Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Mickey Negus, the Senior Engineering Manager at Edge & Node who oversees Engineering Operations and Customer Success. This is Mickey's second appearance on the GRTiQ Podcast, having first joined us in November 2023 (Ep. 143) where she shared her journey into web3 and initial work at Edge & Node. After joining Edge & Node in 2022, Mickey has focused on revolutionizing how decentralized protocols provide technical support – transforming what...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Holger Arians, the Chairman and CEO at Banxa. Holger leads Banxa, a global crypto payment infrastructure provider that enables users to convert their fiat currency to crypto through integrated solutions with major platforms like Binance, OKX, and MetaMask, handling all regulatory compliance and KYC requirements for partners reaching over a billion people worldwide. Growing up in Germany, Holger developed his business acumen early by working in his fat...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Isha Varshney, Head of Ecosystem at Celo. With roots in India and Kenya, Isha brings a unique global perspective to blockchain adoption in emerging markets. I’m excited to welcome Isha to the podcast - and long-time listeners know that I previously featured one of Celo’s founding members, Marek Olszewski during Ep. 131 back in August 2023. After earning her Chartered Accountancy and working at KPMG in cross-border taxation, she founded WealthBo...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Mathieu Baudet, Founder at Linera. With a PhD in cryptographic protocols and security, Mathieu has been at the forefront of distributed systems innovation for over two decades. After serving as a security consultant for the French government, he joined Facebook in 2012, where he led developer tools, machine learning infrastructure, and spearheaded the early development of the Libra/Diem blockchain project. Today at Linera, he's pioneering a revolution...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Alexei Zamyatin, Co-founder of Build on BOB, a pioneering hybrid Layer 2 solution that combines Bitcoin's security with Ethereum's programmability, aiming to create an open financial ecosystem that enables Bitcoin utility beyond simple payments while maintaining trust-minimized principles through technologies like BitVM. Born in Moscow but raised in Austria, Alexei has focused on Bitcoin security and interoperability since 2015. His research at Imperi...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Arik Galansky, the Vice President of Technology at Fireblocks, which provides critical infrastructure that enables companies to securely build and operate blockchain-based businesses. The platform offers a unique combination of self-custody technology and security features that allow organizations to maintain control of their digital assets while simplifying operations. Growing up in Israel, Arik developed an early passion for technology, beginning wi...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Turan Sert, a prominent blockchain advisor, author, and educator based in Istanbul, Turkey. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Turan has a successful career in investment banking and consulting before becoming one of Turkey's leading voices in web3 education and adoption. Drawing from his unique perspective bridging traditional finance and decentralized systems, Turan has authored many articles and books making blockchain technology accessible to ...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Aya Kantorovich, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of August. Long-time listeners will recognize Aya - this is her second appearance on the GRTiQ Podcast. Since her first appearance on Ep. 66 in May 2022, Aya has launched two innovative platforms: August, an institutional-grade DeFi platform, and Upshift, its retail counterpart, both focused on providing transparent, real-yield opportunities in decentralized finance. Drawing from her extensive experience in insti...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Tristan Frizza, the Founder of Zeta Markets. Zeta Markets is revolutionizing decentralized derivatives trading on Solana, building high-performance infrastructure that combines centralized exchange speed with DeFi security. Through their innovative Layer 2 solution, they're working to make institutional-grade trading accessible to all users. With a background in robotics engineering and machine learning, Tristan previously developed AI models serving ...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Brianna Migliaccio, Developer Relations at Solana. At Solana, Brianna works to empower developers, helping teams leverage Solona’s speed and scalability. Her role involves creating developer resources, from comprehensive bootcamps to practical guides for building decentralized applications. With degrees in mechanical engineering and nuclear physics from NYU, Brianna brings a unique technical perspective to blockchain development. Her journey began at ...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Felix Xu, Co-founder of ARPA Network and Bella Protocol. At ARPA Network, Felix leads the development of cryptographic infrastructure, including verifiable random number generation and zero-knowledge machine learning solutions. As one of EigenLayer's largest AVS providers, ARPA safeguards billions in digital assets. Through Bella Protocol, Felix focuses on creating AI-powered trading tools and DeFi solutions that help users better navigate the crypto m...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Justin Banon, founder of Boson Protocol. Boson Protocol is building decentralized commerce infrastructure that aims to replace traditional e-commerce intermediaries with minimally extractive protocols for web3. A physics graduate from Imperial College London, Justin previously transformed a $50 million company into a billion-dollar digital platform before becoming fascinated with blockchain's potential to create fairer economic systems. As you will h...

Leave feedback! Welcome to this special edition of the GRTiQ Podcast as we kick off The Best of 2024. For the third year in a row, we’re taking a moment to look back at the incredible guests, conversations, and stories that made this year so memorable. Today’s episode, Part 2, features highlights from Episodes 176 to 200, bringing you some of the most inspiring and insightful moments from 2024. Part 1 of The Best of 2024—featuring highlights from Episodes 151 to 175—was released last week. ...

Leave feedback! Welcome to this special edition of the GRTiQ Podcast as we kick off The Best of 2024. For the third year in a row, we’re taking a moment to look back at the incredible guests, conversations, and stories that made this year so memorable. Today’s episode, Part 1, features highlights from Episodes 151 to 175, bringing you some of the most inspiring and insightful moments from 2024. Part 2 of The Best of 2024—featuring highlights from Episodes 176 to 200—releases next week Twitt...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Ram Kumar, 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...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Lark Davis, an influential crypto content creator and the driving force behind the widely followed YouTube channel and newsletter, Wealth Mastery. Many listeners know Lark for his approachable and often humorous take on navigating the ever-changing landscape of crypto markets. His journey into crypto began in 2017, sparked by a suggestion from his mother, and he quickly transitioned from a career in education to become one a well-known voice in the i...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Sean Robb, Technical Product Lead at Flow. Based out of St. Louis, Sean’s journey into Web3 started with his background in computer engineering, where he worked on flight control systems before moving into roles at CenturyLink and MasterCard. At Dapper Labs, he helped shape the Dapper Wallet during the NBA Top Shot craze, driving the evolution of consumer-facing applications in Web3. Now at Flow, Sean is pushing the envelope in blockchain scalability...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Rebecca Liao, CEO and Co-founder at Saga. A Stanford economics graduate and Harvard Law alumna, Rebecca's remarkable journey spans from corporate law to presidential politics, serving as policy advisor for both the Biden and Clinton campaigns. Her entrepreneurial path includes co-founding Skuchain, which grew to $5 billion in annual volume providing short-term liquidity to small businesses, and early leadership at Globality, where she helped drive the ...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Anna Kazlauskas, CEO and Co-founder at Vana. A builder at heart who discovered programming through graphing calculators, Anna's journey spans from mining cryptocurrency in MIT's dorm rooms to pioneering decentralized AI solutions. Her unique background combines computer science and economics, including work at the Federal Reserve, World Bank, and Cello, where she focused on making blockchain accessible on mobile devices. At Vana, Anna is revolutioniz...

Leave feedback! Today I am speaking with Jeroen Develter, Chief Operating Officer at Persistence Labs. Jeroen’s journey into web3 spans traditional finance, consulting, and an entrepreneurial leap into the world of crypto and blockchain. Originally from Belgium, he built a global career that took him from working with major banks in Paris to founding a startup in Singapore. His diverse background provides a unique perspective on the emerging Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem, a narrative that seems to g...