Forged in America E16: ZeroHash Founder: Why a Crypto Unicorn Rejected $2B
Feb 17, 2026
Edward Woodford, founder and CEO of ZeroHash, a crypto infrastructure leader who famously walked away from a reported $2B offer. He discusses stablecoins as tokenized dollars, the plumbing that moves crypto on-chain, and why usability and interoperability are the biggest adoption hurdles. He also covers tokenization’s benefits for payments and global distribution, plus why infrastructure trust matters for institutions.
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America's Openness Helped Him Launch Fast
- Edward was surprised by American positivity, openness, and alumni networks after arriving with no prior US visits.
- He found MIT especially connective and helpful for launching startups and accessing capital quickly.
Stablecoin Distribution As The iPhone Moment
- Stablecoin-enabled accounts are widely distributed across fintechs, creating a vast payments and rails network.
- This distribution is analogous to the iPhone enabling an app economy for tokenized money.
Stablecoins Drive Revenue, Not Speculation
- ZeroHash's revenue is now driven mostly by stablecoins and tokenization rather than speculative crypto price movements.
- The company profits regardless of crypto price direction because of diversified infrastructure services.
