Decentralized Voices

In this episode, Daria sits down with Mashal Waqar, CMO at Octant, Forbes 30 Under 30 Middle East honoree, and co-author of the State of Web3 Grants Report.

Mashal shares her unconventional journey — from cybersecurity and co-founding a media platform with millions of readers, to launching the first femtech startup in the Middle East, and ultimately becoming a leading voice in Ethereum public goods funding.

They unpack what it means to be Ethereum-aligned in 2026, how Octant's DeFi Vaults are redefining sustainable Web3 funding, and why the definition of a "public good" matters more than ever when allocating grants.

Mashal also opens up about being an introvert in a loud crypto space, the cultural gap between women founders in the Global South vs. Western markets, and why she refuses to let AI write for her.

Highlights:
🔸 What Octant does and how its new DeFi Vaults model funds Ethereum's ecosystem without depleting treasury
🔸 How to define "public good" in a grants context, and why vagueness kills impact
🔸 The AI + blockchain convergence thesis
🔸 The culture of failure: Middle East vs. American entrepreneurship
🔸 Why less than 3% of VC capital reaches women-led startups in the Middle East

Enjoy this episode and share it with your friends who want to learn about Ethereum public goods, women founders, and staying human in the AI era

🔔 Subscribe to Decentralized Voices for more insights about people shipping in web3 and AI tech.

Mashal Waqar, Octant CMO: https://x.com/arlery
Daria Strategy, podcast host and DecentWealth co-founder: https://x.com/DariaStrategy
Podcast website: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz

Don't come to Web3 unless you're from the US: ~70% of jobs are US-based. Builders in Africa, Latam, and SE Asia are locked out. Meet Solene Daviaud, founder of Dev3pack, who is changing that: 500+ active builders, 25+ countries, local chapters launching across 3 continents.

In this episode, she breaks down the hard truth behind the Web3 job market, why big blockchain companies pay for onboarding new developers in Africa and Latam, and what separates hackathon winners from everyone else.

Highlights:
🔸 How to get a job in Web3 if you're based in LATAM, Africa, or Southeast Asia
🔸 Mastering the art of partnership with Alchemy, ENS, Base, and Lisk
🔸 Web2 devs need to ditch LinkedIn-first thinking and build in public on X and GitHub
🔸 Vibe coding and AI in Web3. What can't be replaced by AI?
🔸 Hosting a hacker house for 70 female developers in Buenos Aires

Enjoy this episode and share it with your friends who want to find a developer job in web3 and tech. Like this video and subscribe to Decentralized Voices for more insights about people shipping in web3 and AI tech.

Guest, Solene Daviaud: https://x.com/_SDAV
Host, Daria Strategy: https://x.com/DariaStrategy
Podcast website: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz

Ivan Maltsev, co-founder of Nomadz, built a Solana-based travel aggregator. In this episode, Ivan breaks down how traditional platforms pocket roughly 30% on every booking while returning expired coupons as "loyalty rewards", and how Nomadz replaces that with an onchain travel identity.

Daria and Ivan are also get into what it took to win the Solana Mobile hackathon, launch on the Seeker phone, and why his lean team of five, building from Kyiv and Dubai, treats resource constraints as a competitive edge rather than a handicap.

Highlights:
🔸 Nomadz - the first Ukrainian startup to receive Solana Foundation investment
🔸 The benefits of Solana Superteam, and why everyone try to copy-paste them
🔸 AI agents that book travel autonomously
🔸 Why people travel more to find the human connection
🔸 The best places on Earth to be a digital nomad

Enjoy this episode and share it with your friends!

Guest, Ivan Maltsev: https://x.com/ivan_nomadz
Host, Daria Strategy: https://x.com/DariaStrategy
Podcast website: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz

Would you trust AI with your money? 🤖💸

In this episode, Daria welcomes Dariia Porechna, a cryptographer, former Wolfram Research engineer, and co-founder of EternaX, for a rapid-fire "Bullish or Bullshit" session on the hottest takes in AgentFi, DeFi, and startup culture.

Key Takeaways:
🔸 80% of blockchain transactions are already bots
🔸 Only 1% of crypto holders use DeFi
🔸 2026 is the best time ever to start a startup with AI as your superpower
🔸 Altcoin season may never return the same way

🔗 Links:
Dariia Porechna on X: https://x.com/FutureDies
Daria Volkova on X: https://x.com/dariastrategy
Decentralized Voices: https://decentralizedvoices.xyz

In this episode of Decentralized Voices, Daria interviews Erica Kang, founder of KryptoPlanet (formerly KryptoSeoul), organizer of BUIDL Asia and ETHSeoul, and GP at Black Dragon Capital, about what works in web3 community building:
🔸 building trust in a low-trust market
🔸 making events sustainable without turning into a shill-fest
🔸 scaling from a local scene (Seoul) to global presence (Lisbon, Dubai, Vietnam, Paris)

Erica also shares candidly how motherhood reshaped her decision-making, why “quick money” is the wrong motive for event businesses, and how mentorship and women-led spaces can meaningfully improve gender inclusion.

Enjoy this episode and share it with your friends!

❤️‍🔥 Guest: Erica Kang, Founder of KryptoPlanet and GP at Black Dragon Capital
X: https://x.com/ekang426
🎙️ Host: Daria Volkova, Brand & Communications Strategist for tech products
X: https://x.com/dariastrategy