Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: Empowering Ukraine's Reconstruction
Bitcoin Pioneer, Netflix Doc "Banking on Bitcoin", Bitcoin Center 2013, Founder of Bitcoin and Blockchain Centers Worldwide.
Sergii GrybniakKey Ideas:
- Background:
- Technology pioneer since 1978 (built Heathkit computer at age 13)
- Senior adviser on 5 US presidential campaigns
- Worked with Dr. Ron Paul on competing currencies
- Created first live cryptocurrency exchange (Bitcoin Center NYC, 2013) next to NYSE
- Featured in documentary "Banking on Bitcoin"
- Has patent on blockchain voting with paper ballots
- Invented multi-branch blockchain
- Early Digital Innovation:
- Built NoMoreHotels.com (1995) - first Airbnb-style platform with 60K vacation rentals globally
- Livery cab service before Uber
- Lost businesses to centralized payment system failures and 9/11
- Received only $40K government loan after losing $200K/month
- Lesson: "Government isn't going to save you, merchant banks aren't going to save you. You got to save yourself"
- Bitcoin Center History:
- Attempted to rent booth at NYSE, was laughed out
- Started selling Bitcoin on street outside NYSE
- Opened 6,000 sq ft center where many current crypto companies launched
- Shut down by regulations (BitLicense)
- Fundraising Innovation:
- Created "money bombs" for Ron Paul campaign
- First to get PayPal approved for political fundraising (2007)
- Record-breaking: $4.3M in one day (previous record was $800K)
- Strategy: Queue donations for specific date, viral screenshot sharing on Facebook
- Obama tried same approach, only raised $2,800 same day
- Second money bomb: $6.03M (Tea Party anniversary date)
- Key lesson: Need a gimmick/date to create viral momentum
- Transparency & Accountability ($71B+ to Ukraine):
- Current aid system lacks transparency, creates rumors about fund misuse
- Solution: Put everything on blockchain for immutable traceability
- Crypto Bonds for Infrastructure:
- Float bonds for specific projects (e.g., highway construction)
- Smart contracts automatically distribute toll revenue to bondholders
- Creates transparent, auditable investment opportunities
- Traditional approaches (IMF, World Bank) impose ideologies as conditions for loans
- Blockchain enables crowdfunding/crowdsourcing without political strings
- Crisis Zone Accessibility:
- Not everyone has phones/electricity/internet
- Brain wallet solution: Give people 12 words representing money
- Can transact with just pieces of paper - no phone needed
- One coordinator with device can facilitate food distribution
- Validates transactions by checking if "spent or not spent"
- Global Investment & Stable Coins:
- Transparency attracts more global investment
- Must "eat our own dog food" - use DAOs, not LLCs
- Many "blockchain" people don't even have MetaMask wallets
- Stable coins saved the US dollar: Tether became largest purchaser of US Treasury bills before Stable Coin Act
- Trump's Stable Coin Act: Anyone can make stablecoins (just deposit $1M, audit monthly)
- For Ukraine: Could create Ukrainian stablecoin, let people buy bonds in it
- Digital Identity:
- Should be held in encrypted escrow
- Only unlockable with court order for serious crimes (like "body in hotel room")
- No constant surveillance - Why must government know who you are all the time if you did nothing wrong?
- Real Estate Tokenization:
- Cannot directly tokenize deeds - no blockchain-ready hall of records exists yet
- Many scams (people bought Thailand apartment NFTs that weren't real)
- Proper method:
- Wyoming corporations with smart contract address in name
- Mint shares only on specified blockchain (e.g., Ethereum)
- Corporation owns 100% of deed (recorded traditionally)
- Shareholders own corporation shares (tokenized)
- Can sell shares, corporation maintains deed ownership
- Financial Crimes:
- Most money laundering happens in traditional banking system
- Privacy vs Anonymity: Should have privacy for business transactions but not complete anonymity
- EY approach: Require identity, give governments legal process for access
- As crypto scales, onchain traceability may be better than traditional systems
- Philosophical Mission:
- "If we don't use open transparent blockchain to free us, powers-that-be will use closed data silos they call 'blockchain' to imprison and enslave us"
- Technology enables peaceful monetary revolution
- "You are the George Washingtons of this revolution"
- Free humanity for future generations - our ancestors didn't have this chance
- Current test beds: Tanzania (internet shut down 3 weeks for election), Nigeria (throttled ATMs to force CBDC adoption)
- Technologists must help people stay connected, maintain lifeline to world
- Vision from Future:
- Imagine future: living in cubicles, controlled by robots, mentally tortured
- From that dystopian future, how much would you give to be back in present to affect change?
- Use every moment now to prevent that future
- Without action, may end up with centralized control and lost freedom
- Tax Philosophy:
- "Why do they want money back? They print trillions, get $800B in taxes - who cares?"
- They don't want money back - they want us dominated with no free time
- "We've been robbed. Wake up and fight this monetary revolution"
We're excited to introduce another featured speaker for the IEEE 2nd Ukrainian DLT Forum: REBUIDL: Nick Spanos, Bitcoin Pioneer and Founder of Bitcoin Center NYC.
Nick Spanos will share insights on the evolution of cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption, drawing from his pioneering experience founding the world's first physical cryptocurrency exchange, Bitcoin Center NYC, located directly across from the NYSE in 2013. His work has been instrumental in bridging the gap between traditional finance and the emerging crypto ecosystem, championing decentralization and monetary sovereignty.
As founder of Blockchain Technologies Corp. (creator of the VoteWatcher blockchain voting platform) and co-founder of Zap.org, Spanos brings deep expertise in blockchain applications ranging from voting systems to smart contract integration with real-world data. Featured in the Netflix documentary Banking on Bitcoin, he has become a globally recognized speaker and thought leader in the space.
His presentation will offer valuable perspectives on the early days of Bitcoin, the challenges of building cryptocurrency infrastructure, and the future of decentralized systems — from his experiences working with Ron Paul's 2008 campaign to establishing blockchain centers worldwide.
Sign up: https://luma.com/ophiykvy
Full agenda: https://luma.com/dltforum