“The biggest risk is not taking any risk.” I turned that famous quote over in my mind as I watched Davide settle into his chair to talk to me. He looked like anyone else you’d see in a coffee shop, but I knew better. I was about to delve into the mind of a man who bet on a ghost, a digital one called Bitcoin, and now, he’s helping to build the future of money itself by reinventing crypto payments as one of Bybit’s leaders. This is his story.
The whisper of a digital ghost
It started not with a bang, but with a whisper. The year was 2018. A young Davide, fresh out of college and light on cash, kept hearing a strange, tantalizing word: Bitcoin.
“I was, of course, interested,” he told me, a wry smile playing on his lips. “But let’s be honest, I thought it was a weird coin. I didn’t really understand it. I was a bit skeptical.”
I could picture him then, a younger version squinting at his laptop screen, the white glow illuminating a face caught between curiosity and caution. It’s a feeling anyone who’s ever stared at a chart of dizzying crypto peaks and valleys knows intimately. That terrifying, thrilling moment before you jump. But Davide didn’t just jump. He dove headfirst into the technology itself, into the labyrinthine world of blockchain. Passion ignited, he began investing the “little money” he had. He never looked back.
But this is more than just a story about a guy who bought Bitcoin. This is a story about how that obsession quietly brewed beneath the surface of a traditional career, a sleeper agent waiting for his activation code.
The corporate sleeper agent
His cover was impeccable. A marketing intern at a giant German FMCG company, Henkel, learning the ancient arts of selling shampoo and laundry detergent. Then, a move to MasterCard, honing his skills in product marketing and storytelling. All the while, the crypto obsession simmered.
“I always had this interest in crypto that I was cultivating in my free time,” he confessed, as if admitting to a secret identity. It was at MasterCard, working on the fringes of crypto projects, that the pieces began to click. He was learning how to talk to the everyday consumer, all while secretly understanding the revolutionary power of decentralized finance.
He was the perfect mole. He spoke the language of both worlds: the corporate suit and the crypto anarchist. And when the time was right, he got the call. Bybit needed someone who could bridge that gap, who could make the incomprehensible feel inevitable. The sleeper agent was activated.
The global game of financial clue
Now, as the Global Product Marketing Lead for Bybit Card, Davide isn’t just watching the revolution; he’s designing its user manual. His job is a global game of financial clues, solving a different mystery in every country.
“Every country we launch has different pain points,” he explained, his eyes lighting up with the thrill of the puzzle. “For example, Argentina is a country with very high inflation levels. So we talk about stablecoins pegged to the dollar. It’s not about getting rich; it’s about not getting poor.”
This was the masterstroke. The Bybit Card wasn’t just another piece of plastic; it was a lifeline. A way to spend your crypto at any corner store that accepts MasterCard. A shield against economic despair. A tool for the unbanked. He was turning digital dreams into daily bread, quite literally.
Two truths and a crypto lie
We played a quick game; I asked him to tell me two truths and one lie about himself in crypto. He offered:
- He owns more Ethereum than Bitcoin.
- Bybit Card is the best product on the market.
- Financial institutions are better than centralized exchanges.
I guessed the first was the lie. He laughed. “You’re wrong.” The third statement, a blatant falsehood, was so obvious it was almost comical. The man who helped build a product to replace traditional finance wasn’t about to praise it. The sleeper agent had fully turned.
The future is gamified, and it has a pokémon card
So, what’s next? The mission is onboarding the next billion users. The strategy? Speak their language. Gen Z.
“We are trying to make everything more gamified,” he said, outlining a future of social media challenges, Telegram games, and university partnerships. He wants to educate, to demystify. To make crypto as easy and engaging as scrolling TikTok.
And the man behind this serious financial revolution? He’s an avid Pokémon card collector who forces himself to the gym three times a week. When asked what he’d tell his younger, skeptical self, he didn’t hesitate. “Buy more Bitcoin.” We all laughed, because we’ve all thought it.
The rapid-fire round
In a rapid-fire round, Davide chose Bitcoin over Ethereum, long-term investing over day trading, and cashback in crypto over airline miles. And finally, he’d rather explain blockchain to his grandma than teach his best friend about DeFi. A man of the people, to the end.
To wrap up: Crypto payments reinvented
As our conversation wound down, I realized Davide’s story is the story of crypto itself. It started as a weird, misunderstood ghost on the fringe. It was studied, nurtured, and tested in the real world.
And now, through the work of people like him, it’s stepping out of the shadows and into our everyday lives, not with a complex whitepaper, but with a simple, powerful card in our wallets. The revolution won’t be televised. It will be spent.
