The Crypto Wunderkid

For this interview, Maria Debrincat met with Emre Bilgutay, a young visionary making waves in the crypto arena. From visionary to reality, this rising star has carved a path to success, armed with a deep understanding of the crypto market and a drive for innovation.

Can you tell us about your background and how you became involved in the crypto industry at such a young age?

I was first introduced to Bitcoin in mid-2019, when I was just 13 years old. I eventually started investing in cryptocurrencies using my father’s information to set up an account on Binance.

During the 2021 bull market, I grew curious about what I was trading besides just token tickers and candles, and I slowly began to learn more about the industry. This led me to delve deeper into the world of web3 and I realised that I wanted to play a role in the growth and adoption of the industry. I started attending crypto-related events, trying desperately to find someone in the industry to mentor me, but without much success.

That changed when I met Faraj Abutalibov, who brought me into the industry and, after a few weeks of dialogue and intensive learning, we co-founded Crypto Executives and DaoFund. This was my entry into the industry in late 2021, at the age of 16.

Tell us more about Crypto Executives as a community. What types of discussions or topics are commonly discussed in the group? (members profile, selection process).

What are the advantages of being part of this community? Can you talk about any notable events, meetups, or projects that have been organized by the community members?

Being part of the network has a multitude of benefits. To start, there is no fee for entry. The community comprises over 1,200 crypto companies, including VCs, startups, exchanges, service providers, and more. The network provides its members with access to all these elements for communication and networking/business opportunities.

We’ve also hosted a few events in Dubai exclusively for our network with many more to come, and have conducted multiple online events such as demo days and expert workshops for education and promoting awareness for some companies.

Tell us more about DAOFund, what’s the vision behind this VC?

DaoFund will be the venture arm of Crypto Executives. Simply put, the idea behind DaoFund is to be an early-stage, venture capital firm focused on investments across all segments, but with a preference for projects that will have a positive impact on the industry. Our main mission encompasses two areas. First, we aim to invest wisely and patiently, avoiding a “spray and pray” mentality. Second, we aim to provide immense value to our portfolio projects by assisting in multiple areas such as product development, tokenomics, exposure to funds and investors, and most importantly, connecting them to practically anyone within our network. This is all in the pursuit of improving the industry.

Can you discuss any notable partnerships or collaborations you have established within the crypto industry?

As of now, we have established collaborations with over 300 crypto-focused funds, 30 exchanges, 30 launchpads, and dozens of companies in marketing, market making, auditing, and development. We’ve also partnered with about a dozen projects in an advisory capacity and have mutual value-add collaborations with over 400 additional companies in the crypto space within our network.

We recently started building our event partnerships to provide high-quality, exclusive events for those in our network. Our ideology is to always identify what someone needs and what someone can provide in order to tie up loose ends. We view every person we meet and talk to as a new opportunity for ourselves or someone else in our network.

What are your main goals and aspirations?

My main goal and aspiration is to help the industry as a whole and stay true to the reason I was motivated to join this space in the first place. A single connection can make a big difference and accomplish great things, but the challenge is finding that one connection. Connectivity and engagement in the crypto industry are essential for everyone’s success. My main target is to grow the network and provide help and value to projects, individuals, and companies in multiple ways, with the aim of accelerating the growth of the industry.

My main goal and aspiration is to help the industry as a whole and stay true to the reason I was motivated to join this space in the first place.

“The idea for Crypto Executives emerged when Faraj and I realized how difficult it was to network efficiently and in a fully trusted manner.

Blockchain technology, monetized assets, and decentralised gaming platforms are set to revolutionise the gaming industry, promising innovative gameplay experiences. Laurin Bylica, Director of Partnerships at Illuvium.io discusses the revolutionary Web3 gaming phenomenon with Matthew Calleja.

What’s your experience with both blockchain gaming and traditional gaming? How does it help you as a Director of Partnerships?

As a Director of Partnerships, my experience with traditional gaming has helped me understand the importance of creating a valuable gaming experience for players. With blockchain gaming, I see an opportunity to provide an engaging gaming experience and allow players to own and monetise their in-game assets. This creates a new ecosystem where players can earn value in a virtual economy that can even be considered part of the GDP calculation in the future.

I used to be a traditional gamer, but the time and money I invested in those games didn’t have much return since I couldn’t extract any value from my accumulated assets or achievements.

However, with Web3 gaming, I can now participate in a virtual economy where I own and can extract value from my acquired assets. This shift towards a decentralised and more open gaming economy can create new opportunities for gaming companies to work with partners to enhance their offerings and provide more value to their customers.

How do you see blockchain gaming evolving in the next few years?

Looking ahead, blockchain gaming will continue to evolve and become a more established part of the gaming industry. In the next few years, I anticipate a shift from play-to-earn games to simply enjoyable games which have a play to earn component. As game developers integrate blockchain technology into their game design, the gaming experience will become more comparable to Web2 gaming, if not better.

Another exciting aspect of blockchain gaming is the ownership and tradability of virtual assets. As ownership becomes more prominent, new and exciting use cases emerge. The ability for assets to be moved between games either in the same universe and perhaps even between the different game worlds of various properties enhances and creates a more unique experience to how games are experienced.

What challenges do you anticipate with implementing the upgrades to traditional gaming?

The challenges are varied, from a technical standpoint implementing blockchain technology and infrastructure in games is something which is both immense and complicated. The technical aspects aside however, another challenge is the poor reputation of various blockchain games, how they’ve been marketed and more importantly how they’ve been designed. Finally, traditional gaming is well established and a huge market with established IP and fiercely loyal audiences. The potential benefits of overcoming these challenges however make it an exciting prospect for the future of gaming.

As Web3 gaming advances and offers comparable gameplay to Web2 games, gamers will see the benefits of blockchain gaming and asset ownership.

Do you believe that players who are not interested in financial rewards or tokens may benefit from blockchain gaming, or do you think they might be alienated by it? How do you anticipate blockchain gaming will impact these players?

Blockchain gaming has the potential to benefit players beyond financial rewards or tokens, but there is a risk of alienating them if the focus is solely on play-to-earn. To appeal to traditional gamers, Web3 gaming must prioritise creating unique, engaging games, immersive story worlds and IP that is on par with traditional gaming. These fundamentals create sustainable economies and natural demand for assets beyond just play-toearn and create an intrinsic value that compliments play to earn. The ownership of assets and interoperability really isn’t just about the financial gains, it has the potential to revolutionise the gaming industry and build bridges between games in a single universe or between games set in other worlds with their own IP. A pure play-toearn model is unsustainable without broad player engagement.

Web3 game developers must create games that appeal to a wide range of players. By focusing on quality game design, sustainable economies, and asset ownership, Web3 gaming has the potential to transform the gaming industry and offer benefits to players beyond just financial rewards.

Can you provide some promising use case examples of this revolution?

Interoperable blockchain gaming is an innovative concept that has the potential to revolutionise the gaming industry, and several promising use case examples showcase its potential.

Illuvium is an excellent example of this concept, offering three unique gaming titles across different genres that form an interoperable subgenre. Players can trade in-game assets obtained from one game in the other Illuvium games, creating an actual virtual economy across the games’ ecosystems. This approach offers players diverse gaming experiences while enabling them to participate in a unified virtual economy, leading to increased engagement and a more vibrant gaming community.

How do game developers benefit from working on blockchain and Web3 games?

Game developers stand to benefit greatly from working on blockchain and Web3 games, working on these cutting-edge technologies allows developers to be at the forefront of innovation and drive the creation of the next generation of games. This presents an exciting challenge for developers passionate about building unique and engaging experiences for players.

The growing popularity of blockchain and Web3 games means a growing demand for developers with expertise in these areas. This presents a significant opportunity for developers to advance their careers and work on innovative projects with talented teams.

What regulatory challenges does the blockchain gaming industry face?

The regulatory frameworks that govern the gaming industry were not built to accommodate the new technologies that underpin blockchain and Web3 gaming.

To advance innovation in Web2 gaming, it is crucial that the industry collaborates with regulators to develop regulatory frameworks that support innovation while protecting consumers. This will require a dialogue between the industry and regulators.

Meet Jay, aka DustyBC, a crypto influencer, entrepreneur, and content creator who provides daily insights into finance, entrepreneurship, and the everchanging world of cryptocurrencies. Discover how he got started and his predictions for the future of crypto in this exclusive interview with Matthew Calleja.

What has your crypto journey been like? What inspires your content and makes your YouTube channel unique?

My crypto journey began in 2013 when I was 13 years old, and I discovered cryptocurrency as a way to accept payments. It’s been a bumpy ride, I’ve made many mistakes, and I’m okay with that. The most important thing is to learn from your mistakes, and to not keep making them over and over again. The most important rule I stand by though, after investing in hundreds of different projects is, I’d rather lose some money trying, than regretting forever that I didn’t try.

I’ve been creating YouTube content since 2010 and switched from gaming content to daily videos about my investments in 2016. My goal was to inspire others to explore the financial space. In 2022, when I reached 130,000 subscribers, I started showing my face in videos. I’ve never sold my followers anything, never sold a course, never asked for handouts, all I did was share my investment journey, and try to help others to get to the place where I am today. I worked my way up from $0 to where I am today, and I believe I can teach you how to do the same.

What is your outlook on the crypto market? How do you see it evolving in the next 5 to 10 years?

I believe the crypto market is only a tiny fraction of what it’s about to become. I manage a crypto-oriented fund, and our primary investment focus lies in the Game-Fi and DeFi sectors due to their high risk-to-reward ratio. I believe the next big trend in crypto could be Game-Fi or AI-oriented.

Over the next decade, the Web3 and blockchain space mixed with AI will be the backbone of our new society. The top list of cryptocurrencies will be drastically different as more mainstream companies adopt this technology and dabble in creating their own. This will also lead into a shift in current market leaders. Despite the current uncertainty, I stand by the idea that a shift into cryptocurrencies and CBDCs is inevitable and will soon be used in most people’s day-to-day lives, even though many are calling for their downfall.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges facing investors in the crypto space?

As of this point it’s still difficult to get accustomed to Web3, the barriers of entry are still relatively high. Part of the reason I make daily content on Youtube, is to educate people about crypto in the form of news updates, but also simple explanations about how the technology works, can be used, and how to get started with it. The crypto space advances by wide margins every month. And to make proper investment choices, I think one has to be on top of the latest advancements and trends. For that reason, I am always on top of the latest developments, and try to share them with my hundreds of thousands of followers, every single day.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting to invest in cryptocurrency?

My personal suggestion to anybody looking to get into crypto is, just plunge in, and figure things out later, as long as it’s funds you can easily afford to lose. Looking back, I’ve had the most fun investing into crypto, when I knew little about it. Every new cryptocurrency and use case was like an entire new world opening up. Do you have any other goals or interests that you cover on social media?

There are many different social media networks that I’m involved in. I have equity in many instagram pages, with a combined following of over 94 million followers. And I’m now also working on many different content platforms to help people learn about money, entrepreneurship and motivation. An example is my second brand called “TheBusinessRealm”, where I teach people about finance every day.

The crypto space advances by wide margins every month. To make proper investment choices, one has to be on top of the latest advancements and trends.