Contributors

Headshot
Host

Peter Abilla

Peter Abilla is a growth marketer and entrepreneur. Prior to jumping in full-time in web3 marketing, he led demand and growth marketing for many venture-funded companies. He also tried his hand at entrepreneurship and grew a two-sided tutoring marketplace from zero tutors to over 80,000 and later sold it to a NYSE publicly traded company.

Peter thrives in helping projects grow and in helping web3 founders reach their potential. 

The Block by Block Podcast is his attempt at pushing web3 forward by meeting with growth leaders and hearing them tell their story of what's working for them and how others can apply those learnings to their projects today.

https://x.com/shmula

Guests

Headshot
Guest

0xBreadGuy MegaETH

Bread is the CMO at MegaETH Labs, influencer on X, and prolific shitposter extraordinaire. 0xbreadguy is a crypto builder, commentator, and market participant with a focus on Ethereum scaling solutions like MegaETH and providing insightful analysis on the broader crypto ecosystem.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

0xsebastien Sophon Labs

Sebastien A. is the co-founder and CEO of Sophon Labs, a Layer 2 blockchain platform focused on delivering seamless, on-chain entertainment experiences. Prior to founding Sophon, he served as Head of Web3 at zkSync and led DeFi initiatives at Nervos Network. Under his leadership, Sophon has raised over $60 million through a node sale and is backed by investors like Binance Labs and Matter Labs. The platform leverages zkSync’s ZK Stack to offer gasless transactions, intuitive user interfaces, and a suite of tools designed to bring blockchain benefits to mainstream users without the typical complexities. Sebastien’s vision centers on integrating blockchain technology into everyday digital experiences, such as gaming and social platforms, to drive mass adoption.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Adam Bates XION

Adam Bates – CEO of XION and former Cardano executive, Adam is leading the development of a general-purpose Layer 1 chain focused on bringing Web2-like simplicity to crypto. With a background in enterprise software and UX, Adam’s vision for XION centers around abstracting away wallets, gas fees, and crypto jargon—making blockchain applications accessible to mainstream users. XION uses smart accounts, fee abstraction, and modular architecture to onboard the next billion users. Adam is also active in pushing the boundaries of decentralized identity, social recovery, and on-chain UX best practices.

Headshot
Guest

Alan Orwick Quai Network

Alan Orwick is the co-founder of Quai Network, a scalable, smart contract-enabled Proof-of-Work Layer-1 blockchain. A longtime Bitcoin enthusiast, he co-founded the Texas Blockchain Club at UT Austin and later worked at Apple as a software engineer. At Quai, he leads development of a multichain architecture that scales at the base layer, using Proof-of-Work as an oracle for real-world demand. Under his leadership, Quai’s testnet processed over 1B transactions with 2,000+ nodes and 5,500 GPUs. Backed by Polychain and others, Quai is preparing for its Mainnet launch in 2025.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Alon Muroch SSV Labs

Alon Muroch – Founder of SSV Labs, Alon is building the decentralized staking infrastructure powering Ethereum’s distributed validator technology (DVT). With roots in ETH2 development and years in staking infrastructure, Alon leads the charge toward a more secure, censorship-resistant staking layer. SSV enables multiple independent operators to run a single validator across geographies and setups—improving fault tolerance and decentralization. Alon’s work is essential for ETH decentralization and has been adopted by Lido, Obol, and other major staking players.

Headshot
Guest

Alsie Liu Dune.com

Alsie Liu is the Content Marketing Manager at Dune, a leading crypto analytics platform. With a background in full-stack Web3 marketing, she has previously contributed to projects at Covalent, Forj, SheFi, and Boys Club. At Dune, Alsie focuses on enhancing on-chain data storytelling and ecosystem engagement. She played a key role in Dune’s partnership with Chainstory, aimed at amplifying blockchain insights through strategic communications. Alsie is also active in organizing community events, such as Dune’s Data Lunch at Solana Ship Week and the Crypto Data Happy Hour during DAS NYC. She is committed to making blockchain data more accessible and impactful across the Web3 space.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Altan Tutar MoreMarkets

Altan Tutar – Co-founder of MoreMarkets, Altan is building a decentralized derivatives platform enabling anyone to create and trade synthetic markets across real-world events, asset classes, and custom indexes. With a background in quant finance, smart contract design, and risk modeling, Altan is focused on making financial engineering more accessible through open, permissionless tooling. MoreMarkets empowers users to design non-custodial markets around anything with verifiable data—from inflation hedges to sporting events—bridging the gap between traditional prediction markets and modern DeFi protocols.


Focus is on XRP Ripple DeFi.

Headshot
Guest

Amrit Kumar AltLayer

Amrit Kumar is co-founder of Altlayer. 


He is a computer scientist and entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder and former President and Chief Scientific Officer of Zilliqa, a blockchain platform addressing scalability issues through sharding technology. He holds a Master’s in Cryptography and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Université Grenoble Alpes. After his tenure at Zilliqa, Kumar became Chairperson of Binarii Labs and COO of Alt Research, developers of the AltLayer protocol. He also serves as Co-Chief Investment Officer at Rule72, formerly Zilliqa Capital. 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Anthony Broderick lucidlabs.fi

Anthony Broderick – Co-founder of LucidLabs, Anthony is building immersive on-chain gaming experiences that prioritize ownership, interoperability, and open economies. With a background in interactive storytelling and game design, he’s leading development of Lucid, a modular game engine for Web3-native games. Anthony is focused on creating seamless UX, composable assets, and community-driven narratives powered by NFTs and smart contracts. LucidLabs is working to redefine what’s possible in blockchain gaming by merging high-quality visuals with verifiable in-game economies.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Asaf Nadler Addressable

Asaf Nadler – Co-founder and Chief Scientist at Addressable, Asaf is at the forefront of blockchain marketing analytics, helping Web3 projects identify and engage their ideal users. With a PhD in data science and a background in behavioral modeling, Asaf brings academic rigor to crypto-native user acquisition. Addressable connects on-chain activity with off-chain personas through privacy-safe AI models, enabling dApps, wallets, and protocols to run targeted campaigns. Asaf’s work bridges the data gap between Web2 marketing and Web3 growth, helping teams acquire users more efficiently and retain them with measurable impact.

Headshot
Guest

Austin Federa DoubleZero

Austin Federa is the co-founder and President of DoubleZero, a high-performance, permissionless network designed to enhance bandwidth and reduce latency for blockchain and distributed systems. Before founding DoubleZero in 2024, he served as Head of Strategy at the Solana Foundation, where he led strategic initiatives and supported ecosystem development. His earlier roles include Head of Communications at Solana Labs, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Bison Trails (acquired by Coinbase), and Director of Marketing at Republic Crypto. Federa holds a BA in Political Science and Environmental Studies from Lawrence University. 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Ben Celermejer Synthetix

Ben Celermajer is the Chief Strategy Officer at Synthetix, a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol. Since joining in 2024, he has spearheaded significant reforms, including the SR-2 governance overhaul, which consolidated Synthetix’s councils into a streamlined Spartan Council to enhance accountability and efficiency . Celermajer also led the implementation of SIP-420, introducing delegated staking to improve capital efficiency and protocol resilience . Previously, he worked as a management consultant at Deloitte and has been involved in the crypto space since 2017, starting as an investor in the Havven ICO. His strategic initiatives aim to revitalize Synthetix’s position in the DeFi landscape

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Benjamin Brandall | Load Network

Benjamin Brandall is the co-founder of WeaveVM and a core contributor to Load Network, where he’s building modular infrastructure for decentralized applications. With a background in growth engineering and content strategy, Benjamin has worked across the Web3 ecosystem since 2020, including time in the Arweave ecosystem and at Chameleon.io. At WeaveVM, he focuses on solving data availability and storage challenges for EVM-compatible chains. At Load Network, he helps drive developer adoption and ecosystem growth. Benjamin brings a user-focused approach to protocol design, blending technical insight with clear communication to support builders and scale real-world usage of decentralized tech.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Brendon Sedo CoreDAO

Brendan Sedo – Contributor to CoreDAO, Brendan is focused on building scalable L1 infrastructure that leverages Bitcoin’s security and decentralization. CoreDAO is powered by the Satoshi Plus consensus, merging BTC mining with delegated proof-of-stake. Brendan works on governance, community building, and ecosystem growth—bringing together Bitcoin ethos with EVM-compatible programmability.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Brian Mahoney mezo.org

Brian Mahoney is the Co-Founder of Mezo, VP of BD at Thesis. He carries over 9 years of experience in the crypto space, navigating the intersection of finance and technology. With a background in traditional finance, Brian has extensive expertise in creating GTM strategies toward scale - specializing in helping crypto start-ups achieve an inflection point through product market fit. He has a track record of successfully raising over $100 million for crypto startups and securing more than $1bn in TVL for those same projects. Beyond his professional pursuits, Brian's passionate about community building, saunas, and envisioning the future. As a sought-after speaker and industry thought leader, Brian brings a wealth of expertise to the evolving landscape of DeFi and digital assets.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Campbell Easton | Redstone Oracle

Campbell Easton – Core contributor to Redstone, Campbell helps lead growth and ecosystem at the modular oracle network powering DeFi and on-chain finance. Redstone provides fast, flexible, and low-cost data feeds to protocols across chains. With a background in token strategy and developer relations, Campbell’s work bridges the gap between builders and the oracle infrastructure they need to scale securely.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Chris Yin | Plume Network

Chris Yin – Co-founder of Plume Network, Chris is building a blockchain focused on bringing real-world assets (RWAs) fully onchain. Plume aims to streamline the compliance, issuance, and trading of tokenized assets—from equities to invoices to carbon credits. With a background in TradFi product design and token engineering, Chris focuses on bridging institutional-grade security with DeFi-native flexibility. Plume offers native RWA support, modular compliance tooling, and integrations with asset originators, creating an L2 tailored for institutional adoption of crypto-backed financial products.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Clay Robbins Colosseum

Clay Robbins is the Co-founder and CEO of Colosseum, a company at the forefront of the blockchain industry.


Before establishing Colosseum, Clay Robbins gained significant experience in technology and business development, having worked with several tech startups in the Silicon Valley. Robbins' career took a definitive turn towards blockchain technology when he recognized its potential to revolutionize data security and transparency in digital transactions. At Colosseum, Robbins has been instrumental in developing innovative blockchain solutions that cater to various industries, thereby broadening the application scope of the technology beyond just cryptocurrency. His leadership at Colosseum has contributed to shaping future trends in the blockchain sector.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Clayton Menzel Babylon Labs

Clayton Menzel – Head of Growth at Babylon Labs, Clayton focuses on building Bitcoin-secured staking infrastructure for the broader Proof-of-Stake ecosystem. Babylon enables PoS chains to inherit Bitcoin’s security via trustless restaking, unlocking new capital efficiency. With roots in DeFi and Bitcoin, Clayton is expanding Babylon’s ecosystem and helping drive the modular security movement for sovereign blockchains.

Headshot
Guest

Dan Greer Defi.App

Dan Greer is the founder of Defi.app


Visionary product leader and serial entrepreneur with a track record of building and scaling groundbreaking fintech and Web3 platforms. Co-founded and led multiple successful ventures, driving millions in transaction volume and adoption across global markets. Passionate about designing intuitive financial experiences, launching high-impact products, and shaping the future of decentralized finance.

💡 Key Highlights:


✅ YC Alum (2016) – Scaled Chitter to 500K+ MAUs across North America
✅ Co-Founder of Signal – Early crypto trading automation platform, rivaled 3commas, surpassed $230M+ in volume before acquisition by Shopify
✅ Shopify (Money UX Lead) – Spearheaded financial product design, launching solutions to 3M+ merchants worldwide
✅ Zapper (Early Employee) – Led the launch of on-chain interpreter, growing to 400K+ MAUs

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Daniel Jacobs Thrive Protocol

Daniel Jacobs is the founder and CEO of Thrive Protocol, a platform that helps crypto communities efficiently fund and reward contributors based on the value they create. Launched in 2021, Thrive supports major ecosystems like Arbitrum, ApeCoin, and Optimism, facilitating over $100M in annualized grants. Jacobs, a three-time founder, previously led Avanoo, scaling it to a $40M enterprise. He holds a BA in Leadership Studies from Williams College and is based in Boulder, Colorado.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

David Choi usd.ai

David Choi – Founder of usd.ai, David is developing an AI-enhanced stablecoin protocol that leverages algorithmic design and real-world data to optimize capital efficiency. With experience in crypto quant research and financial modeling, David is building a smart stablecoin that learns, adjusts, and reacts dynamically to market volatility—bridging DeFi and AI to create the next generation of digital money.

Headshot
Guest

David Rhodus Pipe Network

David Rhodus – Founder of Pipe Network, David is pioneering a decentralized messaging and communication layer optimized for Web3 and sovereign data systems. Pipe Network enables encrypted, peer-to-peer communication between wallets, smart contracts, and decentralized applications. With roots in telecom infrastructure and a passion for decentralized identity and privacy, David is creating the foundation for secure, on-chain coordination. His work supports modular blockchains, autonomous agents, and private DAOs, where messaging is critical infrastructure for coordination and governance.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Ella Jonas Gelato

Ella Jonas – Protocol lead at Gelato, Ella helps build smart contract automation for Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains. Gelato enables developers to automate DeFi tasks like rebalancing, liquidations, and limit orders using decentralized bots and triggers. Ella’s work focuses on reliability, developer experience, and expanding automation use cases, helping dApps scale with off-chain logic and continuous execution.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Emanuele Francione | DUSK Network

Emanuele Francione – CTO of DUSK Network, Emanuele is building zero-knowledge blockchain infrastructure for compliant, institutional-grade finance. He leads development of DUSK’s privacy-preserving smart contracts, enabling on-chain securities issuance and programmable compliance. With a background in cryptography and systems engineering, Emanuele is focused on real-world adoption of privacy tech across capital markets.

Headshot
Guest

Eric Vreeland Polyhedra

Eric Vreeland is currently the Chief Strategy Officer at Polyhedra Network.

With a strong background in economics and business, Eric holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Before joining Polyhedra Network, Eric held various significant roles, including, Marketing at LayerZero, Vice President of Marketing and Sales Development at People Data Labs, and Director of Go-To-Market at Jobr, Inc. At Polyhedra, he plays a key role in driving the company's strategic initiatives, focusing on business development, marketing, and expanding the developer ecosystem.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Erick Ho Function Network

Erick Ho – Founder of Function Network, Erick is creating programmable agent-based infrastructure to power autonomous dApps and on-chain AI. With deep experience in smart contract architecture and autonomous systems, Erick is building a platform where on-chain agents can make decisions, trigger actions, and coordinate in a fully decentralized way. Function Network offers agent-to-agent communication, scheduling, and verifiable AI triggers, enabling the next generation of decentralized services and logic-driven applications.

Headshot
Guest

Fabian Vogelsteller LUKSO

Fabian Vogelsteller – Founder of LUKSO and co-author of the ERC-20 standard, Fabian is one of Ethereum’s most influential early developers. After building the Ethereum Mist browser and Web3.js, Fabian turned to digital identity, NFTs, and lifestyle applications with LUKSO. His Universal Profiles and LSP (LUKSO Standard Proposals) aim to redefine how identity and assets are managed onchain. LUKSO is a Layer 1 blockchain designed for creators, fashion, and the social web—where Fabian envisions an open metaverse driven by user-owned data and interoperable profiles.

Headshot
Guest

Felipe Argento Cartesi Project

Felipe Argento is the co-founder of Cartesi, a blockchain platform that integrates a Linux runtime environment with application-specific rollups to enhance computational scalability and expressiveness in decentralized applications. He also serves as an advisor to the Cartesi Foundation, supporting the ecosystem’s decentralization and growth. With a background in computer science, Argento is based in Rio de Janeiro and is active in the blockchain developer community. He frequently shares insights on Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, alternative virtual machines, and decentralized infrastructure on social media. Argento has contributed to technical publications and presentations, including discussions on Cartesi’s architecture and its role in advancing Web3 development.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Gabby Dizon Yield Guild YGG

Gabby Dizon serves as a Partner at Infinity Ventures Crypto. He serves as an Advisor at LongHash Ventures. He served as an Advisor at Tangent Ventures. He is a 15-year veteran of the game industry experience in Southeast Asia. He was Co-founder of Yield Guild Games and also Co-founder and CEO of Altitude Games, Chairman of Alto.io, Founding member and former president of the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), and former coordinator of the IGDA Manila chapter.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

George Beall Lombard Finance

George Beall – Strategy Lead at Lombard Finance, George is building a DeFi-native platform for structured credit products. With a background in fintech and alternative investments, he’s focused on bridging TradFi yields with DeFi primitives. Lombard enables access to tokenized credit, treasury management, and undercollateralized lending, aiming to be the go-to solution for on-chain fixed income and institutional DeFi.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Harrison Hines Fleek

Harrison Hines is the founder and CEO of Fleek.xyz, a platform streamlining Web3 development by offering decentralized infrastructure and tools for building and hosting websites and applications. He also co-founded Fleek Network, a decentralized edge network designed to provide high-performance, censorship-resistant cloud services. Previously, Hines founded Token Foundry at ConsenSys, focusing on token launch infrastructure. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Delaware. Hines is based in Brooklyn, New York. 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Harry Horsfall Flight3

Harry Horsfall – Founder of Flight3, Harry leads one of the top Web3 marketing agencies specializing in go-to-market strategy for crypto protocols, NFT projects, and L1/L2 chains. With experience across CEXs, DAOs, and consumer crypto brands, Harry helps teams scale community, drive adoption, and stand out in noisy markets. Flight3 has worked with Arbitrum, zkSync, and Immutable, blending performance marketing with deep crypto-native insight.

Headshot
Guest

Heidi Christine Pixels

Heidi Christine – Chief Marketing Officer at Pixels, Heidi is helping build one of the most engaging social gaming ecosystems onchain. Pixels combines cozy gameplay with real asset ownership and farming mechanics powered by crypto. With a background in creator community building and Web3 marketing, Heidi focuses on player engagement, cross-IP integrations, and live ops. Her work bridges the gap between gamers and Web3 through relatable storytelling, strong community incentives, and memorable brand moments inside the Pixels universe.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Henry de Valence Penumbra

Henry de Valence is a cryptographer, cypherpunk, and software engineer dedicated to building tools that enhance individual freedom and autonomy. He is the founder of Penumbra, a privacy-preserving proof-of-stake blockchain aiming to unite privacy and decentralized finance (DeFi). Previously, he contributed to cryptographic projects at the Zcash Foundation, Interstellar, Chain Inc., and Cloudflare. His interests include number theory, algebra, geometry, and the number 24.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

James Ross MODE Network

James Ross is the founder of Mode Network, an Ethereum Layer 2 platform integrating AI agents into decentralized finance (DeFi). Launched in January 2024, Mode has introduced innovations like the AI Agent App Store, Synthdata for predictive analytics, and the AI Agent Founder School to support emerging developers. Previously, Ross co-led Hype, a Web3 marketing agency, and has been active in crypto since 2017. He is also an angel investor in projects such as EigenLayer and Ethena Labs.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Jay Kurahashi-Sofue | eco.com

Jay Kurahashi-Sofue is the Chief Marketing Officer at Eco Inc., where he leads marketing efforts for the Eco Protocol—a platform designed to simplify on-chain stablecoin transactions and enhance cross-chain liquidity. Since joining Eco in June 2024, Jay has focused on expanding the protocol’s adoption and community engagement. Previously, he served as VP of Marketing at Ava Labs, contributing to the growth of the Avalanche ecosystem. Jay’s background includes roles at Fluidity, AirSwap, and Ogilvy, where he co-founded the agency’s first blockchain marketing group. He holds a BA in History of Art with a minor in Telecommunications from Indiana University Bloomington and is based in Brooklyn, New York.  

Headshot
Guest

Jean Herelle Crunch Lab

Jean Hérelle has a diverse work experience. Jean is currently the Co-Founder & COO of CrunchDAO, a next-generation financial insights provider that utilizes Web3 collective intelligence. Jean is responsible for overseeing the company's operations and leveraging the decentralized computing network of data scientists and PHDs.


Prior to their current roles, Jean worked as a Quant Strategist / Risk Manager at DataCrunch from 2019 to 2021. Jean was responsible for developing quantitative investment strategies and managing risk.


Jean Hérelle began their education in 2013 at the Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management - IAE, where they pursued a degree in International Finance. Jean completed their studies in 2016. In 2019, Jean enrolled at 42, where they became a Master's degree student in Computer Software Engineering. 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Jihao Sun Flock.io

Jiahao Sun, founder and CEO of FLock.io, is an Oxford alumnus and a visionary at the intersection of AI and blockchain. With a rich background as the AI Director at the Royal Bank of Canada and an AI Research Fellow at Imperial College London, he established FLock.io to pioneer privacy-centric AI solutions. Jiahao's leadership is driving FLock.io to innovate in secure, collaborative AI model training and deployment, showcasing his commitment to leveraging technology for societal advancement.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Jill Gunter | Espresso Systems

Jill Gunter – Co-founder of Espresso Systems, Jill is building privacy and scalability infrastructure for Ethereum rollups and Layer 2s. A former VC at Slow Ventures and crypto researcher at Goldman Sachs, she blends deep financial insight with a passion for decentralized systems. At Espresso, Jill is helping rollups achieve decentralization and lower latency with shared sequencing and zk-based data availability—unlocking scalable, secure blockchain infrastructure.

Headshot
Guest

Jim Chang | LI.FI

Jim – Core contributor at LI.FI, Jim works on bridging infrastructure that powers cross-chain swaps, data messaging, and asset transfers between Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and dozens of other chains. LI.FI acts as the routing layer for Web3, aggregating bridges and DEXs into a unified API. Jim focuses on simplifying interoperability for dApps and users, making the multichain world easier to navigate, safer, and more composable.

Headshot
Guest

Joanna Zeng Solana Optimistic Network SOON

Joanna Zeng is the co-founder and CEO of SOON Network, a high-performance Layer 2 blockchain leveraging Solana’s Virtual Machine (SVM) to deliver modular, cross-chain scalability. Previously, she led business development at Aleo, Coinbase, and Optimism, focusing on zero-knowledge proofs and ecosystem growth. A former Wall Street currency trader, Joanna transitioned into crypto in 2017 and founded CryptoNYC, a developer community in New York. Under her leadership, SOON has launched multiple mainnets, processed over 32 million transactions, and raised $22 million through a community-driven funding model. She is also an active angel investor and frequent speaker on Web3 infrastructure.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Jon Kol Hyperlane

Jon Kol is the CEO of Abacus Works and co-founder of Hyperlane, an open-source interoperability protocol enabling permissionless communication between blockchains. Previously, he served as Managing Director at Galaxy Digital, leading investments in projects like Solana, 1inch, and Terra. His earlier roles include crypto investor at Passport Capital and fixed income trader at Morgan Stanley. A UC Berkeley graduate in Economics, Jon has been active in crypto since 2016, focusing on cross-chain infrastructure and decentralized systems. 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Jose Betancourt VDEX

Jose Betancourt is the founder and CEO of VDEX, an omnichain perpetual DEX built with a focus on user experience, self-custody, and true interoperability. With a background as a trader and engineer, Jose brings a rare combination of market insight and product intuition to the crypto space. Prior to VDEX, he spent over a decade in financial markets and fintech, where he gained firsthand experience with the inefficiencies and frictions in both centralized and decentralized systems. At VDEX, he’s focused on removing those barriers—eliminating gas fees, simplifying UX, and supporting multi-chain execution without bridging. Jose is passionate about building tools that empower users without compromising on security or sovereignty. He’s also an advocate for decentralization that works in practice, not just in theory. Jose is based in the U.S. and continues to drive innovation at the intersection of DeFi, trading, and real-world usability.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Josie Leung milkyway.zone

Josie Leung is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of MilkyWay, a liquid staking protocol designed for Celestia’s TIA token. With a background in product and business development roles at companies like Tendermint, Crypto.com, and LinkedIn, she brings extensive experience in blockchain and technology sectors. Under her leadership, MilkyWay has secured $5 million in seed funding from investors including Polychain Capital and Binance Labs. Leung is also a certified scuba dive master and yoga instructor, reflecting her diverse interests beyond the tech industry.  

Headshot
Guest

June Ou Provenance Blockchain

June Ou – CEO of Provenance Blockchain Foundation, June is scaling blockchain solutions for financial services. Formerly COO of Figure, she brings decades of fintech leadership to Provenance, an enterprise-grade blockchain optimized for asset tokenization, lending, and on-chain capital markets. Her focus is on regulated, high-throughput infrastructure that supports real-world asset adoption across lending, payments, and custody.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Justin Vogel | Safary

Justin Vogel is a co-founder of Safary, a company specializing in web3 growth strategies. He is recognized as an influencer in the web3 space and has an educational background from Princeton University.  


In addition to his role at Safary, Justin Vogel is active on social media platforms, where he shares insights about networking and career development. He has emphasized the impact of networking on his career trajectory, particularly in the context of the crypto industry.  


Justin Vogel’s professional journey reflects a commitment to innovation and growth within the web3 ecosystem. 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Kain Warwick Infinex.xyz

Kain Warwick is a pioneering figure in decentralized finance, best known as the founder of Synthetix, a leading synthetic asset protocol. In 2023, he launched Infinex, a non-custodial DeFi platform designed to offer a centralized exchange-like user experience while maintaining user control over assets. Infinex simplifies DeFi by eliminating seed phrases, gas fees, and complex wallet setups, aiming to make on-chain finance accessible to mainstream users. Warwick envisions Infinex as a “UX layer” for DeFi, integrating cross-chain functionality and passkey security to streamline interactions with decentralized applications.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Kim Currier Decentraland

Kim Currier is the Head of Partnerships and Marketing at the Decentraland Foundation, where she leads strategic marketing initiatives and community engagement efforts. Since joining in 2022, she has overseen major events like Metaverse Music Festival and Metaverse Fashion Week, and has been instrumental in forging partnerships with brands such as Atari. Currier holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and a Master’s in Marketing Analytics from Bentley University. She is passionate about building inclusive virtual communities and empowering creators in the Web3 space. 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Kingsley Advani Allo.xyz

Advani is the founder of Allo.xyz, a pioneering real world asset (RWA) platform that has revolutionized the investment landscape. Allo oversees over $2.2 billion in assets, working with more than 1,600 private funds and serving a community of 24,000+ investors. The platform enables asset managers to tokenize real-world assets and launch funds on the blockchain in under a minute. With Allo's technology, clients can tokenize ownership of assets like real estate, enhancing liquidity for traditionally illiquid assets through blockchain innovation.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Krystyna Kozak-Kornacka cookie3

Krystyna leads Cookie3 Communications, Marketing, and Community, where she develops unique strategies to transform marketing in the Web3 space and open doors for everyone to participate in the MarketingFi economy. Drawing from her extensive experience as a communications and marketing expert, she excels in reaching diverse audiences and creating impactful campaigns.

As an academic, Krystyna is a published scholar. Her single-author research paper, "Algorithmic Governance, Code as Law, and the Blockchain Common: Power Relations in the Blockchain-Based Society," was published in Frontiers magazine.

When she's not immersed in the world of Web3, you'll find Krystyna shooting arrows of the back of her horses.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Kyle Haener | Tunnl

Kyle Haener is the co-founder and CEO of Tunnl Labs, a Web3 platform revolutionizing influencer marketing through smart contracts and AI verification. Tunnl enables brands to create on-chain sponsorships with automated payments and content validation, eliminating traditional trust issues. Its “Faucets” feature allows scalable, token-based campaigns, rewarding creators based on engagement metrics. Haener, an SMU alum from New Orleans, began his entrepreneurial journey reselling sneakers and apparel, later entering crypto in 2019. He co-founded Tunnl after a Chainlink hackathon project, aiming to streamline creator-brand collaborations. Under his leadership, Tunnl has facilitated over $110,000 in creator payouts and is expanding to platforms like TikTok and Farcaster. 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Luis Bezzenberger Shutter Network

Luis Bezzenberger – Co-founder of Shutter Network, Luis is tackling MEV and frontrunning with threshold encryption. Shutter acts as a plug-and-play layer for Ethereum and rollups to ensure fair block ordering and protect user transactions. With expertise in cryptographic protocols and validator coordination, Luis is working to build a censorship-resistant and equitable base layer for DeFi. Shutter is trusted by DAOs and chains looking to secure their mempools.

Headshot
Guest

Lyron Ko Ting Keh | Seismic Systems

Lyron Co Ting Keh is a tech entrepreneur, cryptographer, and founder of Seismic, a startup building encrypted blockchain infrastructure. A graduate in Computer Science and Mathematics from Stanford University, Lyron previously conducted advanced research at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL) and worked on machine learning and AI projects across leading tech firms including Google X, Apple R&D, and Facebook AI. Originally from the Philippines, he later moved to Los Angeles for high school, where he also played football and earned recognition as a “Young Innovator to Watch” at age 17—after designing HICCUP, a machine‑learning model that improved detection of cancers of unknown primary. At Seismic, Lyron leads a lean, engineer‑driven team focused on launching the mainnet and delivering privacy‑preserving smart contracts for real‑world finance and Web3 applications.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Matej Janez | Oasis Foundation

Matej Janez is a key contributor to the Oasis Foundation and Oasis Labs, where he focuses on driving privacy-first innovation in Web3. With a background in mechanical engineering and a passion for emerging technologies, Matej transitioned into the blockchain space to help build infrastructure that prioritizes user data sovereignty and confidentiality. At Oasis, he works on ecosystem growth, developer relations, and strategic partnerships, helping onboard teams building privacy-preserving applications—especially in AI and DeFi. Matej is a vocal advocate for privacy as a fundamental right and believes that the next generation of AI and decentralized apps must be built with verifiable trust at their core. Through Oasis’s events, hackathons, and global outreach, Matej helps bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world adoption. He’s particularly interested in how privacy-enhancing technologies can enable more secure, ethical, and decentralized AI systems.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Matthew Gould Unstoppable Domains

Matthew Gould is the founder and CEO of Unstoppable Domains, a platform that provides blockchain-based domain names to empower users with full ownership of their digital identities. Under his leadership, Unstoppable Domains has registered over 4 million domains, enabling simplified crypto transactions and decentralized website hosting. Gould’s mission is to onboard billions of internet users to Web3 by making digital identity accessible and user-owned. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is based in Reno, Nevada.  

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Michael Heinrich | 0G Labs

Michael Heinrich is the co-founder and CEO of 0G Labs, a pioneering Web3 infrastructure company developing the first modular AI Layer 1 blockchain. Under his leadership, 0G Labs has achieved significant milestones, including generating over $200 million in revenue and raising more than $500 million in capital. The company focuses on creating a decentralized AI operating system that combines compute, storage, and data availability into a unified, programmable protocol, aiming to revolutionize the scalability and efficiency of blockchain applications.    


Before founding 0G Labs, Heinrich was the founder and CEO of Garten (formerly Oh My Green), a corporate wellness startup that achieved unicorn status and was recognized as a top Y Combinator company. His professional background also includes roles at Microsoft, SAP Labs, Bain & Company, and Bridgewater Associates. He holds degrees from UC Berkeley, Harvard, and Stanford.   

Headshot
Guest

Miguel De Vega Nillion

Miguel de Vega is a mathematician and passionate innovator. Miguel is the Chief Scientist at Nillion. A large part of Miguel’s professional life has been dedicated to making computation and data truly decentralized. He has been innovating blockchain and distributed technologies, cryptography and deep learning since 2008. He has filed more than 30 patents in his career, with 7 of those patents still being used to optimize the flow of information on high-volume fiber optic cables today (such as the Trans-Atlantic Cable).


Miguel holds a PhD in Mathematics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, as well as a Masters in Engineering from the Madrid Polytechnic University where he graduated with two majors.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Mihir Kulkarni Spectral Labs

Mihir Kulkarni – CEO of Spectral Labs, Mihir is building an on-chain reputation protocol to power credit scores, identity, and capital-efficient lending. Formerly with a16z Crypto and MakerDAO, he’s focused on fusing AI, DeFi, and data science to make trust programmable. Spectral enables undercollateralized lending and permissionless reputation by transforming wallet activity into credit scores—laying the foundation for decentralized credit markets.

Headshot
Guest

Mitja Goroshevsky ackinackichain

Mitja Goroshevsky – Co-founder and CTO of ackinackichain and TON Labs, Mitja is a seasoned blockchain architect known for scaling high-throughput infrastructure. With deep roots in the Telegram Open Network (TON) and distributed systems design, Mitja focuses on bringing modularity, performance, and developer accessibility to L1 chains. At ackinackichain, he’s working on a permissionless modular execution layer optimized for scalability and real-world applications. Mitja is also a prominent voice in decentralized compute and infrastructure debates.

Headshot
Guest

Naruto | Avail Project

Naruto – Core contributor to Avail, Naruto helps architect modular blockchain infrastructure with a focus on data availability. Avail offers a scalable, neutral DA layer that supports rollups, validiums, and sovereign chains, helping unblock the modular blockchain stack. Known for clear writing and technical depth, Naruto contributes to advancing Ethereum-aligned scaling solutions and the future of decentralized execution layers.

Headshot
Guest

Nathan Cha Eclipse Labs

Nathan Cha is the Head of Marketing at Eclipse Labs, an Ethereum Layer 2 platform integrating the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs. Since joining Eclipse in 2024, Cha has led growth and marketing initiatives, contributing to the platform’s expansion and adoption. Prior to Eclipse, he served as Marketing Lead at dYdX, a decentralized exchange, where he played a pivotal role in user acquisition and brand development. Cha holds a degree from New York University and is recognized for his expertise in Web3 marketing strategies.  

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Nikita Ovchinnik BarterSwap

Nikita Ovchinnik – Founder of Barterswap.xyz, Nikita is creating a decentralized exchange for real-world goods and services using smart contracts and atomic swaps. Barterswap enables peer-to-peer barter without intermediaries, unlocking global liquidity for tangible assets. With experience in distributed systems and crypto protocols, Nikita is exploring how DeFi mechanics can be applied to barter markets, making exchange possible without fiat or tokens.

Headshot
Guest

Oleg Fomenko Sweat Economy

Oleg Fomenko is the co-founder and CEO of Sweat Economy, a blockchain-based platform that rewards physical activity with cryptocurrency. He also co-founded Sweatcoin, a fitness app that converts steps into digital currency, amassing over 140 million users and 10 million token holders. Previously, Fomenko founded bloom.fm, a mobile music streaming service in the UK, and held roles at Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Mars, Boston Consulting Group, and British Telecom. He is based in Lisbon, Portugal, and is passionate about integrating technology with health and wellness.   

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Orkun Mahir Kilic | Citrea.xyz

Orkun Mahir Kılıç is the co-founder and CEO of Chainway Labs, where he leads the development of Citrea, Bitcoin’s first zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup. Citrea aims to bring Ethereum-compatible smart contracts to Bitcoin by leveraging ZK proofs and BitVM, enhancing scalability and enabling decentralized applications on the Bitcoin network. Under Kılıç’s leadership, Citrea has secured $2.7 million in seed funding led by Galaxy and $14 million in a Series A round led by Founders Fund. Prior to Chainway, he held blockchain engineering roles at BiLira, Dexalot, and OlymposHQ. Kılıç holds a degree in Computer Engineering from Boğaziçi University and is based in Istanbul.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Paul Thomas Somnia Blockchain

Paul Thomas is the founder and CEO of Somnia, a Layer 1 blockchain designed for high-performance gaming and metaverse applications. He began his career as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, focusing on risk systems, before joining Improbable, where he spent over 11 years building MMO infrastructure, cloud platforms, and commercial teams. At Improbable, he led the development of large-scale virtual worlds and later spearheaded its metaverse and Web3 initiatives. In 2020, he incubated Somnia to serve as the decentralized economic layer for the metaverse. Thomas is passionate about using blockchain to create a more equitable digital society.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Ram Kumar OpenLedger

Ram Kumar is Co-founder at OpenLedger, a platform building specialized AI models through decentralized data collection and attribution.Born and raised in Chennai chen-NYE, India's thriving tech hub, Ram has been actively involved in the web3 space since 2017. Ram's journey from building web3 solutions for enterprises to founding OpenLedger was driven by his observation of data bottlenecks in AI development. His vision for specialized AI models that can power purposeful agents while ensuring fair attribution to data contributors showcases his commitment to making AI development more accessible and transparent.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Reka Medvecz RISC ZERO

Réka Medvecz is the Head of Communications at RISC Zero, a company specializing in zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, and the creator or Boundless. 


She also co-founded Guild.xyz and Onplug.io, platforms focused on Web3 community engagement and digital identity. Medvecz has been recognized among notable women in Web3 for her contributions to decentralized ecosystems. She has spoken at major industry events like ETHDenver 2025, highlighting her leadership in blockchain communications.


gBerry, Berryfied.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Rob Viglione Horizen Labs

Rob Viglione is the co-founder and CEO of Horizen Labs, a blockchain development company specializing in zero-knowledge cryptography and privacy-focused infrastructure. He also co-founded Horizen, a decentralized platform designed for scalable, privacy-preserving applications.


With a background as a physicist and mathematician, Viglione served as a U.S. Air Force officer, contributing to satellite radar and space launch systems.


Viglione holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of South Carolina and an MBA in Finance and Marketing. He has taught university courses on blockchain and is an advocate for privacy rights and decentralized technologies.


Under his leadership, Horizen Labs has launched projects like zkVerify, focusing on scalable zero-knowledge proof verification. Viglione emphasizes building resilient, user-centric blockchain ecosystems that prioritize privacy and global accessibility.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Rowan Stone Sapien

Rowan Stone — CEO of Sapien, Rowan is leading the growth of a decentralized AI training and human‑labeling network for enterprises and LLMs. Formerly Director of On‑chain Business Development at Coinbase, he spearheaded growth initiatives across DeFi, gaming, social, and NFT products like cbETH and USDC. Rowan was COO of Totle (a DEX aggregation platform acquired by Coinbase), co‑founder of Horizen Labs (launching and scaling the Horizen ecosystem), and Managing Director at Launch Code Capital. With over a decade’s experience in engineering and energy project leadership—including a JV between Sulzer and Wood PLC—Rowan blends deep technical chops with on‑chain biz strategy. His mission at Sapien: to revolutionize AI model training through blockchain‑incentivized human annotation and scalable data infrastructure.  

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Samantha Yap Yap Global

Samantha Yap – Founder and CEO of YAP Global, Samantha is a leading voice in Web3 PR and communications. With a journalism background and deep knowledge of blockchain ecosystems, she has helped projects like Aave, Chainlink, and Uniswap shape their narratives and reach global audiences. YAP Global specializes in turning complex crypto concepts into accessible stories that resonate with mainstream media and crypto-native communities alike. Samantha is also a frequent speaker on decentralization, media ethics, and the evolving role of storytelling in the crypto space.

Headshot
Guest

Sehaj | Avantisfi.com

Harsehaj Singh is an entrepreneur and venture investor deeply immersed in DeFi, derivatives, consumer tech, and macro finance. He co‑founded Lumena Labs, where he leads the development of Avantis, a decentralized derivatives exchange built on Base that recently raised a $4M Seed round in October 2023 and a $ 8M Series A co‑led by Pantera Capital and Founders Fund in June 2025  . Avantis enables synthetic on‑chain trading of real-world assets—ranging from FX to precious metals—offering capital-efficient exposure across volatility markets  .


Harsehaj holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business (2016–2020), where he served in Capital Investments at Berkeley and volunteered in both tax assistance and cancer‑tutoring programs.


Previously an Investment Associate at Pantera Capital, he focused on Web3, gaming, and crypto innovation.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Sergey Gorbunov Axelar

Sergey Gorbunov is the co-founder and CEO of Axelar, a blockchain interoperability network. He received a PhD from MIT, and was a Microsoft PhD fellow. He is an assistant professor at University of Waterloo and was on the founding team of Algorand, where he designed the core platform and led the cryptography group.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Stacy Spikes Mogul

Stacy Spikes – Founder of Mogul and co-founder of MoviePass, Stacy is a visionary entrepreneur merging blockchain with Hollywood. Mogul empowers filmmakers and fans to co-create films using on-chain voting, fractional ownership, and DAO-based funding. With decades of entertainment industry leadership, Stacy is reimagining media production through decentralized tools that give creatives and audiences direct control over storytelling and financing.

Headshot
Guest

Stephen Hess Metaplex

Stephen Hess – CEO of Metaplex Studios, Stephen leads development of NFT tooling and creator infrastructure on Solana. With prior leadership roles at Disney and LivePerson, he bridges Web2 user experience with Web3 innovation. At Metaplex, he’s focused on enabling creators to mint, monetize, and manage NFTs at scale, helping power the largest NFT projects on Solana. His work is central to advancing NFT standards and expanding Solana’s digital creator ecosystem.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Steven Waterhouse Nazare Ventures

Dr. Steven “Seven” Waterhouse is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor in the blockchain and AI sectors. He is the co-founder and CEO of Orchid Labs, a decentralized privacy network leveraging blockchain technology to provide secure internet access. Previously, he was a partner at Pantera Capital, where he led investments in over 20 blockchain startups, including Bitstamp and Zcash. Waterhouse also co-founded RPX Corporation, serving as CTO, and held leadership roles at Sun Microsystems. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Cambridge. Currently, he is the founder and general partner at Nazaré Ventures, focusing on early-stage AI investments.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Susruth | Garden Finance

Susruth – Co-founder of Garden Finance, Susruth is designing a decentralized stablecoin protocol focused on yield-generating strategies and long-term sustainability. A DeFi builder with prior experience at LayerZero and Yearn, he’s rethinking the architecture of on-chain money. Garden Finance offers a crypto-native alternative to centralized stablecoins by combining vault strategies, reserve-backed models, and protocol-owned liquidity to create resilient digital assets.

Headshot
Guest

Teemu Paivinen ZKCloud

Teemu Paivinen – Founder of ZKCloud, Teemu is building developer-first infrastructure for zero-knowledge proofs that simplifies privacy-preserving computation. With a background in cryptography and experience in scaling Web3 infrastructure, he’s focused on abstracting away ZK complexity so any app can integrate trustless privacy. ZKCloud supports developers across ecosystems with modular tooling, secure circuits, and fast proof generation—unlocking mainstream adoption of zero-knowledge tech.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Tim Hafner OpenServ

Tim Hafner – Co-founder of OpenServ, a Decentralized AI Agent Platform. 


Tim is building an open marketplace for cloud services, APIs, and compute—all governed and incentivized by smart contracts. OpenServ enables developers to publish services with onchain SLAs, usage tracking, and trustless payments. Tim brings years of backend infrastructure and marketplace design experience to create a protocol where open-source contributors can monetize services directly. His vision is a crypto-powered AWS alternative, where reputation, reliability, and price compete in a decentralized service layer for the internet.

Headshot
Guest

Uma Roy Succinct Labs

Uma Roy is the co-founder and CEO of Succinct, a company dedicated to making zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) accessible to all developers. Under her leadership, Succinct has developed SP1, a high-performance zkVM that enables scalable, verifiable computation across blockchain ecosystems. Roy holds a master’s degree in computer science from MIT and previously worked as an engineer at Gantry. In 2025, she was recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for her contributions to decentralized infrastructure.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Vivek Kolli Sentient

Vivek Kolli – Chief of Staff at Sentient, Vivek plays a strategic leadership role in building a decentralized AI ecosystem that emphasizes “Open, Monetizable, Loyal” models. A 2024 Princeton graduate, he helps guide operations, partnerships, and ecosystem growth underpinned by cryptographic model licensing (OML). Previously, he worked closely with engineering and business teams to scale Sentient’s community of builders, host hackathons, and support early product launches like Sentient Chat beta. As CSO, Vivek bridges technical, academic, and user communities—ensuring Sentient’s vision to break AI centralization continues to gain traction. He represents Sentient at global events and directs internal initiatives focused on decentralization, token economics, and modular AI deployment.

Headshot
Guest

Will Gaines Movement Labs

Will Gaines is currently the Lead / Founding Marketing at Movement Labs $MOVE, where they are developing a community-driven #Move environment. They also run Living with Will, a podcast highlighting individuals seeking purpose, and With Will Media (WWM), a consulting and event curation company. Additionally, Will has experience as a Marketing Specialist at Acquire.Fi, a Community / Advisor at Leyline, and working with ConsenSys Mesh. Prior to this, they worked as a District Representative at the California State Senate, a Marketing Survivalist at ICM Partners, and an A&R Marketing Research and Data Analyst at Sony RED. Will holds a Bachelor's degree in Social justice from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Yannik Schrade Arcium

Yannik Schrade is a German computer scientist and CEO/Co‑Founder of Arcium, previously known as Elusiv. He’s a pioneer in decentralized confidential computing using MPC/ZK tech, shaping on‑chain privacy and encrypted supercomputing. Yannik studied law at Heidelberg before pivoting to CS and mathematics at Technical University of Munich. Earlier, he founded ShiftScreen, a top‑selling iPad productivity app with 100k+ users. He’s a sought‑after speaker (WEF, Solana Breakpoint), thought leader in cryptography, and leads Arcium’s mission to enable encrypted AI and data workflows

Headshot
Guest

Yash Agarwal send.ai

Yash Agarwal is Co‑founder & CEO of SendAI, a startup powering AI‑agent infrastructure on Solana. Previously a member of the Solana Foundation, Yash holds degrees in tech and economics, and spearheaded the Solana AI Hackathon—helping bring ~$500M in aggregate market value and promoting serious Crypto×AI projects over speculative plays 

Guest appearance on:

Headshot
Guest

Yurii Kyparus Wallchain

Co‑founder & CEO of Wallchain, a Y Combinator‑backed protocol that delivers on‑chain cashback and MEV/restaking infrastructure processing billions monthly on BNB Chain and Polygon. With a decade of algorithmic programming expertise from roles at Google and Meta, he co‑leads Wallchain to be the #1 cashback + protection solution on major blockchains, backed by Orange DAO, Alliance DAO, and recognized by BNB Chain Labs

Guest appearance on: