DANIELE SESTAGALLI made headlines at the start of 2022 when one of his major crypto projects was forced to shut down after it hired an ex-criminal to a leading role in the organisation.
But Sestagalli has been involved in blockchain technology now for over a decade.
So what is the story behind his career? And what is his net worth?
Who is Daniele Sestagalli?
Daniele Sestagalli – who is sometimes known as Dani Sesta – remains a mystery figure. Despite his high profile in the crypto scene, very little is known about his personal life.
Sestagalli grew up in Italy and became was brought up trilingual, with the ability to speak Italian, Spanish and English.
In 2011, while in his 20s Sestagalli moved to Switzerland. It was here that he made his first steps into the crypto sphere.
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Intrigued by the potential of Bitcoin he became an early investor in the token, making a purchase while it was still valued at less than $1.
With Bitcoin still in its early stages of development, he also engaged in discussions with the Bitcoin Foundation to improve the reputation of cryptocurrency.
He also became involved with the Bitfinex exchange and Tether cryptocurrency before founding Zulu Republic in 2018, becoming the platform’s CEO.
Zulu Republic described itself as “a blockchain ecosystem designed as a place where people, businesses, and organisations can thrive on their own terms”.
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Built on the Ethereum blockchain, it claimed that its mission was to make it “easier than ever for people to join the cryptocurrency revolution” and encourage more individuals and businesses to make the jump to using decentralised currencies. Zulu Republic eventually shut down in 2020.
At the same time as his involvement in Zulu Republic, Bitfinex and Tether, Sestagalli was incredibly vocal on social media about the potential for cryptocurrency.
“If I had a #bitcoin for all meatbags that told me it was a bubble I would be a Billionaire by now, oh wait a Trilionaire,” he taunted on Twitter in December 2017.
In September 2018 he declared: “The future of banking? No banks.”
Outspoken opinions built Sestagalli a large, loyal following on Twitter of crypto advocates.
In 2021 Sestagalli used his cult-like following to launch a series of new projects that catapulted his profile to a whole new level.
He founded the Wonderland (TIME), Abracadabra Money (SPELL), and Popsicle Finance (ICE) initiatives dubbing them as part of the “frog nation” – a series of DeFi projects that are all designed to grow together, feeding into each other’s success.
Popsicle Finance is an automated crypto investment optimisation platform, Abracadabra Money is a crypto lending service, and Wonderland was a DeFi reserve currency protocol launched on the Avalanche network. At their height, the three projects had a $4billion market capitalisation.
However, Sestagalli’s success started to go sour just months after they started up.
In August 2021, Popsicle Finance was hacked with about $25million worth of Ethereum stolen.
Then, in January 2022 the crypto entrepreneur announced he was shutting down Wonderland.
He wrote on social media: “Wonderland experiment is coming to an end. It is clear from the vote that the community is divided.”
Sestagalli had held a vote on what should happen to the platform after it emerged that the project’s treasury manager was a former convict.
The news had divided supporters of Wonderland and sent its governing crypto token plummeting.
Abracadabra Money and Popsicle Finance were both badly hit by the development.
The revelation of the criminal past of one of the senior figures behind Wonderland called into question Sestagalli’s wider judgment. The values of the governing tokens for both SPELL and ICE both took a tumble.
While Wonderland has shut down, both of the other two key components of Sestagalli’s portfolio remain in operation. After the turmoil of the last 18 months, it remains unclear what he intends to do next.
What is Daniele Sestagalli’s age?
Daniele Sestagalli’s birthday is November 28. However, his exact age remains unknown.
On his birthday in 2021, the crypto influencer said that he was in his thirties when responding to a question from a follower on Twitter.
What is Daniele Sestagalli’s net worth?
Based on his crypto investments, on-chain activity, and seed investments as a venture capitalist, Daniele Sestagalli is believed to have a net worth of $200million.
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