Iraklis Anastasiou

My journey began in 2014, in post-economic crisis Germany after I had completed my studies there with the aspirations of becoming a stockbroker. My passion for knowledge and understanding the world around me gave me the unique foresight to digest new ideas and emerging technologies. I soon came across The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking by Saifedean Ammous, and upon reading it, my curiosity was sparked. I slowly scaled down my stock trading activities to focus my attention on cryptocurrency trading, and soon enough, I began reading whitepapers and litepapers as a pastime activity. The technologies were novel and a breath of fresh air from the alchemy of our modern central banking and monetary systems. I began to indulge in my obsession, which was blockchain technology, reading everything and anything related to this technology, and very soon, I made the decision to shift my entire career trajectory toward this exciting field.

Bitcoin ushered in a new paradigm in 2008 wherein financial independence could finally be achieved. It has fundamentally shattered many commercial and institutional financial business models while serving as a beacon of unmatched security and uptime as a real-time gross settlement system. Following soon after was the innovation of Ethereum, which provided enhanced composability through an EVM environment, scaling the capabilities of blockchains.

Armed with this determination to learn more, I completed my bachelor’s degree at UNIC in Business Administration: Finance and Economics between 2019-2023 and immediately undertook the Master’s in Blockchain and Digital Currency. I had one of the most pleasant and transformative experiences of my life taking part in the programme. The MSc programme is designed by some of the brightest minds in the world of technology, law, computer science, finance, cryptography, and blockchain, expertly fused to create one of the best educational programmes in the world! The toolset I was able to acquire by participating in such a diverse master’s programme has equipped me with way more than foundational knowledge that will allow me to traverse a career in multiple industries, as the world is slowly but surely beginning to value the power of blockchains.

The MSc programme attracts some of the kindest and most intelligent people I have ever met, from all types of ethnicities, educations, professions, and religions. I met some of the most influential people in the blockchain sector. It is a true honour to graduate amongst some of the most renowned scholars. Additionally, I was able to form meaningful relationships with people from all around the world due to the dynamic courses offered, which allowed for collaboration between students for completing group projects, that explored and fostered the development of innovative ideas as the world transitions into blockchain-powered systems for supply chains, auditing, decentralized payments, and the list goes on.

My professional career has drastically improved as a result of the bountiful knowledge I’ve gained from the courses offered by the Master’s programme. Professors nurture creative thinking through their interactive teaching and have personally provided me with support whenever I’ve asked for it. Of course, my hunger and eagerness to apply this knowledge led me to hone my skills for corporate applications. I began pursuing job opportunities as soon as I could under the support and guidance of many of my professors and explored ventures with fellow classmates, which led to two venture explorations, with each move achieving more than the previous. I currently hold a position at Cointelegraph as a senior research analyst, provide forensic analysis services for enterprises, and serve as the head of operations for a Web3 start-up.

The best advice I can give to anyone out there, including the future alumni of this esteemed Master’s degree, is to ‘dare to dream, step forward with confidence and trust yourself in the process of transformative change.’