- Ben Lakoff transitioned from corporate finance into crypto, driven by curiosity and belief in DeFi’s transparent and inclusive potential.
- He founded Bankless Consulting, aiming to bridge traditional businesses and blockchain by addressing cultural mindsets, not just technological challenges.
Ben Lakoff’s journey from traditional finance to cryptocurrency was more than just a professional move. It was a long journey filled with surprises, challenges, and decisions that didn’t always make sense on paper—but made sense in the gut.
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business graduate used to wear suits and talk about mergers and valuations. Now he’s more into discussing token design, DAOs, and the future of Web3. His lifestyle has changed—not because he’s following trends, but because he believes the world is moving toward a more open and decentralized world.
The Moment Ben Lakoff Questioned Traditional Finance
Ben’s career started out fairly “classic.” He worked in the investment and corporate world, holding various roles at major companies across continents. Like many financial professionals, he valued structure, certainty, and a clean framework.
But when the market started talking about crypto and the potential of DeFi around 2017, his curiosity grew. He saw firsthand how the global financial system was fraught—and that frustration opened the door to deeper exploration.
Furthermore, he realized that DeFi was not just an unconventional venture by young people on the internet. There was structure, reason, and even sophistication not less than those of more traditional systems. But the transparency—everyone could participate in creating it, not only those with access to money markets or pricey legal firms—that most fascinated him.
Beyond NFTs: Ben’s Dive into Charged Particles
Not stopping at curiosity, Ben dove straight into a project called “Charged Particles,” a protocol that allows NFTs to contain DeFi assets in them. Imagine NFTs as small boxes that can store money and grow over time. Sounds strange? Indeed. But that’s where its charm lies. This project not only challenges the norm but also paves the way for more complex NFT utilization than just profile pictures.
Working on this project, he grew more and more certain that digital innovation had not yet peaked. He yearned to do more than simply follow the tide. He wants his own flow shaped. And at this stage, the concept of Bankless Consulting started to grow.
Building Bridges: Ben’s Vision with Bankless Consulting
Ben started Bankless Consulting, a Web3 consulting company meant to link the blockchain world with traditional companies, together with many colleagues from the BanklessDAO community. But picture an office with uniformed staff or glass room meetings. Linked via Discord and crypto wallets, the crew works from all around the globe.
For legacy companies beginning to show interest in Web3, Bankless Consulting specializes in issues including DAO structure, tokenomics design, and blockchain adoption strategies. Conversely, they also enable raw Web3 projects to seem polished and mature when they hit the market.
Fascinatingly, according to Ben, the biggest challenge is not technology but culture. “Changing people’s mindset from ‘we’ve always done this’ to ‘we can try new ways’ is not easy,” he said in one of the community interview sessions.
Now, in 2025, Bankless Consulting has become a reference point for various Web3 projects and global businesses that want to navigate this new world without getting lost. And Ben? He remains at the heart of it all—teaching, mentoring, and sometimes even debugging client projects when necessary. There is no rigid hierarchy, just a team that is constantly learning together.
