Interview: Ex-Binance Exec Now Blum CEO Talks Simplifying DeFi and Crypto Education Through Telegram
Gleb Kostarev, Founder and CEO of Blum, joined BitPinas Editor-in-Chief Michael Mislos at Token2049 Singapore to discuss developments for Blum, a Telegram-based decentralized exchange set to launch later this year.
- Token2049 is a global web3 event series where decision-makers in the global crypto ecosystem connect to exchange ideas, network, and shape the industry. (Read more: Largest Crypto Event: Token2049 Draws 20K Attendees, 400+ Exhibitors | Weekly News Recap)
In Focus: Kostarev, a former Binance executive overseeing regions including the Philippines, co-founded Blum.
- Blum has already secured investments from Binance Labs and qualified for BNB Chain’s 7th Season of the Most Valuable Builder (MVB) Program.
- The Blum mini-app on Telegram aims to be a fully functional DEX by Q4 2024. (Read more: After Tap-to-Earn Game Launch, Blum Introduces Tribes: A Way to Farm More Points)
The following interview, edited for clarity, highlights Kostarev’s focus on user experience, crypto education, and potential partnerships:
Interview with Gleb Kostarev, CEO of Blum
Table of Contents
Standing out vs competition
Michael Vincent Mislos, Editor-in-Chief, BitPinas: Hi, Gleb. How is Blum addressing a key challenge in our space right now, and how do you stand out among your competitors in the Telegram and TON ecosystem? Do you have competitors in this space?
Gleb Kostarev, Chief Executive Officer, Blum: It’s a pretty competitive space. In terms of the challenges we’re addressing, first of all, we’re leveraging Telegram’s functionality. The major advantage of Telegram is the easy onboarding. If you already have an account, you can easily open any mini-app. Telegram is trying to become like WeChat, with mini-apps not just for crypto but also for e-commerce, gaming, and more.
In our case, with Blum, we aim to become a gateway to crypto within Telegram. We want to provide all the necessary parts of the crypto trading infrastructure to new users on the platform. We did a survey in our community, and 50% of our users are newcomers to crypto. This is real mass adoption, something the industry has been talking about for years. We’re finally seeing a huge influx of people coming to web3 through Telegram.
Another point is about simplifying the trading experience. If you look at DeFi, it’s still very complicated. You need to connect wallets, buy gas tokens, and confirm transactions—it’s a lot. We’re trying to simplify that, allowing users to buy coins in just two clicks within Telegram.
Insights on Philippines Users
Mislos: I remember that 50% figure from your interview with Cointelegraph. Do you have any stats or behavioral insights from your users in the Philippines that you can share?
Context: In early September, Kostarev mentioned in an interview that 50% of players in Telegram’s tap-to-earn games have never used crypto before, highlighting that while Telegram has been effective in onboarding new crypto natives, education efforts should be done.
Kostarev: Yes, in Asia and the Philippines specifically, many users interacting with Telegram’s tap-to-earn projects are new to crypto. They often don’t know how to do swaps or understand how blockchain works.
That’s why we launched Blum Academy on YouTube, with short videos explaining what blockchain and crypto are, and how they work. It’s essential to educate these new users because they are different from the usual crypto audience.
Mislos: Do you incentivize users to watch these videos?
Kostarev: Yes, exactly. We give users incentives to watch the videos, like points. But more importantly, they learn something, and we’re happy to help educate them.
Southeast Asia and Philippine Partnerships
Mislos: What kind of partnerships are you looking to form here at Token 2049, especially in Southeast Asia or the Philippines?
Kostarev: Asia is a big market. I used to cover the Philippines and Asia for Binance, so I know the local specifics well. It’s important for us to be in Asia, especially in Singapore, to understand user behavior, culture, and needs.
Every country is unique. For example, the Philippines is very different from Thailand or Europe. Being here helps our team adjust our products to local markets. Before Singapore, we were in Korea, another unique and interesting market, and it really helps to know the local vibe when entering a new market.
Future developments
Mislos: With that in mind, are there any future updates or developments that your users should be excited about?
Kostarev: Yes, we’re currently testing MemePad, where users can use MemeCoins on The Open Network. It’s a popular product across different networks, and we want to offer that to our users.
We’re also focusing on making trading products more accessible. Our goal is to simplify exchange access within Telegram, and we’re building an exchange platform for that.
Additionally, we’ll be adding more drops in our game, so users can collect crypto within the game. But first, we want to make sure bots don’t exploit it, so only real users can participate.
Mislos: I see. It’s good to prevent bots from gaming the system. My last question is just for fun: What’s your Bitcoin price prediction for December 2024?
Kostarev: Well, we don’t know exactly what will happen, but there are some good signs in the global economy. The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates, and I hope we’ll see growth in the crypto market. It’s tough to say if Bitcoin will reach $100,000, but I’m hopeful it won’t drop much lower.
Mislos: Thank you so much, Gleb, for this interview.
Watch the interview clip above and keep reading BitPinas for interviews with the people who move the crypto industry in the Philippines forward.
This article is published on BitPinas: Interview: Ex-Binance Exec Turned Blum CEO Talks Simplifying DeFi and Crypto Education
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