Adelle Nazarian is the top staffer at the American Blockchain PAC, where she serves as its CEO. But she has a long story to tell about her life prior to her time in the crypto industry — from her Persian roots to her career in journalism.
Nazarian, who worked as a freelance journalist after serving in positions with mainstream outlets that included Fox News and CNN, said her work contributed to her disillusionment with the media. “Working in journalism was really eye-opening for me because I witnessed how divisive and activist-oriented it’s become,” she said in an interview with Cointelegraph.
She said her desire to work in a role that contributed to people’s betterment was one of the driving factors that led her to the American Blockchain PAC in 2021, saying, “I saw Bitcoin as being one way of providing an opportunity to people everywhere in the world to pull themselves up in life.”
1) Your family fled from Iran before the Iranian Revolution, but you’ve never visited. Do you speak Farsi? Tell us more about your background.
My parents were both born in Tehran, Iran and emigrated to the United States when they were young. My father was 15 and my mother was 12. I was raised speaking Farsi and English. (I also speak Mandarin Chinese and French.) It is one of my dreams to visit Iran someday in the future. I’d love to visit so many parts of the country and especially to visit Isfahan, which is where my maternal grandparents were born and raised. I am proud to come from such a rich, diverse and beautiful cultural background.
My mom is a homemaker and also had a caviar business for several years and my father is an entrepreneur.
2) You used to work in journalism — at Fox News, CNN and elsewhere. Why’d you make the transition into crypto?
Working in journalism was really eye-opening for me because I witnessed how divisive and activist-oriented it’s become. Reporting a story isn’t about the facts anymore for some journalists — it’s about injecting their own ideas.
I really enjoyed doing investigative journalism, but I consider myself to be an entrepreneur and philanthropist at heart. I felt that, really, the blockchain space was a way to be able to have a platform to utilize my experience and work with diverse people — from leaders of countries to everyday people — and see how everyone’s experience is truly predicated on one underlying theme that connects them all.
Adelle Nazarian interviewing Mike Pence in 2016, before he became the vice president. Source: Adelle Nazarian
That theme is the desire and ability to create a better life for themselves and those around them. It’s such a factor that determines your lot in life. I saw Bitcoin as being one way of providing an opportunity to people everywhere in the world to pull themselves up in life. It also provides governments with the opportunity to reduce their reliance on war as a way to increase wealth.
3) Tell us about the American Blockchain PAC.
The American Blockchain PAC was founded as a way to provide a space for everyone interested in seeing a sound regulatory framework to define what crypto is and what Bitcoin is, and in clearly defining and understanding them and how they’re classified in the United States.
We boost candidates running for office who support blockchain technology. But I think a lot of political action committees try to only basically pick and support candidates who will win — and we don’t just do that. We’re also trying to educate and inform people about crypto and the adoption of digital assets, and enable them to push back against legislation that could harm them at the end of the day.
4) What’s your favorite crypto?
Bitcoin — because it’s different from other cryptocurrencies. I believe everyone is grateful that the SEC made it very clear that Bitcoin is not a security. I think that Ethereum began with good intentions but may have steered away from its original vision. That said, I think there is a bright future for it and an opportunity for it to evolve. Bitcoin is a pioneer in the digital assets space. It started the revolution we are living through today.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of meme coins and altcoins have put a bad taste in people’s mouths when it comes to digital assets, and I think it strengthens the argument for Bitcoin greatly.
5) Does it matter if we ever figure out who Satoshi really is or was? Why, or why not?
There are two quotes I like: “No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot,” by Mark Twain and “The truth is a strange thing. You can try to suppress it but it will always find its way to the surface.”
So of course there are people who are faking and pretending to be Satoshi. The “FakeToshi” hashtag is an indicator of that fact. But at the end of the day, the real Satoshi Nakamoto is alive, and he is not a Japanese man. I recently read Ivy McLemore’s book, Finding Satoshi, and it was intriguing.
Adelle Nazarian speaking on a panel in Dhaka, Bangladesh (2019). Source: Adelle Nazarian
Anyone who has actually done their due diligence and studied Bitcoin understands there must be some reason for Bitcoin’s origins. Satoshi did not want these so-called “trusted” third parties and banks running away with consumer cash, which is a persistent issue — just look at what occurred with FTX. It’s ironic that what he’s stood against from Day 1 — “trusted” third parties like FTX — have actually become the main tools for buying and selling Bitcoin. This is not in line with his original vision.
As for whether it matters who Satoshi is, only the real Satoshi will pave the way for the next generation of Bitcoin and dozens of new and emerging industries that will benefit from the underlying blockchain technology. Satoshi created Bitcoin to be decentralized and peer-to-peer. He never sought to do any of this based on his own personal greed or agenda. He did this for the world. Technically, we are all Satoshi.
It’s the vision that matters, because even the most incredible technology — without vision — is a dormant tool. Bitcoin was created to elevate humanity in a truly unprecedented way in our collective history.
6) What do you do in your free time?
I’m a big foodie. I enjoy different cuisines. I can make recipes from all over the world. Being Persian, one of my favorites is khoresht gheymeh— it’s a tomato-based stew made with beef, lentils and spices, served traditionally with rice and tahdig — a crispy golden crust over fluffy rice. I also enjoy working out, reading, and traveling. I love to travel.
Subscribe
The most engaging reads in blockchain. Delivered once a
week.
Editorial Staff
Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.
Rachel Reeves will seek to gauge the unfolding impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz on Wednesday when she holds talks with some of the City’s top executives.
Sky News has learnt the chancellor will hold talks with bosses from companies including Hargreaves Lansdown, Legal & General, Lloyds Banking Group and M&G amid ongoing volatility in global financial markets.
Insiders said the talks had been convened to help frame the Treasury’s financial services growth and competitiveness strategy.
However, they acknowledged that the fallout from US tariffs, while not directly affecting most City employers, would feature prominently on Wednesday’s agenda.
“The chancellor will use this meeting to show leadership, building on her statement to the House earlier today, and reiterating that the government will act decisively to take the right decisions in our national interest and protect working people,” a Treasury insider said.
Ms Reeves would stress a commitment to working with international partners to reduce barriers to trade, while pursuing the best possible bilateral deal with the US, they added.
Charlie Nunn, the Lloyds boss; Antonio Simoes of L&G; and Dan Olley, Hargreaves Lansdown’s chief, will all attend the talks.
It will be the latest in a string of meetings the chancellor has held in recent weeks in a bid to boost economic growth.
Her budget last October sparked a furious backlash from the business community, while last month’s spring statement raised fresh fears about the possibility of further tax rises later this year.
None of the companies invited to Wednesday’s meeting would comment when approached by Sky News.
Despite the ongoing market meltdown on US trade tariffs, executives at major cryptocurrency firms Messari and Sygnum are bullish on institutional Bitcoin adoption later in 2025.
Speaking on a panel at Paris Blockchain Week on April 8, Messari CEO Eric Turner and Sygnum Bank co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said they expect a significant shift in the banking sector’s involvement with crypto in the second half of the year.
According to the executives, the global banking push into Bitcoin (BTC) services has great potential to happen in the second half of 2025 as regulators embrace crypto, including stablecoins and crypto services by banks.
“I think we’re probably looking at a muted Q2, but I’m really excited for Q3 and Q4,” Messari’s Turner said during the panel discussion moderated by Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, forecasting “really interesting” things coming to the crypto market in 2025.
“When you look at the potential of having market structure regulation in the US, stablecoin regulation, and just the fact that across the board, not just President Trump himself, but the SEC and all these regulatory industries are really embracing crypto,” Turner said.
Paris Blockchain Week’s panel with Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, Bancor co-founder Eyal Hertzog, Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger, Messari CEO Eric Turner, AWS fintech leader Alex Matsuo and Near chief operating officer Chris Donovan. Source: Cointelegraph
Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said international banks with US branches are also poised to enter the market once the legal landscape becomes clearer:
“I think it’s a matter of fact that US banks are preparing to be able to offer crypto custody and at least crypto spot trading services anytime soon.”
“I think by then I would agree with you, Eric,” he continued, projecting a continued phase of market uncertainty until the US establishes a clear regulatory framework.
With the establishment of clear crypto rules for banks in the US, there will be a rush for crypto services by large international banks that are incorporated outside of the US but have a US-based presence, Eichenberger said.
“Some of them may have had their strategic plans in their cupboard to offer crypto-related services, but have been afraid that at some point they will be gone after by any of the US regulatory authorities,” he said, adding:
“Now I think there’s no one to be afraid of anymore in terms of regulatory authorities worldwide. So I think many of the large international banks will launch this year.”
Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides.
Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5, with higher levies — such as a 34% tariff on Chinese imports — set to begin on April 9.
However, the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.
“In the end, almost all the other tariff negotiations and rhetoric are all about getting China to agree a deal,” Pal wrote in an April 8 X post, adding:
“That is the big prize and both China and the US understand it and need it. Everything else is negotiation posturing. China needs a weaker $ and the US needs tariffs.”
In response to US tariffs, China imposed a 34% tariff on all US imports effective April 10, media outlet Xinhua News reported on April 4. China’s foreign ministry also vowed to “fight till the end” against Trump’s tariffs, which it called “bullying” by the world’s largest economy.
China overtakes the US in global trade. Source: Econovis
China overtook the US in 2012 to become the world’s largest trading nation by the total value of exports and imports, surpassing $4 trillion in goods trade that year, according to The Guardian.
Crypto markets watch trade outcome closely
As the trade dispute continues to evolve, analysts say a potential agreement between the two global superpowers could serve as a key catalyst for recovery in digital asset markets.
Crypto markets have a 70% chance to bottom by June 2025 before recovering, Nansen analysts predicted.
Investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin will depend on the global tariff responses from other countries, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.
“We have reached somewhat of a local bottom in regard to tariffs and the impact on prices,” the analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:
“Trump came out guns blazing, and we’ve mostly seen the worst from the US side, so we’ll see if other countries are willing to drop some of the tariffs because it’s very likely the US will do the same.”