About me
I’m a proud American-Egyptian, raised in Miami, Dubai, & Chicago.
Tweet under @ahmedzifzaf about Blockchain & World events.
Share blockchain insights & career updates on Linkedin.
Traveled to 85+ countries & understand English, Arabic & Spanish.
B.A., Special Honors in Economics, University of Texas at Austin.
M.B.A., Stanford University.
Some things I believe
Kindness is a superpower.
Life today is better than the past.
The World deserves better leaders.
Freedom of travel & expression is an inalienable human right.
My life is dedicated to building a more free, connected, and global world & working in blockchain helps achieve those goals.
What I do
Head of Crypto Partnerships at Worldpay.
Advise the UN on blockchain via the Algorand Foundation Humanitarian Payments Council.
Active investor in technology: early stage, public equities, and blockchain tokens, including my friends start-ups & VC funds.
Write about technology, travel & new ways the world can work.
Topics that interest me
How can new technologies can improve the world?
Blockchain, AI, & FinTech, are massive disruptors to our capitalistic/consumerism driven world today, I believe they can be a force for good if deployed correctly.
At the heart of every technological improvement are the humans driving its implementation, I read the biographies of many of these leaders as a means to understand their motivations.
Where to travel to expand your worldview?
My family are nomads at heart & its had a tremendous impact on my life. My grandmother grew up hitchhiking Europe, my mother will hit 150+ countries visited by 2025, my father & grandfather have operated companies across Europe, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.
Through my own travels, I gravitate towards visiting historically significant locations, especially those with ‘Double History’.
What are alternative ways the world could work?
Challenging the status quo should be the mindset of every able bodied human. It’s this tension that creates positive change.
We should conceptualize how the world could operate differently, the more backgrounds, mindsets, and experiences that contribute towards this body of thought - the better.
Media Mentions & Research
Media Mentions
Algorand Foundation Leads Initiative to Revolutionize Humanitarian Aid with Blockchain
Fintech: Building the future of inclusive financial services
WSJ: Insurer Looks to Shorten Time From Car Wreck to Body Shop
International Investment: AI photo estimating company raises $25 million to enter new global markets
Evaluating AI Tools and Applications: Tips From Tractable AI
Tractable talks to MSOs, salvage industry on AI photo estimating
Compare Tractable photo estimating AI vs. shops, insurers with new demo results
Interviews
Conversation with Ahmed Zifzaf on Web3, NFTs, Art, Creator Diversity, and World Events
Interview with Ahmed Zifzaf on the Role of Payments within the Blockchain Industry
Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Books that influenced me
Confessions of an Economic Hitman, John Perkins
The People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn
The Motorcycle Diaries, Che Guevera
Monarch of the Square, Mohammad Al Zifzaf
Respect Sir, Naguib Mahfouz
Why I Write, George Orwell
The Stranger, Albert Camus
Gun, Germs, & Steel, Jared Diamond
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography
The Alchemist, Paulo Coehlo
Favorite genres
Classics/Epics
Biography
Satire
World History
Economic Theory
Travels: 85 countries & counting