain payments and tools that welcome the next wave of crypto users.
After seven remarkable years at Coinbase, longtime product leader Nemil Dalal has officially announced his departure, marking the end of an era for one of crypto’s most influential innovators. His exit comes after playing a central role in launching major projects like USDC, x402, and Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP).
Dalal shared his journey on X, describing it as “the ride of a lifetime,” highlighting how meeting Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam during Y Combinator’s 2012 Summer batch changed his path forever.
After years of development in the blockchain ecosystem, Dalal started his adventure with Coinbase. In 2018, Coinbase purchased a DeFi firm that he co-founded. After that, he swiftly assumed the helm of several innovative projects that fundamentally altered how people engage with cryptocurrency.
Driving Innovation Through DeFi and Stablecoins
In 2019, Dalal became the product lead for USDC under Balaji Srinivasan, focusing on expanding stablecoin use cases in the emerging DeFi sector. “We—with our colleagues at Circle—our first breakout hit as part of DeFi summer. Now $75 BN and counting,” he wrote. Besides, Dalal’s team helped bootstrap DeFi adoption through the USDC Bootstrap Fund, strengthening relationships across decentralized finance protocols.
Moreover, his leadership extended beyond DeFi. As the lead for new asset listings, he supervised the integration of tokens such as Solana, Tether, Uniswap, and Aave. He also led the complex transition for Ethereum’s shift from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, managing billions in staking assets with zero tolerance for slashing risk.
Launching x402 and Coinbase Developer Platform
More recently, Dalal’s team launched x402, an innovative protocol leveraging the long-dormant HTTP 402 status code to enable onchain payments across the internet. He noted that the project collaborated with Google, Cloudflare, and other major web infrastructure players to revive the concept.
Additionally, Dalal spearheaded Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP), simplifying blockchain development with embedded wallets, onramps, and data APIs designed to onboard the next billion users.
Reflecting on his tenure, Dalal said the true joy of Coinbase was “doing novel things at massive scale” and “making the complicated magical.”
