Ferdinando Ametrano

Co-founder and CEO of CheckSig, he tries to live according to that “risky way that requires constant attention and learning: seeking and knowing how to recognize who and what, in the midst of hell, is not hell, and make it last, and give it space” (Italo Calvino).

Professional profile

Maximalist in defining Bitcoin as “the digital equivalent of gold”, skeptical about the thaumaturgical blockchain, master’s degree in physics, Springsteen enthusiast, Catholic, married with three children. After twenty years spent between investment banks and asset management firms, he discovered Bitcoin in 2014: since then it has been his major professional and academic interest.

Ferdinando Ametrano is also founder and scientific director of the Digital Gold Institute and the Crypto Asset Lab. Adjunct professor in Italian and European universities, he teaches “Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology“.

Innovator in the fintech field, he is the author of scientific publications and contributor to many media outlets. Appreciated as a lecturer and speaker, he is regularly invited to talk about Bitcoin and blockchain in events and TEDx, also organized in Montecitorio, by the United Nations, by central banks and numerous universities.

He has been “Head of Blockchain and Virtual Currencies” in Intesa Sanpaolo, member of the Organizing Committee of the “Scaling Bitcoin” conference, and has occasionally and marginally contributed to Bitcoin Core.

Before Bitcoin, he was a derivative product finance professional: he has been teaching “Interest Rate Derivatives” at the Milano-Bicocca University and has relevant publications on the subject. He is also the founder of QuantLib, the leading open source software project for quantitative finance. He has led trading, quantitative and risk management teams in Banca IMI, Banca Caboto and Monte Paschi Asset Management.