As Europe enters the decisive MiCA era, the continent's crypto landscape is shifting from speculative "wild west" to a structured financial frontier. At the heart of this transition is Crypto Expo Europe, now the largest gathering of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.
In this "Behind the Startup" special, we sit down with Ruxandra Natalia Tataru, the CEO and Co-Founder of Crypto Expo Europe, driving this massive operation from Bucharest. We dive deep into the logistics of bridging the gap between Web3 founders and European policymakers, the technical maturation of the regional ecosystem, and the reality of hosting 3,000+ delegates in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment.
Ishan Pandey: Hi Ruxandra, it's a pleasure to welcome you to our "Behind the Startup" series. Please tell us about yourself and what inspired you to lead one of Europe's most influential blockchain assemblies?
Ruxandra Natalia Tataru: Hi Ishan, thank you for having me. We are a company that creates events from the past 10 years and I've always been driven by one simple idea: when an industry moves fast, people need clarity even faster.
Crypto Expo Europe started from that belief. The market was growing quickly, but there was a lot of noise, speculation, and confusion. I wanted to build a platform where people could get real information, meet the right partners, and understand where the industry is actually heading, not just where the hype says it's going.
For us, the events we create are not just about the selling and buying. Are about bringing the right people in the same room, founders, companies, and regulators, so things actually move forward.
If before people were driven by "knowledge is power", today I believe the right knowledge is the real power. That's what drives me and what drives Crypto Expo Europe and Ai Expo Europe.
Ishan Pandey: You have a diverse background ranging from financial risk analysis to managing large-scale European congresses. How did those analytical and operational experiences shape your approach to scaling Crypto Expo Europe into a 5,000-square-meter powerhouse?
Ruxandra Natalia Tataru: I have a background in management and finance. Financial analysis teaches you to think long term, event management teaches you execution. We have a different approach on the events and maybe that's the reason why we are for so long on the market in different industries.
We never chased growth just for visibility. We focused on sustainable growth, real value, and measurable outcomes for attendees and partners. Scaling an event is not about size, it's about impact.
Every edition is designed with a clear objective: real information, better conversations, stronger connections, and real business opportunities. We think in terms of return on investment for everyone involved, sponsors, companies, and attendees.
In crypto, hype comes and goes. Structure and value remain.
Ishan Pandey: Bucharest has quietly become a critical staging ground for Eastern European fintech. Beyond the "hype," what are the technical or economic fundamentals of the Romanian market that make it a strategic hub for global entities like Binance and OKX to converge?
Ruxandra Natalia Tataru: Romania has something very powerful that many markets underestimate: technical talent and speed of adoption.
We have strong engineering talent, excellent digital infrastructure, and one of the fastest internet networks in Europe. That combination allows innovation to happen quickly and efficiently.
At the same time, Romania sits in a strategic position between Western Europe and emerging Eastern markets. Companies see Bucharest as a gateway, not just a destination.
The ecosystem is also very open to new technologies. People here adopt innovation fast, and that creates a natural testing ground for global companies. So the growth is not accidental, we've been for a long time the suppliers of the tech minds and now the country evolved enough to also produce a stable market for the entrepreneurs.
Ishan Pandey: We are now firmly in the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) era. From your conversations with regulators and founders for this year's event, what is the biggest technical bottleneck companies face when trying to align decentralized protocols with these new European compliance standards?
Ruxandra Natalia Tataru: The biggest challenge is simple to describe but complex to solve. Is the gap between how decentralized technology actually works and how regulation is designed.
Many companies struggle to align identity frameworks, governance models, or transaction monitoring with MiCA requirements without compromising decentralization. But often the challenge is not purely technical. It's also about understanding.
A politician once told me something very simple: "If we receive too many complaints, we must act to protect consumers. If the industry refuses to engage, we act anyway." Regulation will happen anyway and institutions don't always fully understand how these technologies function in practice. That's exactly why dialogue is essential.
Ishan Pandey: The 2026 agenda highlights the intersection of AI and Web3. Do you see this as a genuine infrastructure shift where blockchain secures AI data, or is it currently more of a narrative-driven integration for investors?
Ruxandra Natalia Tataru: Right now, it's both. Experimentation and real infrastructure development are happening at the same time.
Blockchain has the potential to bring transparency and trust to AI systems, especially around data integrity, model verification, and decision traceability. That's a real structural shift.
But like any emerging intersection, there is also narrative driven momentum. The difference is that behind the narrative there is real technological potential.
In the long run, I believe AI and blockchain will converge around one key principle and that's trust in digital systems.
Ishan Pandey: Organizing an event for 3,000+ delegates involves balancing the needs of institutional "suits" and Web3 "hoodies." How do you architect the physical and digital spaces of the Expo to ensure that high-stakes deal-making happens alongside grassroots developer innovation?
Ruxandra Natalia Tataru: The event is built to cover and over all experience. We design the Expo as a complete experience, not just a conference. The goal is to create a space where individual users, builders and institutions naturally interact, because the industry needs all.
We all love a hoodie, innovation built this space. But suits are not the enemies. Institutional participation brings stability and long-term growth, and in reality both sides want the same thing, a sustainable market mostly if we look at recent history.
So we structured the event in layers: The main stage drives industry dialogue and focuses on the big topics that shape the future of the industry.
The second stage covers more practical discussions, real user needs, and niche industry topics.
The Expo area allows direct interaction with platforms and projects, where people can ask question and explore solutions.
And then there are the side events and parties. That's where real connections happen.
Ishan Pandey: What advice would you give to Web3 startups navigating the current European landscape, should they be optimizing for regulatory "first-mover" status or focusing purely on technical decentralization?
Ruxandra Natalia Tataru: The future belongs to companies that can balance both. Technology without compliance limits growth. Compliance without innovation limits relevance.
Web3 startups in Europe shouldn't treat regulation and decentralization as opposing paths. Regulatory alignment enables scalability, trust, and access to capital.
In the European environment, especially under MiCA, projects that succeed are those that can translate decentralized architecture into compliant operational models. This means building governance, identity, and risk frameworks that meet regulatory expectations without compromising core protocol design.
The real advantage comes from combining regulatory understanding with strong technical foundations. Startups that bridge this gap will be better positioned to scale and operate sustainably.
We all entered this industry because we believed in its future. The reality may not match the original vision, but sometimes evolution improves the vision.
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