Adyen Pioneer Launches Stablecoin Startup Noah, Urges European Tech to Abandon ‘Humility’

An early pioneer of European fintech giant Adyen has launched a new stablecoin infrastructure startup, Noah, while issuing a sharp critique of Europe’s tech culture, warning that the continent’s habitual humility is holding back its most promising companies.

Noah, co-founded by Adyen’s ninth employee and tech entrepreneur Shah Ramezani, aims to rebuild global financial rails using stablecoins. The venture represents a return to active building for the Adyen veteran, who joined the payments giant in 2007 and helped steer it to its landmark 2018 initial public offering (IPO) in Amsterdam.

Adyen’s 2018 floatation was a watershed moment for European tech, cementing its status as the continent’s most valuable fintech at the time. Today, Adyen remains a cornerstone of the global payments landscape, processing hundreds of billions of dollars annually for global merchants. After stepping away from the company post-IPO to pursue investing and board roles, the unnamed co-founder partnered with Ramezani in March 2024 to build Noah, driven by the belief that blockchain-based assets can fundamentally optimize global liquidity.

The launch of Noah comes amid a broader industry shift toward blockchain-based settlement. Stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar or euro—are increasingly viewed by fintech veterans as a faster, cheaper alternative to traditional correspondent banking networks. Major global players like Stripe have recently made massive acquisitions in the sector, highlighting the growing institutional appetite for internet-native money movement.

Reflecting on the cultural differences between European and American tech hubs, Noah’s co-founder argued that while European firms excel at disciplined execution and product development, they frequently fail to articulate a compelling vision. This “silence,” he noted, often starves European startups of the vital momentum, capital, and talent that their more vocal American counterparts easily attract.

This critique touches on a long-standing debate within the global venture capital ecosystem. Silicon Valley has historically championed bold storytelling and selling a future vision before it fully arrives, whereas European hubs like London, Berlin, and Amsterdam have traditionally favored capital efficiency and quiet execution. However, this conservative approach can leave European firms overshadowed on the global stage, even when their underlying technology is superior.

Despite these cultural hurdles, Europe’s fragmented market forces startups to adopt a global mindset from inception. Unlike US firms that can scale to billion-dollar valuations within a single domestic market, European success stories like Wise and Revolut were forced to navigate cross-border regulatory and operational complexities from day one, building inherent operational resilience that ultimately helps them outperform when scaling globally.