Amir Bandeali never seemed like the type of person who would become a major part of the crypto industry.
His background is very “traditional”: a finance graduate from the University of Illinois, he had stints on the trading desks of Chopper Trading and DRW, two financial firms more comfortable with spreadsheets than smart contracts.
But like someone who suddenly realized that his life wasn’t going to be behind a Bloomberg monitor, Amir took a sharp turn. In 2016, he co-founded 0x Protocol.
Amir Bandeali: Challenging the Status Quo With a Bigger Vision
Rather than simply jumping on the bandwagon of the then-nascent blockchain craze, Amir had a much bolder idea: to build an infrastructure for fully open digital asset trading. Not through the usual centralized exchanges, but through a decentralized system that would allow anyone to create and access markets.
At a time when most people were still confused about the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum, Amir was already envisioning a world where ERC-20 tokens could be traded in a fairer way. The goal is simple but has a wide impact: transparency, full control in the hands of users, and transaction efficiency that has been limited by the legacy system.
Still Building, Even From the Top Seat
Amir initially served as CTO, leading the technical aspects of the 0x Protocol. But in 2020, he was promoted to co-CEO. This role may sound more managerial, yet his leadership style remains very much “engineering.” He is still known to engage in technical discussions, ranging from API relayers to gas fee solutions.
However, Amir’s work is not just about lines of code. At various events such as SF Blockchain Week and Hack Summit, he often appears not to sell, but to have open discussions about where blockchain technology should be taken. He is also quite vocal on social media—no gimmicks, no sensations, and almost always raising important issues in the DeFi ecosystem.
Furthermore, the presence of 0x Labs—the team behind 0x Protocol—is an important pillar in the world of crypto asset trading, especially for ERC-20 tokens. They didn’t just build a protocol and then leave it alone. They were active, constantly updating the system, and even contributing solutions like “gasless transactions,” which eliminate the hassle of buying another token just to pay for transaction fees for beginners.
On the other hand, we could say that what Amir and his team are doing is very similar to building a digital highway. We may not always realize who is building it, but we all enjoy it—whether it’s wallet app users, small traders, or DeFi developers.
Looking at all of this, it’s clear that Amir Bandeali is more than just a crypto startup founder. He’s part of the foundational layer that underpins the modern crypto world today. And what’s unique is that he’s doing it all without much attention, without having to sell false dreams, and staying true to one thing: building, not selling dreams.