Selected work
Seven engagements where the outcome is specific. The rest of the path is below, in
order, not a random dump.
CTO and co-founder · 2023 to present
- Problem
- Cities get the drone complaints. Most cannot see flights live, prove oversight after an incident, or fund the work. Commercial operators already fly overhead with no local governance layer.
- What I did
- Owned technology strategy and architecture for Atlas, a government OS for low-altitude airspace, plus add-ons for permits, detection, aerial response, and air-rights revenue. Led a team of up to 20 across web, mobile, and backend. The platform sits alongside FAA rules and connects to Remote ID, UTM, operator C2, and city systems.
- Outcome
- Live municipal product at sky.trade. Supported fundraising.
CTO · 2018 to 2022
Close Cross
- Problem
- The first MiFID II regulated crypto firm needed a peer-to-peer derivatives product live under the license, not as a sandbox demo. Architecture, QA, and security all sat on the critical path.
- What I did
- Started as a part-time architect, then owned end-to-end delivery: Ethereum L2 state channels, certification evidence, and the security bar regulators actually check.
- Outcome
- Product went live; Malta MiFID II license obtained.
Team leader and architect · 2013 to 2018
Intelligent Payments
- Problem
- A PCI DSS Level 1 gateway serving large gaming and e-commerce clients had to stay reliable while integrating 100+ payment rails and AML controls.
- What I did
- Led distributed teams across Gibraltar, Malta, and Romania. Built payment integrations and risk subsystems; introduced CI and quality tooling at scale.
- Outcome
- Gateway held PCI L1 under load. Business later acquired by EVO Payments.
CTO · 2022 to 2023
- Problem
- An NFT-focused software house needed white-label launchpad, marketplace, and issuance tooling that could ship on more than one chain without becoming unmaintainable.
- What I did
- Set the architecture and first prototype; led a team of up to 15. Delivered Ethereum, Polygon, and ImmutableX integrations.
- Outcome
- Three-chain platform in production, with a stack the team could keep shipping on.
CTO, Architect · 2022 to 2024
- Problem
- Crypto has trading rails but no simple way to choose volatility without margin calls and liquidations.
- What I did
- Architected SMART tokens (RiskON / RiskOFF) that split BTC and ETH exposure, plus TokenFactory, Orchestrator, and Elastic Supply Pool in upgradeable Solidity. Hired the founding engineering team; off-chain risk engine, on-chain settlement.
- Outcome
- Protocol and app live at riskprotocol.io.
Co-founder, CTO and COO · 2021 to present
- Problem
- Buying LATAM property remotely meant travel, opaque paperwork, and no portal built for that path.
- What I did
- Built the first platform and the remote operating model. Hired across IT, marketing, sales, and business development, and still co-run operations.
- Outcome
- Portal live at jhely.com for Spanish-speaking LATAM and Europe.
Architected the solution · 2025 to present
- Problem
- Founders already pay for chat AI and still copy-paste into email, CRM, and calendar. Pooled products share a brain across customers.
- What I did
- Designed the control plane: dedicated per-user workspace, Slack and Telegram agents, tool routing (MCP), billing, and the rule that platform secrets never land on a user VM.
- Outcome
- Product live at john.ceo.
Career
Compact list of companies and roles. Details live in the
CV.
Web3 and fintech
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John CEO Architected the solution 2025 to present Private per-user AI workspaces with Slack and Telegram agents.
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DeFi primitive that tokenizes risk; SMART tokens for BTC and ETH volatility.
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NFT-focused white-label Web3 launchpad, marketplace, and issuance.
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RWA, fractional real-estate investment.
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inBillo Blockchain consultant 2021 to 2022 B2B debt management and enterprise liquidity.
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JHELY Co-founder, CTO and COO 2021 to present PropTech portal for Spanish-speaking LATAM and Europe.
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Hybrid crypto exchange.
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Life insurance on-chain.
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Invactor Blockchain consultant
Invoicing and remittance payments.
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trade.io Head of Blockchain then CTO 2018 to 2019
Centralized cryptocurrency exchange; ran the technology department with globally distributed teams.
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Close Cross CTO 2018 to 2022
First MiFID II regulated crypto firm; peer-to-peer derivatives.
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Built the blockchain department in the software house. Architecture, delivery, mentoring, and pre-sales.
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Own consultancy. Architecture and delivery for ICOs, exchanges, and smart contracts (Ripple, Stellar, Hyperledger, Corda).
Earlier
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Intelligent Payments Team leader and architect 2013 to 2018
PCI DSS L1 payments gateway; later acquired by EVO.
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Pharma backend services, ETL, multi-tenant migration.
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TELEO / KillBill IT director 2009 to 2012
Mobile-bill optimization; first platform prototype on AWS.
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German banks (incl. DekaBank, DAB). Commission system and high-availability messaging.
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Insurance process software.
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Mobile navigation for low-end phones (J2ME).
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BCC SAP tech consultant 2005 to 2006
SAP integration work.
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Digital marketing and internal systems.
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MOBILE BOX Mobile apps engineer
Mobile application delivery.
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O'CHIKARA Developer
Desktop app for managing an educational school.