Ecosystem Builder · NYC

Complex systems.
Clear strategy.
Real execution.

I work where ideas become infrastructure — building ecosystems in Web3 and AI, translating ambiguity into strategy, and connecting people who should already know each other.

01

What I Do

Ecosystem Building

I build communities that actually do things.

Not just audiences — operational networks. I connect students with industry, ideas with capital, and builders with each other. At NYU Blockchain Lab, I turned a student org into a recognized node in NYC's digital assets ecosystem.

Strategy & Execution

I operate well in undefined environments.

Given ambiguity, I build structure. Given structure, I find the gaps. As Chief of Staff at a DeFi protocol, I translated product mechanics into market narrative — and made sure the execution matched the vision.

Market Translation

I make complex things legible without losing precision.

Research on ETF-era Bitcoin. GTM for yield protocols. Content that treats the audience as intelligent. The skill isn't simplification — it's finding the right level of resolution for the right room.

02

Selected Work

Community · BD
NYU Blockchain Lab
Nov 2025 — Present

A student org that needed to become a real player in NYC's digital assets scene.

Built the operating system from scratch — speaker sourcing, event execution, multichannel promotion. Secured partnerships with BNB Chain, OKX, and Solana. Moderated panels with founders, VCs, and protocol leads. Grew and managed a 250+ member Telegram community. Led 20+ events across panels, workshops, office visits, and hackathons.

20+ events executed 250+ community members BNB Chain · OKX · Solana
nyublockchainlab.xyz →
DeFi · GTM
SproutFi
Nov 2025 — Present

A DeFi yield protocol with strong mechanics but a gap between what it does and what users understand.

Designed the go-to-market messaging framework — translating complex yield strategy into user-facing and market-facing narratives. Synthesized market feedback to inform product communication. Supported founder storytelling to build user trust and clarify the product's position in a crowded DeFi landscape.

GTM framework built 0→1 Product messaging · Content
sproutfi.xyz →
Research
Independent Research
Aug 2025 — Present

An open question: does the Bitcoin halving still matter in a world with ETFs and institutional participation?

Used event-time analysis and Newey-West adjusted regressions on weekly return data to test whether post-halving return patterns persisted in 2024. Finding: they didn't — meaningfully muted compared to prior cycles, suggesting the market had already priced the supply shock earlier. Also authored a broader paper on stablecoins, RWAs, and the institutional adoption of digital assets.

Econometric analysis BTC · ETF · RWA · Stablecoins
TradFi · Automation
China Merchants Securities
Aug–Nov 2025

A Debt Capital Markets team running daily macro and fixed-income analysis manually across China and U.S. markets.

Built an AI-assisted monitoring workflow and automated dashboards for yields, spreads, and market news — cutting data errors by 90% and improving research efficiency by 60%. Supported bond pricing and issuance analysis through comparable screening and market commentary.

60% efficiency gain 90% fewer data errors
Equity Research
Guosheng Securities
Jun–Aug 2025

An investment team running quantitative and fundamental equity analysis across Chinese markets.

Authored an investment thesis on Eoptolink — a leading optical module firm in CPO applications — combining top-down industry analysis with bottom-up DCF and peer benchmarking. Recommended a long position. It returned 135%.

135% validated return DCF · Peer comps · CPO sector
03

Events I've Led

Every event below was organized, executed, and often moderated by me — not just attended. This is what ecosystem building looks like in practice: finding the right people, getting them in the same room, and making the conversation worth having.

20+
events organized
5+
panels moderated
250+
community members
3
major chain partnerships
Panels & Industry Talks
How to Break Into the Industry Luma →
Paths into Crypto Venture Capital Luma →
From NYU → Real World Leverage (Alumni Panel) Luma →
Navigating Your Path in Web3 Luma →
Money & Finance (r)Evolution? Luma →
Navigating Institutional Crypto Luma →
The Future Flow of Money Luma →
Digital Gold vs. Payments Luma →
On-Chain Privacy & Stablecoins: Security, Regulation, Institutional Adoption Luma →
Partner & Institutional Events
NYU Blockchain Lab × Grayscale Investments Luma →
NYU Blockchain Lab × Galaxy Luma →
DeFi Office Hours: 1inch × Ledger Luma →
BNB Chain & YZi Labs @ NYU BNB Chain
Office Visits
Solana Office Visit — NYC Post →
OKX Web3 Academy × NYU Luma →
Networking & Happy Hours
Digital Assets Happy Hour: RWA, Tokenization & Institutional Adoption Luma →
Ivy Students & Builders Rooftop Happy Hour Luma →
Hackathons
Build on Bitcoin Luma →
HashKey Chain — Horizon Hackathon Post →
Build with TRAE.ai & MiniMax @ NYC Luma →
04

How I Think

On Uncertainty

Most people wait for clarity before they act. I've learned that clarity is often the output of action, not its precondition. In ambiguous systems — early-stage protocols, new markets, undefined roles — the people who move first learn fastest. The goal isn't to eliminate risk. It's to make better bets with incomplete information.

On Web3 & AI

These aren't just technologies. They're new coordination systems. Web3 is rebuilding how value flows between people. AI is rebuilding how information gets processed. The interesting work isn't in the tech itself — it's in the gap between what these systems can do and what the world is still organized to receive.

On Building

The best builders I've met aren't the loudest. They're the ones who understand the system they're working inside — its incentives, its friction points, its unspoken rules — and then find the place where effort compounds. My background in economics isn't academic decoration. It's how I read rooms, markets, and organizations.

On TradFi & DeFi

I don't see them as opposites. TradFi trained me to think in flows, risk, and structure. DeFi showed me what those same things look like when the middlemen are optional. The real opportunity is at the seam — for people who understand both languages and can speak to both rooms.

05

Get in Touch

If you're building something in Web3, AI, or emerging markets
— or need someone who can — let's talk.
yz11354@nyu.edu →