Bringing billions on chain with Alex Buelau

From owning a fraction of the Mona Lisa to selling a car in seconds, blockchain is turning what once seemed futuristic into reality. For Alex Buelau, a software engineer who began mining Bitcoin with spare GPUs back in 2013, it was never just about speculation – it was the start of something much bigger.

“With Bitcoin, I was mining, but then I started building services and companies around crypto," he told The Crypto Radio. "It's just so easy because everything is open and you don't have to ask anyone's permission.”

That mindset eventually led him to co-found Parfin, a company working to bridge traditional finance with decentralized infrastructure.

From infrastructure to real-world impact

What began with mining soon evolved into building tools for others. “I kind of got sucked into this black hole,” Buelau said.

Over time, his focus shifted toward solving challenges at the intersection of crypto and traditional finance – from custody and compliance to asset tokenization.

One of the most compelling use cases involved a pilot with Santander Bank. “When you're selling the car,” he explained, “the buyer sends money to a smart contract, and you send the car's digital certificate. The transfer happens automatically and securely.”

The example highlights blockchain’s ability to simplify complex transactions – eliminating paperwork, delays, and intermediaries. “Anything can be tokenized, right? Of course, there's some challenges and things that we're going to sort out.”

From fractional art ownership to real estate, Buelau believes tokenization could unlock new ways of exchanging value. “If the pace of innovation of this technology continues like this, or even accelerates, then obviously this is going to be the future.”

Making blockchain invisible

At its core, blockchain is often described as a digital ledger – but for Buelau, that’s just the starting point. “Most people don't even know they're using blockchain. Who cares? Do you know that you're using TCPIP when you're browsing the internet?”

He sees blockchain becoming invisible to end users – a backend innovation that powers real-world services without requiring technical know-how. “Most people don't need to understand the technical details,” he said. “They just want things to work easily and quickly.”

Still, many newcomers are intimidated. Education remains a barrier to entry, especially when much of the language around crypto remains niche. Buelau believes that will change as blockchain gets baked into everyday tools.

What’s next for blockchain?

Despite the progress, Buelau is clear-eyed about the limitations. “We are still kind of trying to find the killer app for blockchain,” he said. “I mean, maybe stablecoins today are the things that get closer to it, but it's just also such a young technology still.”

Stablecoins – digital currencies designed to maintain a consistent value – are already finding use cases, particularly in cross-border payments. They allow for fast, transparent transactions without the volatility of traditional cryptocurrencies.

Parfin’s broader vision is ambitious. “We want to bring the 6 billion people and the hundreds of trillions of liquidity on chain.” That means creating products that people can trust – and that work with regulated institutions. “We are trying to offer real yield, not just speculative yield,” Buelau said.

When asked for advice, Buelau offered a long-term perspective. “Don't invest more than you're willing to lose. And don't sell.” His point is simple: blockchain’s potential is real, but the ecosystem is still maturing. “If you just held, you would be better off, most likely.”

That ongoing evolution comes with reputational risks. Buelau acknowledged how setbacks in the industry – from failed projects to bad actors – can have a ripple effect:

“Every time something happens with any project, people think, 'Oh, this is great,' right? Because you can show you are different, but it's not great because it's just like a stain in the entire industry.”

While such incidents may highlight the strength of more robust platforms, the fallout often undermines broader public trust.

Still, Buelau remains optimistic. “We haven't really touched everything yet,” he said. “The protocols themselves are still kind of evolving.”