• Founder
  • Advisor
  • entrepreneur
  • developer
  • investor
  • philanthropist
  • ABOUT
    ME

    Introducing Joselito: Entrepreneur, Technologist, and Blockchain Strategist

    Joselito is a pioneering entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and blockchain advisor whose career has helped shape the modern cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape. With a deep background in Bitcoin mining and over-the-counter (OTC) trading during the formative years of the crypto industry, Joselito quickly established himself as a visionary builder and operator—launching multiple successful ventures and contributing to the development of foundational Web3 infrastructure.

    In 2018, Joselito founded Swipe, a groundbreaking crypto-fintech platform that bridged the gap between digital assets and traditional finance. Swipe enabled real-time cryptocurrency-to-fiat conversions and payments via Visa debit cards—one of the first to do so globally. The Swipe ecosystem included a multi-currency wallet, a digital asset brokerage, and a seamless user experience bundled into a single mobile application. Swipe’s technology stack was architected to support dynamic, real-time crypto payments, offering users unparalleled flexibility and speed when spending digital assets in everyday life.

    Swipe quickly gained traction across retail and institutional segments, leading to a strategic acquisition by Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. In 2020, Binance acquired a majority stake in Swipe, with Joselito completing the full divestiture in 2022. Under Joselito’s continued leadership throughout the acquisition, Swipe scaled to process over $1 billion in crypto-linked Visa transactions and onboarded more than 1 million registered users. Joselito also led the technical and operational deployment of the Binance Visa Card in Europe, a product that featured real-time crypto-to-fiat settlement, aggregate wallet spending, and enhanced compliance tooling—all backed by Swipe’s underlying technology.

    Parallel to his work with Swipe, Joselito founded Venus Protocol, one of the first major decentralized applications (dApps) to launch on Binance Smart Chain. Venus introduced an entirely new class of DeFi infrastructure by combining the algorithmic lending and borrowing primitives of Compound Protocol with the over-collateralized stablecoin mechanics of MakerDAO—while introducing novel features such as isolated collateral pools, automated governance, and synthetic stablecoin minting. Venus was architected as an open-source, non-custodial money market and served as a core financial primitive for the BNB Chain ecosystem. At its peak, the protocol secured more than $10 billion in total value locked (TVL), making it one of the most capital-efficient and widely-used DeFi systems globally during its time.

    With hands-on experience scaling companies from inception to exit and building both centralized and decentralized systems at scale, Joselito brings a rare combination of technical expertise, regulatory acumen, and product vision. Today, he serves as a venture capitalist and strategic advisor to high-growth startups, protocol teams, and financial institutions looking to enter or expand within the digital asset economy. His focus spans decentralized infrastructure, cross-border payment systems, synthetic assets, and Layer 1 & Layer 2 blockchain scalability.

    Joselito continues to play an active role in advancing the adoption of open financial systems and believes in a future where programmable money, decentralized governance, and financial inclusivity are globally accessible through user-centric technologies.

    Joselito Lizarondo