Kadena

Stuart Popejoy is the co-founder and CEO of Kadena, a Layer-1 Proof-of-Work blockchain platform designed to solve scalability and security challenges in decentralized systems. Before founding Kadena in 2016, he led J.P. Morgan’s Blockchain Center of Excellence and co-developed the bank’s internal blockchain, Juno. He also created Pact, Kadena’s smart contract language known for its formal verification and human-readable syntax.

Popejoy is a strong advocate for Proof-of-Work as a secure and fair consensus mechanism and introduced Chainweb, Kadena’s unique architecture that enables parallel chain scaling. In addition to his blockchain work, he’s an algorithmic music composer and mastering engineer, blending technical precision with artistic creativity. He holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley and is a recognized voice in blockchain innovation and decentralized infrastructure.