Crypto Hipster

Mr. Blue entered blockchain in 2017 when he became enamored with Ethereum and GPU mining. He was an early Binance trader and didnt take note of DeFi until entering BSC. From there found Apeswap and was hooked. He operated and was portfolio manager for a DeFi fund deploying capital for shared LP with a sports betting fund & then teamed up to build LEVR. (The bear market left him with time.) His previous life to blockcahin was spent in a 'Wolf of Wallstreet' style sales floor which he credits for his resiliency.

Adrien Stern is the Founder & CEO of Reveel, the on-chain peer-to-peer payments dApp. Before founding Reveel, Adrien led the digital transformation team at BNP Paribas CIB, he was also previously a venture builder, and he owns another company - Bridge Music - a record label and recording studio. 

Dr. Alok Aggarwal received his bachelor’s in technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in 1980. In 1984, he received his Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. He worked at IBM’s T. J. Watson Research Center in New York between 1984-2000. During 1987 and 1989 Fall Terms, he took a sabbatical from IBM to teach two courses and supervise two Ph.D. students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Between 1993-1995, along with others, he built and sold a "Supply Chain Management Solution" for paper mills and steel mills, which was the first commercial Artificial Intelligence based solution of its kind. By optimizing paper machines, trimmers, winders, warehouses, transportation, and the loading of trucks and railroad cars, their solution saved paper mills substantially in the mills’ operating costs. In 1993, Madison Paper Company in the United States was the first to buy this solution. And the company used this solution until 2017, when it was sold to a Norwegian paper company. Between 1996-1997, Dr. Aggarwal joined the Strategy Department of IBM Research Division, which was then greatly involved in strategizing and organizing chess matches between Deep Blue and Gary Kasparov. In July 1997, IBM Research Division announced the formation of “IBM’s India Research Laboratory” (IRL). Dr. Aggarwal “founded” IRL inside IIT Delhi on April 1, 1998. By August 2000, he had grown it from "ground zero" to a 60-member team (with 30 PhDs and 30 people with master’s in computer science and related areas). In January 2001, he co-founded Evalueserve (www.evalueserve.com ), which currently has more than 4,500 employees and provides various kinds of research, analytics, and consulting services to clients worldwide. In 2003, he wrote the first article regarding “Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO),” which estimated the amount of such work that would be outsourced from high-wage countries (like the United States) to low-wage countries (like India). Today, KPO is a well-known term in the outsourcing industry and is considered a sector on its own with more than 300 KPO companies in India alone. In February 2014, Dr. Aggarwal founded Scry Analytics (now “Scry AI”) that performs research and development (R&D) in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and related areas. Scry AI ( www.scryai.com ) also has five product groups and a distributed platform for Internet of Things. These improve efficiency of business workflows regarding quality, timeliness, revenue, cost, customer experience, compliance, and operational risks. Scry AI has its primary center in San Jose, California. And it has three other centers in Gurgaon, Pune, and Hyderabad, India. He has published 120 research articles, has been granted 8 patents from the US Patents and Trademark Office, and has been an editor of several academic journals in Computer Science. Furthermore, between 1998-2000, he was a member of Executive Committee on Information Technology of the Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) and the Telecom Committee of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). During 2002 and 2005, he was on the executive board of TiE’s (The Indus Entrepreneur). In 2008, Dr. Aggarwal received Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Delhi. In December 2000, he published a book titled, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution & 100 Years of AI (1950-2050)”, which is available on Amazon and other book stores.

Darren Carvalho is a distinguished graduate of the University of Toronto's Computer Science program and the Ivey Business School. His professional journey began at Toronto Dominion Bank, where he spearheaded AI and Machine Learning initiatives, demonstrating a keen aptitude for innovative technology solutions. Darren's expertise and leadership quickly propelled him to the role of Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where he played a pivotal role in strategic investments and projects in the DSML space. Darren is now the Co-founder and Co-CEO of MetaWealth, a pioneering company in Real World Asset (RWA) Tokenization. His vision and leadership are shaping the future of digital asset management and blockchain integration.

Erik LaPaglia, Chief Strategy Officer, Propy  Erik serves as the Chief Strategy Officer of Propy and has been a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and co-founder of Miami NFT Week. With a breadth of experience in supporting businesses of all sizes, from burgeoning startups to Fortune 500 giants, Erik is renowned for introducing innovative solutions across diverse industries. As an award-winning expert in marketing and sales, Erik’s ability to influence and engage with top-tier executives and key stakeholders is both effective and highly regarded.A sought-after speaker, Erik has presented at major industry events including The Bitcoin Conference, iConnections, SALT, NFT NYC, Paris Blockchain Week, NFT.London, and SUPERVERSE Dubai. His thought leadership extends to media appearances in documentaries like "Crypto Revealed" and "NFTY 30," further cementing his influence in the blockchain space.

With nearly 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, Joseph Ziolkowski has navigated US and non-US regulatory environments to establish P&C and life insurance company infrastructure and insurance intermediaries. Joseph has formed over 100 captive insurance and reinsurance facilities and was formerly the co-founder of Trident Insurance Group, a niche admitted carrier domiciled in Maryland. More recently, Mr Ziolkowski co-founded Relm Insurance Ltd in 2019, a licensed commercial insurer in Bermuda and Relm Insurance II Ltd, a collateralized reinsurer, also domiciled in Bermuda.

Casey Grooms is the co-founder of Soulbound, an avant-garde social gaming platform empowering the new creator economy. Casey started his career as a Financial Analyst at Wells Fargo & Company. In 2010, he co-founded Bon La Vu, a fashiontech startup offering exclusive outfits sourced from local designers. He later co-founded Pocketmath in 2011, establishing the world's largest self-serve mobile advertising platform, which raised $20 million over our Series A and B rounds, hit $80 million a year in revenue, and scaled up to 50 employees, and exited in 2018. Casey's other investments include Uninstall.io in 2015 and MidBoss in 2016. In 2018, he founded Userbase, focusing on mobile app install services, and became a General Partner at Rhinocorn Ventures in 2021. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseygrooms/Soulbound Twitter: https://x.com/Soulbound_GG Soulbound Telegram: https://t.me/Soulbound_GG Soulbound Website: https://soulbound.gg/

James Lucas is the COO and co-founder of Lamina, a DeFi operating system driving mainstream adoption through seamless asset utilization. A proud crypto native, James entered the web3 space contributing to APAC community growth at Bybit. He previously oversaw legal operations across various hyper-growth start-ups and led partnerships and ecosystem development in multiple executive positions. James played a core role in delivering Web3 IP campaigns with FIFA, Universal Studios and Bandai Namco and managed pipelines for over $50,000,000 of brand deal volume to Web2 audiences of over 100,000,000 subscribers.James is committed to delivering a more cohesive blockchain ecosystem poised to penetrate all industries, focusing on improved UX. He founded the adoption strategy for ERC 4907 and ERC 5006, then scaled these two novel standards from zero to 100,000+ deployed contracts. James holds qualifications in Law and has a focus on compliance and risk management in Web3 innovation. Twitter: https://x.com/BuildrJ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-l-743a01191/ Lamina Twitter: https://x.com/laminafinance

Kurt Hemecker, CEO of the Mina Foundation Kurt Hemecker is CEO of the Mina Foundation, the public benefit corporation serving the Mina Protocol, the world’s first zero knowledge (ZK)-native blockchain, where he previously served as Chief Operating Officer. With extensive experience across the blockchain, payments, and mobile media industries, Kurt has held senior operating roles in the Diem Association (formerly Libra), Zong, a mobile payments company acquired by PayPal in 2011, and across various other PayPal initiatives with global mobile network carriers. 

Gabriele Giancola, CEO of The qiibee foundation, is a prominent Swiss entrepreneur known for his contributions to the Web3 and blockchain space. After graduating with a Master’s in Business Management from the University of St. Gallen, Gabriele co-founded qiibee, a blockchain-based loyalty ecosystem that helps brands run and connect loyalty programs. Gabriele has worked with brands such as Miles & More, Etihad Guest, Renault, and Coca-Cola. Dedicated to pushing the boundaries of how blockchain can be applied to solve real-world problems, Gabriele envisions rewards as one of the top three payment methods that will drive blockchain’s growth and societal impact. Gabriele’s areas of expertise include blockchain innovation and business enterprise loyalty programs. The qiibee foundation is a non-profit organization based in Zug, Switzerland established to promote and develop the qiibee loyalty blockchain infrastructure. The foundation also fuels promoting and supporting applications designed for the qiibee ecosystem. Such as the leading blockchain-based B2B rewards marketplace with instant access to world-renowned brands. The foundation bolsters the use, application, and enhancement of the qiibee rewards chain (QRC), governed by leading players of the rewards and blockchain markets. Through continued investment, innovation, and development, the qiibee foundation aims to make reward currencies one of the largest payment method globally.