Christian Catalini, Angel Investor

Christian Catalini is a leading economist and entrepreneur at the intersection of blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and digital finance. He is the Co‑Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Lightspark, and also founded the MIT Cryptoeconomics Lab, where he continues as a Research Scientist. Previously, Christian co‑created Diem (formerly Libra), serving as Chief Economist of the Diem Association and Head Economist of Meta FinTech. As a professor at MIT, he designed the MIT Digital Currency Research Study and was appointed a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2018. His academic work spans blockchain, equity crowdfunding, startup growth, and scientific collaboration. Christian holds a PhD from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and an MSc in Economics and Management of New Technologies from Bocconi University. As an investor, he backed Flashnet in February 2025 (Seed Round, $4.5M), reflecting his commitment to supporting early‑stage ventures in digital innovation.