Ivan Zhelev

I first joined the Web3 space five years ago, chasing 100x returns. I was trading tech stocks at university, but a friend advised me to join crypto and get "rich together". I have lost money trading crypto. However, I stayed because I came to understand the importance of monetary policies and ownership after reading The Bitcoin Standard, The Creature from Jekyll Island and Read, Write, Own and a few more crypto classics that shaped my perspective. I went deep down the rabbit hole and realised it’s not just about making money, it’s about preserving purchasing value. Over the past few years, I haven’t held more than £10,000 in fiat at any time. I aim to book flights and hotels with crypto, and I use it for my daily expenses as well. I borrow against my BTC and ETH. I began my communications career working with the teams at Dropbox and Vodafone, and later went on to cover markets for Cointelegraph. That experience gave me both deep industry knowledge and sharp strategic insight.My business partner and I went on to launch my own London-based communications agency, helping companies evolve from crypto projects to digital asset businesses. We also work closely with political parties, supporting digital asset companies as they establish themselves in the UK.I’ve traded memecoins, experimented with DePIN projects, restacked with EigenLayer, paid contractors in stablecoins and tried decentralised social media platforms like Zora/Farcaster.For me, blockchain technology is a life choice. I’ve used exchanges like Bitget and crypto cards for payments, and I’m always open to exploring new tools and platforms in the space.Today, I’m a podcast host at Blockster and have spoken on stage at industry events including Zebu Live, the Crypto AI Conference, and Balkans Crypto. I’ve also had the opportunity to host ETH Dublin and ETH Cluj. I will be hosting panels at Cosmoverse and London Blockchain Week. I also attended over 100 events over the years.