Key Takeaways
- Drake Evans, CTO and co-founder of Agora, helped launch $AUSD stablecoin and Fraxlend. He studied Engineering and economics at Vanderbilt.
- He worked in venture capital, reviewing startup investments, before joining Equilibre Capital, where he built financial models.
- In 2024, Evans co-founded Agora, aiming to make digital dollars more accessible & transparent, starting in global markets.
Who Is Drake Evans?
Drake Evans is the CTO and co-founder of Agora, the company behind $AUSD, a digital dollar stablecoin. Before that, he helped launch Fraxlend at Frax Finance. He studied at Vanderbilt University from 2009 to 2013, earning degrees in Engineering and Economics, plus a minor in Financial Economics. During college, he participated in research and internships focused on financial technology and blockchain, giving him experience that shaped his career.
Early Career and Research Background
Drake Evans started his career in 2010 as a research assistant at the Andrew Link Microbiology and Immunology Lab. While the role mainly focused on scientific research, it gave him important experience in analyzing data and solving problems. This early work helped him build the analytical skills that would later be key in finance and blockchain technology.
Entry into Finance and Energy Markets
In 2012, Evans moved into the financial industry by joining Royal Dutch Shell as an analyst. His work included studying energy markets, reviewing financial data, and evaluating strategies for trading commodities. This experience helped him better understand large financial systems and how to manage risks.
Experience in Venture Capital
From 2013 to 2014, Evans worked at LMN Venture Capital, reviewing startup investment opportunities and checking financial details. He gained direct experience in evaluating business models, market potential, and risks in early-stage companies.
Joining Equilibre Capital
In 2015, he joined Equilibre Capital as an analyst and later became an associate. His work involved building financial models, reviewing investment opportunities, and developing strategies. He worked closely with companies to understand market trends and financial tools. He stayed with Equilibre Capital until 2018.
Transition to Software Engineering and Blockchain
In 2018, Evans entered the technology field by joining Vancery as a software engineer. This change let him combine his finance experience with software development, preparing him for his later work in blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Founding DappHero
In 2019, Evans started DappHero, a platform that made it easier to create decentralized applications (dApps). The goal was to help developers connect their apps to blockchain technology without much hassle. After DappHero, he joined Lifion by ADP in 2020 as a Lifion Developer, where he worked on advanced software for managing employees and businesses until 2021.
Leading Fraxlend at Frax Finance
In 2022, Evans took on a key role at Frax Finance as Head of Lending & Core Engineering Lead. He helped launch Fraxlend, a lending platform where users could create separate lending markets using ERC-20 tokens and Chainlink data feeds.
To keep the platform secure, Fraxlend used multiple price oracles and protections against oracle attacks. This made lending safer, more transparent, and easier to manage in decentralized finance (DeFi).
Co-Founding Agora
In 2024, Evans co-founded Agora with Nick van Eck and Joe McGrady. Agora’s goal is to make digital dollars a shared resource, ensuring they are easy to access and transparent. The company is first focusing on international markets with regulations that support stablecoins.
Raising $12M in Funding
Agora secured $12 million in seed funding from investors like Dragonfly, Robot Ventures, Breed, General Catalyst, Hack VC, and Kraken Ventures. Other key investors included Mirana Ventures, Mantle EcoFund, Foresight Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, Galaxy, and Consensys.
The Launch of $AUSD
Agora introduced $AUSD, a digital dollar fully backed by cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and overnight repurchase agreements. VanEck, a global investment firm, manages the reserve fund, to keep assets safe from bankruptcy and ensure regular audits.
Contributions to the Blockchain Community
Outside of his work at Agora, Evans has been actively involved in the blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi) space. He has shared ideas on stablecoin rules and adoption, managing risks in decentralized lending, and how blockchain can shape the future of finance. His skills in financial modeling, lending, and stablecoins have made him an important voice in DeFi.
Future Goals and Industry Impact
Evans plans to expand Agora’s reach in international markets, improve DeFi lending systems, and explore new uses for blockchain-based financial products. With experience in finance, venture capital, blockchain, and software engineering, he remains dedicated to creating secure, transparent, and easy-to-use financial solutions that help shape the future of decentralized finance.
Final Thoughts
Drake Evans’ path from finance to blockchain shows his ability to grow and create new solutions. His work with Fraxlend and Agora reflects his focus on making decentralized finance safer, clearer, and easier to use. With Agora and AUSD, he is helping bring stable digital dollars to global markets. His finance, startups, and blockchain knowledge makes him an important part of DeFi’s future.
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