People Fundamentals #5: Bianca Veleva – Bringing Order! to Blockchain

Sep 21, 2022 4 min read

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If you’ve ever wondered where crypto legal teams get the guts to leave established legal careers to practice in the crypto industry whose regulatory framework doesn’t even exist yet – then have a read of this story. Bianca Veleva – our Head of Legal & Regulatory Compliance – is on a mission to bring compliance to crypto and she’s absolutely on fire. Check out her interview and learn where she got the grit, prowess and drive to turn her classic career as a lawyer into a flourishing crypto adventure.

Bianca Veleva – Bringing Order! To Blockchain

1) Who are you? Describe yourself in a few words.

I’m Bianca – a lawyer with more than 12 years of professional experience, multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional expertise, and diverse interests; a crypto and blockchain enthusiast; a time, space and law traveler; and seer of worlds.

Having practiced in various legal areas – from personal data protection through corporate and commercial law, construction law, tax and customs law, and litigation, all the way to finance and banking law – I always try to think out of the box. As Head of Legal & Regulatory Compliance of Nexo’s global operations, I now come face to face with the legal challenges in the blockchain industry on a daily basis. In essence, I aim to create legal order out of blockchain chaos and lay the legal foundations of a new financial world.

To tell you the truth, I have some concerns about the metaverse and its impact on our lives, so I haven’t gone into its full depth yet. However, if I have to describe my #Meta-Identity, it would most probably look like my real-life personality – Huntress of Worlds.

Bianca in constant competition with herself. AI art *generated with Midjourney by Milko Marinov, Instagram: @eye.vs.eye.*

3) You have all the resources you need; what do you want to create?

I have always tried to stay as close to reality as possible, set short-term life goals, manage expectations, and avoid getting lost in my imagination. In fact, as a very dynamic person, I have never had enough free time to pause and think of what I would create if I had all the resources to do so.

That said, if I have to answer this question on the spot, I’d say I’d create some sort of a global social relations project where people are encouraged to maintain and nourish their human nature, real-life personal identity, and social skills while trying to eliminate the negative impacts of virtual reality. One shouldn’t hide behind an avatar or NFT, but rather show who they are and actively interact with others offline. That’s what makes everyone distinguishable and ultimately how we bring value to one another and the world.

4) How did you get into crypto? What’s your Nexo story?

After I had achieved a significant milestone in my legal career – winning a case in a complex international arbitration dispute in Paris – I knew I needed a change. And this change came unexpectedly about four years ago with a meeting in a hotel lobby. An inspiring person revealed the potential of virtual assets to me, showing me a picture on the wall and saying: We are on the edge of a new digital era. Soon we will be able to own digital shares of paintings like this one.

Up until this moment, I had a modest idea of what BTC and crypto were, but somehow that meeting helped me feel their hidden potential. As a leader and creator by nature, rather than а follower, I decided to take the risk and grasp the opportunity. That’s why I joined Nexo and had the chance to become an early adopter, laying the legal foundations of a new financial world. I felt it was now or never and I chose now.

And that’s the beginning of a story full of challenges, adventures, and new horizons. Or as the Chinese curse says: May you live in interesting times.

5) What is your biggest challenge?

The never-ending competition with myself.

6) What is your biggest failure?

Always taking even minor failures too seriously rather than just as part of the game.

7) How many hours do you sleep?

Legal never sleeps.

8) What’s in your crypto survival kit?

Courage
Creativity
Equanimity
Thinking ahead
Crypto evangelism

9) What coin are you most curious about?

I have always been curious about all coins that appear in the blockchain space – from the ancestor of all cryptocurrencies – BTC – to every new coin-related attempt to change the blockchain reality and conquer the crypto world.

10) Who’s on your must-follow list on Twitter?

I have to admit that I’m not a Twitter lover and the creation of my Twitter account was much more driven by necessity than desire. My must-follow list has always included competitors, leading figures in the blockchain space, such as @naval, @aantonop @VitalikButerin, etc., and various other accounts that serve as sources for useful up-to-date information on the blockchain space. And, of course, there’s @elonmusk who plays an important role in almost everything that happens on Earth…

11) Who are you outside of work?

I’m a friendly, positive, energetic, and outdoorsy person, always full of inspiration and ideas for an eventful life.

To me crypto/blockchain is……a smoldering volcano.

The smoldering blockchain volcano. AI art *generated with Midjourney by Milko Marinov, Instagram: @eye.vs.eye.*

Next Week on People Fundamentals

Thus far, you’ve read about experts from our Product, Trading, Business Development, and Legal teams, but next time we’re covering someone from yet another area: Sales! Get ready to read about long-term crypto enthusiast and Account Management Team Lead Hristiyan Hristov. Hristiyan has been swimming in crypto waters since before 2017 and has some stories to tell. Tune in next Wednesday for his two cents.