I sat down with Ian from the World Foundation to dig into one of the most pressing problems of our time, how do you prove you're a real human online without sacrificing your privacy? As AI floods the internet with bots and agents, the gap between human and machine interaction is closing fast. Ian walks me through how World ID and the Orb device let anyone verify their humanity using advanced cryptography, completely anonymously, no passport scans, no email addresses, no data sitting on some server you don't control. We also get into Ian's wild journey from GPU mining and Constitution DAO to building at World, and why the current KYC and AML model is a problem for both users and platforms. This is a conversation about identity, privacy, and what it means to be human in a world where most internet traffic won't be.

Connect:

World Foundation Website: https://world.org

Twitter/X, World: https://x.com/worldnetwork

Web3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz/

Key points:

• [00:00] Sam introduces Ian from the World Foundation and the episode's focus on digital identity in the AI age

• [02:30] Ian's background: crypto-adjacent upbringing, GPU mining with family, selling a Bitcoin at $600

• [05:00] Ian drops out of college during COVID, starts a startup, gets pulled into crypto through Constitution DAO

• [08:00] What World is: a way to prove you're a real human online, completely anonymously, using the Orb device

• [11:00] Why this matters now: bots and agents already make up 60–70% of crypto trading traffic, and it's growing

• [14:00] World ID vs KYC/AML: not a replacement for regulated compliance, but a privacy-first alternative for situations where KYC isn't legally required

• [17:00] Why both users and platforms suffer under current KYC models, GDPR compliance burden, data exposure, trust issues

• [20:00] How World ID solves the same human-verification problem more privately and with a better user experience

Disclaimer:

Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.

Be a guest on the podcast or contact us -

https://www.web3pod.xyz/

I sat down with Mitch from Steelwave at BTC Vegas to explore how one of the West Coast's most established real estate developers is bringing institutional-grade assets onto the blockchain. Steelwave has done over $24 billion in acquisitions, building campus-style properties for tenants like Google and Anduril — and now Mitch is on a mission to give international family offices and eventually everyday investors access to deals they were previously locked out of. We talk about the tokenization roadmap, why power is the single most valuable commodity in real estate right now, how AI companies are driving 20 million square feet of lease demand in Silicon Valley, and why the next generation SPV could be a global syndicate of investors from China, Africa, and Australia all coming together on a single deal. This one gets into the real mechanics of how private real estate becomes liquid — and why the window to act is right now.

Connect with Steelwave

https://www.steelwavellc.com/token-lab

Key Points with Timestamps

• [00:00] Mitch teases the core thesis: 20 million sq ft of AI-driven lease demand and tokenization as a liquidity layer for family offices

• [00:41] Sam introduces himself — 5 years podcasting, 400+ founders interviewed, occasional angel investor

• [01:22] Mitch's origin story: found a crypto volatility hedge fund, spotted a gap for institutional-grade real estate on-chain, joined his father's firm Steelwave

• [02:24] What Steelwave does: campus-style premium real estate for tenants like Google and Anduril, formerly known as Legacy Partners

• [03:22] The Westfield San Francisco moment — why real estate values crashed post-COVID and why that's now the best buying opportunity in a generation

• [04:39] Sam's perspective on the global demand for US-based assets and why real estate remains far harder to access than equities for international investors

• [06:03] The Anduril deal: Steelwave bought the LA Times printing facility in Orange County and it became Palmer Luckey's Anduril headquarters

• [07:40] Plans to fractionalize: starting at $50M minimums with family offices, then introducing token liquidity in 12–18 months for secondary market access

• [08:54] The next-gen SPV model — syndicating global investors from China, Africa, and Australia into a single deal

• [12:26] Where tokenized assets will trade: likely international exchanges first before entering the US market

• [13:30] The hardest part of the business: connecting next-gen crypto capital to old-school real estate financial structures

• [14:43] Expanding beyond real estate — sports teams, esports, TV shows, athletes, and cricket teams in India as the next tokenization frontier

• [17:14] Why BTC Vegas matters: Bitcoin capital is maturing and looking for scalable institutional assets to deploy into

• [18:18] Mitch's asks: capital partners, team members who understand the space, and the right regulatory framework

• [19:23] How Mitch pitches family offices: lead with the real estate, sell the tokenization as a liquidity unlock that cuts lock-up from 8–10 years down to 2–4

• [20:04] How Steelwave builds trust: $24B in acquisitions, zero bad assets, deep broker relationships across West Coast markets

• [21:17] 2026 real estate outlook: 20 million sq ft of AI-driven demand in Silicon Valley, tech giants scaling infrastructure, 12–24 months to buy before institutions pile back in

• [23:17] Power is king: if a site has power capacity, it gets a tenant immediately regardless of what's built on it

Disclaimer

Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.

Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/

I sat down with Mehow, founder of American Fortress, right here in Miami during Consensus week, and this conversation genuinely blew my mind. Michal has been a hacker since age 15 and has spent four and a half years and 13 patents building something the crypto industry has never had before — a universal identity and privacy protocol that makes sending crypto as simple as typing a name. We go deep on why crypto addresses are still the root cause of most theft and fraud, how stealth addresses and zero-knowledge proofs work together to give you PayPal-style usability without sacrificing privacy, why institutions like Brinks are already on board, and what wrench attacks and kidnappings in France have to do with on-chain transparency. We also talk quantum computing, the confidentiality machine, and why perseverance is the only real entrepreneurial lesson that matters. This one is packed.

--- CONNECT ---

Website: https://americanfortress.io

Twitter/X: https://x.com/Americanfort_io

Web3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.web3pod.xyz

--- KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS ---

• [00:01:32] Michal shares his background as a hacker since age 15 and what drove him to build American Fortress

• [00:03:14] The core problem: crypto addresses are confusing and exploitable, leading to rampant theft and fraud

• [00:06:09] User journey walkthrough — how Fortress Knok lets you send crypto by name, like PayPal, with no address interaction

• [00:08:00] How stealth addresses work and why only sender and recipient ever know where funds went

• [00:09:00] Zero-knowledge proofs running through encrypted chat to confirm sender identity and defeat address poisoning

• [00:10:00] How cryptographic KYC via Sumsub is tied directly to transactions, the first protocol to do this

• [00:14:00] Why on-chain transparency is a physical safety risk, kidnappings in France and the Ledger executive story

• [00:15:44] The confidentiality machine, one button to hide your balance while still proving your identity to the recipient

• [00:17:39] Quantum resistance built in automatically when you use the privacy shield, with no extra steps for the user

• [00:26:15] MetaMask integration as a Snap, you don't need the American Fortress wallet to use Fortress names

• [00:29:00] Four and a half years of grinding on $9 million raised, 15 engineers, launching on 12 chains simultaneously

• [00:34:10] What's next, Austin office, token launch in 4–6 weeks, Brinks as a customer, and a potential Series A

Disclaimer:

Nothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend.

Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/