The Blockchain Practitioners Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Blockchain Practitioners
Join Alexandros Ntolgkov, Steven Claeys & Stella Friaisse on their journey, learning about Blockchain & Digital Currencies by interviewing leaders & experts in the field and learning more about the projects they are working on!
In this episode, we are excited to have a special guest who is a thought leader in the emerging field of metaverse social commerce. Our guest studied at the University of British Columbia and is the founder of SPACE, a cutting-edge e-commerce platform that is shaping the future of the metaverse. With a tagline of "the future of metaverse social commerce," SPACE is focused on creating a community-centered platform that is designed to meet the needs of the next generation of consumers.
Our guest is also the co-founder and vice chair of OMA3, a leading organization that is driving the development of standards and protocols for the open metaverse. As a pioneer in the field, our guest has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing this rapidly evolving industry.
During our conversation, we explore the latest trends in metaverse social commerce, the role of blockchain technology in shaping the future of e-commerce, and the importance of creating open and inclusive platforms that can drive innovation and growth. We also discuss the challenges of building a successful business in this space and the key strategies that our guest has used to build a thriving community-centered platform.
If you are interested in the future of metaverse social commerce and want to learn more about the latest trends and developments in this exciting field, then you won't want to miss this episode of our blockchain podcast.
SPACE : https://www.tryspace.com/You can find us here :
Our website: https://www.blockchainpractitioners.com
Our Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-blockchain-practitioners
In the third episode of our discussion series, Stella, Dimi, and Steven engage in a conversation regarding the past, present, and future of the cryptoverse.
The conversation covers a range of topics such as the DAO hack, the creation of Ethereum Classic, recent arrests of Do Kwon, Akon, and Souljaboy, and their thoughts on both utopian and dystopian blockchain futures.
You can find us here :
Our website: https://www.blockchainpractitioners.com
Our Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-blockchain-practitioners
Since 2018 Nexo has strived to bring professional financial services to the world of digital assets. They empower people to harness the value behind their crypto assets, shaping a new, better financial system. Nexo currently manages assets for 5М+ users across 200 jurisdictions.
Elitsa Taskova is a Product Owner at Nexo. She has been part of the company’s engineering team since the very onset as she joined in 2019. Elitsa is the driving force behind launching Nexo’s flagship Earn Crypto Interest product, the instant Nexo Exchange, and most recently the non-custodial Nexo Wallet.
In this exclusive episode with her, we discuss how Nexo is actively taking part in shaping the future of web 3 and has been establishing itself as a leader and trend setter in the market in the past years.
Follow Elitsa Taskova on LinkedIn
Click here to visit Nexo website Click here to create your Nexo account
Suman Kanuganti is the Co-founder & CEO of Personal.ai. and also founded Aira Tech. Aira was recognized as one of Time Magazine's Best Inventions & Fast Company's World Changing Ideas where Suman scaled AI and AR technology to assist the blind and low-vision community. He's been featured on CNN, NY Times, CNBC, and Forbes.
Suman holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering, an MS in Robotics, an MBA in Entrepreneurship and has ten patents in emerging technologies as well. He loves exploring the creative potential of AI in Web3 and he is here to update us on the progress personal.AI made since we last interviewed him in the summer of 2022.
Links :
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanugantisuman
https://www.personal.ai
https://oasisprotocol.org/blog/oasis-personal-ai-privacy
Our second team episode for the blockchain practitioners podcast. In this episode, we speak about our favourite crypto memes, address Logan Paul's latest crypto scam, discuss the dangers of the metaverse and touch on NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Our website:https://www.blockchainpractitioners.com/
Our Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-blockchain-practitioners
We are very excited to present this episode with our very special guest Emre Bilgutay. Emre’s extraordinary journey in web 3 began at 13 years old. Fast forward to 17 years of age, he’s the cofounder of crypto executives, largest C-level Web3 community worldwide, the cofounder of DAOFund, a recognized advisor and trader.
In this episode, Emre talks about his history with the cryptoverse and blockchain industry, how his family supported his journey and where he'd like to be in 15 years time. His real passion lies in helping adoption of blockchain technologies by supporting the people and companies behind it.
Emre's Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/emre-bilgutay-93769b202
Crypto Executives Website : http://cryptoexecutives.io/
Our website :https://www.blockchainpractitioners.com/
Our Linkedin :https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-blockchain-practitioners
Our Twitter : https://twitter.com/BlockchainPrac1
To kick off the third season of our podcast we held a digital meeting where we discussed the recent events in the crypto-verse en blockchain industry as well as provide our listeners with some exciting announcements and a bit of a road map for the coming season!
Stella, Dimitar and Steven discuss news and plans in this dynamic episode to start the new season.
Links :
Our NEW Youtube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/@blockchainpractitioners
Our website : https://www.blockchainpractitioners.com/
Our Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-blockchain-practitioners
For the 7th episode of the second season of the blockchain practitioners, Alexandros talks to Entrepreneur Eric Gilbert Williams who is part of CityDAO a Decentralized Autonomous Organisation which is building a digital city in Wyoming United States.
Eric's companies:
Meme Market: https://meme.market/
Coin Lords: https://www.coinlords.com/
Neeraj Kashyap holds a Master of science in applied mathematics and holds a PhD in Number Theory from Indiana University.
He spent his late twenties in Japan, using mathematics and machine Learning to build algorithms to diagnose Parkinson’s disease and other similar disorders. This work made him realize the importance of building large-scale knowledge graphs, and he moved to Silicon Valley to focus on this work. He has worked at Google on TensorFlow, and has built knowledge graphs that are being used by major US healthcare organizations today. After that he became head of Blockchain and head of AI at doc.ai before leaving to create his own path.
Neeraj Kashyap is now the CEO of Moonstream.to, a company that provides technical blockchain infrastructure to add on-chain game mechanics to your game to take it to the next level.
Links :
Discord : https://discord.com/invite/K56VNUQGvA
Moonstream.to website : https://moonstream.to/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Moonstreamto
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/moonstream/
Personal handle of Neeraj Kashyap : @zomglings
And
Our website : https://www.blockchainpractitioners.com/
Our Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-blockchain-practitioners
Discover our latest episode about the challenges and opportunities of the Web 3.0 with Alexandre Hardouin.
Alexandre is a french former tech investment banker and a serial entrepreneur. He left his career in the traditional finance to pursue his dream career in the Web 3.0 and the metaverse by founding two companies: Metarchitect-Studio, an advisory firm for the metaverse as well as ClubMetaHouse, a NFT collection focusing on real estate and architecture. He’s also the co-founder of a start-up called Infuse Me and an art charity organization called Pacartiste.
https://metarchitect-studio.com/
Suman Kanuganti has an MBA in Entrepreneurship at the University of California Rady school of management, was the Founder of Aira, which develops augmented reality applications to help blind people. He is the current Founder & CEO of Personal AI, an AI startup that is building technology to create a digital version of your mind.
In this episode we talk about what a personal ai looks like and how it operates as well as why blockchain technology is key, not only for data ownership and protection but also for monetization and community growth.
Links :
https://www.personal.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanugantisuman/
For the 17th episode of our Blockchain Practitioners Podcast, our team member Alexandros talks to Christophe de Beukelaer, Member of the Belgian Parliament & Entrepreneur who started accepting his salary in Bitcoin recently.
Christophe's is a Belgian politician who was the Alderman of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre for 6 years before moving to the Belgian Parliament. Christophe's priorities and interests range from intelligent ecology, entrepreneurship & innovation. Christophe is also organising the annual Brussels Blockchain Week conference together with Raoul Ullens. Christophe is convinced that Blockchain will unleash a revolution of the same magnitude as did the internet 30 years ago, especially for sectors such as finance, insurance and management which will be turned upside down.
Link to Brussels Blockchain Week: https://blockchainweek.be/
Christophe's website: www.christophedebeukelaer.be
Christophe's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophedebeukelaer/
Christophe's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopheDeBeukelaerOFFICIEL
Christophe's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cdebeukelaer/
Blockchain enables financial inclusion and transparency across the value chain, which is paramount for a nongovernmental organization like the United Nations. During this episode, Federico, Head of Innovation at the World Food Programme from the UN will tell us about the use cases of blockchain throughout different UN-led projects. Federico joined WFP six years ago and since then, he has been fully dedicated to leveraging innovation and technology to positively impact the humanitarian sector. The UNWFP is known for its strong field presence and Federico will share with us the challenges and opportunities coming along with his role in the Kenya Office.
We are thrilled to present you the first episode of our second season featuring Petter from Chainalysis with whom we’ll talk about financial crimes and investigation. Chainalysis helps government agencies, crypto businesses and financial institutions stay compliant with AML regulations. Their data powers investigation and market intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases. Petter is a professional with 9 years of experience in Digital Assets and 5 years of professional experience in the blockchain industry helping businesses adopt blockchain technologies with a focus on permissionless, openness, and transparency. More on our website: https://www.blockchainpractitioners.com/
Morgan Deane is the CEO of Swiss-based investment bank, Baader Helvea. Originally, an international lawyer, he has worked with some of the world's most prominent financial institutions throughout his career.
He is an advisor, mentor and angel investor in early-stage companies focusing on blockchain and cryptocurrency-related ventures in his private capacity.
He also provides strategic advice to brands seeking to enter the Metaverse and advises Governments & International Organizations on Blockchain related projects.
He is a member of the Forbes Finance Council, a regular speaker & author, and a thought leader in disruptive technologies and innovation.
Links of the projects Morgan is involved in and we discuss in the episode:
N-chain link: www.nChain.com
Digital Village link: www.digitalvillage.io
This is part 2 of the interview with Violetta Shishkina, a serial entrepreneur, who recently figured in the list of the top 100 European most influential women in the startup and VC space (EU-Startups magazine). In this episode we talk with Violetta about her non-profit project Fe/male Switch - a simulator game that puts women in a virtual startup village, where they can experience startup life and get hands-on experience. We discuss the game, the benefits of participating in it and the road to creating this project.
This is part 2 of the interview with Violetta Shishkina, a serial entrepreneur, who recently figured in the list of the top 100 European most influential women in the startup and VC space (EU-Startups magazine). In this episode, we talk with Violetta about her non-profit project Fe/male Switch - a simulator game that puts women in a virtual startup village, where they can experience startup life and get hands-on experience. We discuss the game, the benefits of participating in it and the road to creating this project.
Violetta is a Russian serial entrepreneur. She is currently leading several startups and projects including CADChain and Fe/male Switch. In this episode, which will be divided into 2 parts, we will be talking about the various challenges and opportunities in the field of Intellectual property protection for blockchain. We will also talk about her social impact project which is an innovative simulation game aiming to bring more women into tech startups.
In this episode our colleague Alexandros talks with Yip about blockchain inclusion, education, diversity and how to prepare for the Token Economy. Additionally, we talk about Yip's own project, Unit: the WordPress of Digital Currencies. Yip designs Blockchain & Crypto Learning, Mentoring & Coaching Programs.
15 years expertise in desigining peer to peer or centralized training programs / curriculum, and designing transformation programs for self- and organizational development.
If you would like to enrol in any of Yip's educational programmes, you can find the links below:
Unit masters: 6 week learning programme: Unitmasters.org
DLT Talents: 18 week training and educational programme for women only: dlt-talents.com
DeFi Programme: 18 week training for Decentralized Finance: DeFi-talents.com
Leon is a passionate Bitcoiner. Over the past 6 years, he has been leading several initiatives aiming to observe and support the Bitcoin Revolution. Among those initiatives: Bitcoin Club Malta and more recently Bitcoin News, a project to give a voice to small projects and bring underground news to light.
As a digital nomad, Leon has been able to travel and witness with his own eyes the adoption of Bitcoin in various countries including El Salvador.
Leon's LinkedIn if you have any business enquiries: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonsiegmund/
Bitcoin News website: https://bitcoinnews.com/
In this episode Alexandros Ntolgkov talks to Manuel Klein Product Manager - Blockchain Solutions at the biggest German investment bank. Manuel has been working on how the existing monetary system works and what alternative monetary systems might develop in the future since 2014.
For the 8th episode of our Blockchain Practitioners Podcast, our team member Steven talks to Michiel Van Roey,Co-Founder & General Counsel at Profila and Data privacy lead for Benelux at the technology multinational Cisco.
Michiel is a qualified business lawyer with a Master of Law from the University of Antwerp. He got a Master's degree in intellectual property law at the University of Bern in Switzerland on an Erasmus scholarship (2012) and as a Fulbright scholar, he pursued an LL.M at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia. Michiel is working as legal counsel and Technology lawyer for Cisco Belgium and Luxembourg, providing commercial legal advice and negotiating contracts with Cisco partners and customers. He is also a Co-founder and General Counsel for a blockchain project called Profila, and will give us insight into this platform of new era data sharing, communication and digital marketing that is empowering people to take control of their personal data & get compensated for granting access to it.
Michiel Van Roey has a LinkedIn profile if you'd like to reach out to him for business inquiries :
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michielvanroey/
For the 7th episode of our Blockchain Practitioners Podcast, our team member Stella talks to Daniel Du Seuil, convenor at the European Self Sovereign Identity Framework at the European Blockchain Service Infrastructure (also known as EBSI).
Daniel is operating both as a project manager for digital transformation and as a convenor at the EBSI. The EBSI is a part of the European Blockchain Partnership, which gathers different European public sector administration services seeking to implement blockchain to collaborate more efficiently together. Daniel has previously been working on a national level with the Belgian government on blockchain program management before getting involved on a European level and becoming a member of the expert panel of the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum. Daniel is working actively on using blockchain in the field of Self Sovereign Identity (or SSI) and in this episode, he will give us insight on what SSI is and how it could be a game changer for citizens, governments and companies.
Daniel Du Seuil’s LinkedIn if you need to reach out to him for business inquiries: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielduseuil
For the 6th episode of our Blockchain Practitioners Podcast, our team member Alexandros talks to Alena Afanaseva CEO of BeInCrypto, one of the leading news companies specializing in blockchain and digital currencies!
Alena is the CEO and co-founder of BeInCrypto and guest lecturer on Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics! As a well-known Russian Financial Analyst in the past and a former Managing Editor of 'Currency Speculator' Magazine, Alena is knowledgeable on all topics related to macroeconomics, monetary policy, fundamental analysis of financial assets (both crypto and traditional), the future of blockchain and the current state of crypto regulation in Eastern Europe and Middle Eastern countries. Furthermore; Alena's background allows her to share the experience and perception of online news media business and the strategies behind building a world-known multi-language crypto news outlet.
Alena's LinkedIn if you need to reach out to her for business inquiries: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alena-afanaseva-beincrypto/
In the 5th episode of Blockchain Practitioners, our team member Steven Claeys had the pleasure and honor to talk to Lars Schlichting, a FinTech and LegalTech expert and Partner at the prestigious Swiss Business Law Firm Kellerhals Carrard. In addition, he is the Co-head of the Southern Alps Chapter of Crypto Valley Association, founding member of Ticino Blockchain Technologies Association and member of the advisory board of Swiss LegalTech Association. He is also a board member and Co-founder of Ibx.ch, one of the first exchanges in Switzerland to offer institutional clients an exchange for fiat currency vs crypto.
We talk about blockchain integration in finance and business today as well as in the future with one of the leading experts in this field as Lars has vast experience in leading the digitization process in the financial industry!
Lars's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-schlichting-2a808113/
Lars's Twitter: https://twitter.com/schlichtinglars
In our fourth episode of the Blockchain Practitioners Podcast Alexandros talks to Giovanni Franzese about how the company he is part of, Ericsson is using Blockchain as an advantage and the benefits and ROI that they see in their investment as well as his own own journey into digital currencies and blockchain.
Giovanni is the Head of Blockchain Business Development CIO Ericsson and has vast experience in international business and technology. Giovanni has been in the space as early as 2010 when the technology was practically unknown!
In our third episode of the Blockchain Practitioners Podcast Steven talks to Randa al Rifai about how to enforce and implement KYC and GDPR with the help of blockchain.
Randa al-Rifai is a seasoned professional in the Lebanese Banking industry. The first certified Middle Eastern woman in Digital Currencies and Blockchain. Leader of Lebanese Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain community (BBB Labs). Ambassador of IFF (Institute for the Future) – University of Nicosia MSc Student of Digital Currency and Blockchain at University of Nicosia Keynote Speaker & Instructor.
In our second episode of the Blockchain Practitioners Podcast, Alexandros Ntolgkov talks to the CEO of Dcentric Health Georgina Kyriakoudes!
Georgina was one of the first people in the world to gain a Masters in Blockchain with distinction. Prior to co-founding Dcentric Health she spent 10 years working in international businesses in London and Cyprus as an auditor, including PwC and Deloitte. She gained her Certified Accountant qualification and built successful online education platforms.
Thanks to her extensive research into medical records and blockchain, she has been published in prestigious publications such as the Lancet, and has delivered keynote speeches across the world.
The My Aria website: https://myaria.health
In our first episode of the Blockchain Practitioners Podcast, Stella Friaise talks to CEO and Co-founder of NGRAVE Ruben Merre whose ambition was to build the safest cold wallet on the planet about what a cold wallet is and what are the risks you are avoiding by buying one.
Ruben Merre is co-founder and CEO of NGRAVE, a blockchain technology company on a mission to empower individuals and businesses to take seamless and secure ownership and control of their digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Under the tagline #OwnYourAssets, NGRAVE offers a fully integrated solution consisting of a new generation of hardware wallet - "The Coldest Wallet", a cold back-up, and a plug and play interface for online solutions such as exchanges and software wallets.
Ruben is a repeat entrepreneur who launched his first business when he was eight years old, followed by later on in his career establishing the first automated investment platform in his home country and leveraging a fluency in six languages to scale it internationally. Ruben is a lifelong learner, obtaining multiple postgraduate degrees in parallel to his professional life as a strategy & management consultant, and entrepreneur. He also successfully completed Oxford University’s Blockchain Strategy Program. Prior to NGRAVE, Ruben was recruited by an international financial institution to lead their entrepreneurial endeavor of setting up a group-wide algorithmic trading/investment platform from scratch, leading over twenty teams. His growing interest and passion for blockchain and digital assets made him shift his career to founding NGRAVE and evangelizing the technology by removing some of the most important adoption hurdles: security and customer experience. Ruben was also named a Belgium's 40 under 40 in 2021.
*You can find the NGRAVE Wallet in this link: https://www.ngrave.io/
You can find a video of how the NGRAVE wallet works here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mrxt0L5cS8*