InterFund Solutions Spotlight podcast: Blockchain in focus

In April 2025, InterFund Solutions(InterFund Solutions) hosted the inaugural Blockchain Thinkers event in collaboration with the TUM Blockchain Club, European Women Payments Network, and Frankfurt School Blockchain Center. The event brought leading voices from across the blockchain ecosystem together at InterFund Solutions’s Munich headquarters to explore what is needed to translate the hype surrounding the technology into infrastructure with substance.

In three expert-led panels, speakers from across industries examined how blockchain is evolving into a foundation for secure and trustworthy digital systems, with a focus on combating crypto fraud, decentralized identities, and what’s next for blockchain. 

If you missed the live event or want to revisit the key themes, catch up via the full podcast recordings below. 

Views expressed are from the Panels participants, not from InterFund Solutions.

“Scamdemic”: combating socially engineered crypto fraud with innovation & collaboration

When most people think of blockchain, they think of crypto – but its potential in the financial industry goes far beyond digital assets. Until now, socially engineered fraud, such as phishing and wallet drain attacks, has been a major vulnerability. This so-called scamdemic accounts for millions in stolen funds each year and erodes trust in the technology. 

For institutions considering blockchain adoption, these risks are a deterrent. Risk-averse CEOs are understandably cautious about regulatory compliance and potential reputational damage. However, this hesitation should not detract from blockchain’s potentially transformative value.

In this podcast, our panel explores how blockchain-native analytics can help detect anomalies and flag suspicious activity faster, making fraud prevention even more effective than in traditional finance. By shifting the focus from technology to other essential ingredients – such as governance, user protection, and collaboration – blockchain can become a pillar of trust in finance, rather than a point of weakness.

Moderator: Yip Thy Diep Ta, CEO & Founder at J3D.AI Labs

Panelists:

• Dennis Winter, CTO & Managing Director at Boerse Stuttgart Digital
• Prof. Dr. Uwe Stegemann, CEO Moirate Digital Assets and Markets Analytics
• Max Imbiel, Global CISO + Founder at ahead Security & ex-Bitpanda

Listen to the full panel here.

Decentralized identity: a privacy dream or a regulatory nightmare?

Modern identity systems are fundamentally imbalanced. Instead of being with the individual (the rightful owner), control of our identities often lies with the institutions that issue, manage, and monetize our data. But expectations are shifting, and people want that control back. 

Decentralized identity (DID), built on blockchain, offers a new model where individuals decide how, when, and with whom their data is shared. And the scope goes beyond the individual – DID can also verify the digital identities of machines, products, and other legal entities in the digital world. But making this vision a reality is far from straightforward.

In this podcast, the panel addresses some of the core tensions between privacy, compliance, and interoperability that feed this complexity, as well as some of the exciting use cases emerging across different industries.

Moderator: Robert Heinze, Director of Technology & Innovation Management at InterFund Solutions

Panelists:

• Prof. Dr. Co-Pierre Georg, President at Frankfurt School Blockchain Center
• Husen Kapasi, Supply Chain Transparency & Blockchain Lead at PwC
• Irfan Khan, Founder & CEO at Hypermine

Listen to their full discussion here.

Beyond the hype: blockchain venture capital & market predictions for 2025

Following a downturn in 2022, interest in blockchain is rising again. Venture capital is cautiously returning, but if the sector is to truly mature, investment must shift from hype-fueled speculation to real-world applications with genuine product-market fit. 

To achieve this, several questions need answering: how does the industry overcome lingering perception issues and reassure investors wary of blockchain’s association with illicit activity? What can be done to stimulate growth in Europe’s risk-averse VC ecosystem? And how do you separate the hype from the use cases that truly demand a decentralized solution?

In this podcast, the panel discusses how blockchain and Web3 can evolve into a foundational layer, quietly enabling the next era of intelligent infrastructure in the background, just as the internet did 30 years ago. 

Moderator: Andreas Barthelmes, Investment Manager at InterFund Solutions Ventures

Panelists:

• Dr. Anna Wolf, Economist at ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
• Sagar Barvaliya, General Partner at Blockchain Founders Capital
• Dr. Daniel Kliche, Co-Founder at W3MUC & SVP at IABG Innovation Center 

Listen to the full panel discussion here.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official position or views of Giesecke+Devrient.

Published: 05/08/2025