We’re not in a bear market. We’re in a build-or-die moment for freedom tech. The next few years will determine whether we get a future worth living in — or just better UX for authoritarianism. We’re entering the war economy era. And that means:

War policies

• surveillance, censorship, mass profiling. People are being surveilled and tracked by governments and private parties alike.

• The lines between political administrations and big techs are blurred and often crossed: big corporations are a tool in the hands of governments.

• Bank accounts won’t cut it anymore. A polarized world, means that a world with economic and financial sanctions: a world where SEPA transfers aren’t possible anymore, because too many people are outside of this system.

💡

• Thesis: we need independent and neutral infra

No privacy by default — only what we defend and rebuild

• People are getting arrested or deported for their social media posts, there’s no freedom or privacy anymore

• Until now the importance of privacy was hard to explain to the average Joe, in 2025 privacy it’s taking more and more prime time in the mainstream discourse: Paragon solution hacking whatsapp and selling the backdoor to governments worldwide to spy on activists and journalists made noises. A few years ago people would have defended governments using Paragon, now they don’t anymore. The shift is happening.

💡

• Thesis: we need privacy toolings

Cybersecurity threats are going mainstream

• Lazarus hacking crypto wallet isn’t niche anymore. It’s a preview, and so cybersecurity isn’t optional anymore. In 2024 they stole 1.4B in the entire year, in 2025 they stole 1.5B in a single hack. They now have 1.5B to invest in R&D to hack even more, this isn’t an escalation: it’s a feedback loop.

• It’s not only about crypto/DPKR hacks: Cybercrime costed approximately $9.5 trillion USD in 2024. This means that crypto cybersecurity tooling have a real use cases, and will grow esponentially.

💡

• Thesis: we need battle tested cybersecurity tools

They say that crisis bring opportunities and I bet that in the chaos, people will wake up, and will demand tools that protect them.

What I'm betting on

• Privacy tech (VPNs, mixnets, metadata resistance, secure P2P messaging)

• Simple wallets + DeFi with real-world use cases, it can go mainstream only if it’s easy to use. As easy as PayPal.

• DePIN: for access, resilience, and uncensorable infra

• Decentralized social media that actually works and has an audience of non crypto native people

• Decentralized AI before it becomes the next surveillance weapon

• B2C Dapps that can be used by everyone, including my mother, and that are safe, censorship resistant and privacy preserving

Centralized AI will profile, rank, and control people faster than any regime ever could.

If we don’t decentralize AI now, the window will close.

I back projects that integrate instead of reinvent, solve real user needs, and move fast in the face of risk.

⚔️ 2. What I Bring — My Unfair Advantage

You don’t need another partnership / BD / community manager.

You need someone who can build, position, and protect.

• Battle-Tested Operator: Led growth, ecosystem, BD, and crisis comms inside censorship-resistance projects — even when the orgs imploded

• Narrative Firepower: FT-featured, Ethereum events and WEF speaker, clear voice in the privacy fight that can attend both CCC and Davos.

• Crypto Anthropologist: deep understanding of human behaviour behind the tech, the usage and the policies

• Network Access: Deep ties in crypto, policy, privacy, VC, and dev communities

• Founder-Level Execution: I embed fast, build fast, and don’t need handholding

🔍 3. What I’m Looking For

• Builders creating tools that will matter when freedom is on the line

• Projects 3 months ahead of the world

• Teams who need real traction: BD, strategy, ecosystem expansion, and narrative

Engagements can start tactical. But I’m looking for equity, tokens, or founder-level collaboration.

📬 4. Call to Action

If you're building what the world will need when the crackdown comes — not just what VCs want today — reach out.

📩 DM me on twitter @costgallo

📧 Email me costgallo_at_gmail.com

🧭 Find me before they shut the lights off