This Barclays exec disliked the way banks treat the poor so he quit to join a startup that 'champions the underdog'

Anthony Watson has held board level positions at Barclays, Citi, and Wells Fargo, and served as chief information officer for Nike.

In short, he is used to dealing with multi-billion dollar balance sheets and huge technology budgets.

But the 39-year-old's latest position is on a very different scale — Watson is CEO and President of 10-month-old Bitreserve, a startup aiming to harness the technology behind bitcoin to create the "internet of money."

Bitreserve is on Wednesday re-branding as Uphold and opening up its platform to the mainstream.

Until today its digital wallets could only be stocked with bitcoin (although this could be converted to 24 currencies). But now Uphold now lets you upload cash from traditional bank accounts and credit cards across 33 European countries, including the UK. US, and Chinese accounts will be available in November.

Aside from storing money online, Uphold's big selling point is it lets you transfer internationally and switch between currencies for free.

Business Insider sat down with Watson earlier this month to hear about the new service, why Watson decided to join the company, how his homosexuality has shaped his approach to the world, and how he hopes Uphold can tackle the "injustices in the financial system."

"Those who can least afford it always pay the most"

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