Sam Kazemian
Sam Kazemian is an Iranian-American software engineer and entrepreneur based in Las Vegas, Nevada.[17][18] He is the founder of Frax Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol best known for its FRAX stablecoin, which initially used a fractional‑algorithmic design before transitioning to a fully collateralized model.[19][15] Kazemian is also a co-founder of IQ.wiki, formerly known as Everipedia, a large blockchain and cryptocurrency encyclopedia with thousands of pages.[17][20][21]
Kazemian has been active in debates over stablecoin and DeFi regulation, arguing for frameworks that support innovation while addressing financial stability and national security concerns.[6][9] He has held advisory roles with digital asset projects such as Agora and Stable Labs, focusing on stablecoins, restaking, and real‑world asset infrastructure.[12] In 2025, he was part of a bipartisan group of technology and national security figures who contributed to the development of the Guarding the United States’ Economic Prosperity and National Security Act of 2025 (GENIUS Act), which seeks to formalize a U.S. strategy for artificial intelligence and digital assets.[9][22]
Early Life & Education
Sam Kazemian was born in Tehran, Iran, and immigrated to the United States as a child.[23][24] After moving to the United States, he attended Westlake High School in California, where he was a cross-country and distance athlete.[25] He later enrolled at UCLA, where he double‑majored in neuroscience and philosophy, graduating in 2015, and competed on the UCLA powerlifting team.[23][26][25]
During his last two years in college, Kazemian assembled a homemade CPU + GPU mining rig using old desktop computers in his UCLA dormitory room to mine cryptocurrencies.[19][27][24] He mined Bitcoin and various altcoins, including scrypt‑based proof‑of‑work cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin and Dogecoin, alongside Bitcoin’s SHA‑256‑based proof‑of‑work, to better understand the blockchain ecosystem.[19][28]
Career
IQ
In December 2014, Sam Kazemian co-founded IQ.wiki, formerly known as Everipedia, starting the project in his dorm room while attending UCLA.[20][29] He developed the first MVP for the project with Theodor Forselius with the aim of becoming a more modern and inclusive version of Wikipedia; Everipedia later launched a blockchain network in which people can stake to contribute to the platform.[23] In February 2018, it was announced that Everipedia had raised $30 million from Galaxy Digital, coverage of which appeared in outlets including Fortune, Reuters, and Business Insider.[4][3]
As of 2025, IQ.wiki is described by data providers and its own documentation as one of the largest blockchain and cryptocurrency encyclopedias, with thousands of pages of content.[30][21] IQ.wiki is powered by IQ token and all edits on the platform are recorded on-chain through Polygon and the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). The encyclopedia is governed by IQ token stakers. The entire database of content from IQ.wiki is also integrated into AIDEN, an AI agent for blockchain knowledge.
IQ.wiki is one of the dApps that makes up the IQ AI ecosystem, which also includes Agent Tokenization Platform (ATP), a platform enabling users to create tokenized AI agents that can operate autonomously. [17] [18][30]
Sophia, an AI agent for editing, updating, and creating cryptocurrency-related content on IQ.wiki, was launched as one of the flagship tokenized agents through IQ's ATP platform.
Frax Finance
In June 2019, Kazemian started a new project, Frax Finance. Commentators have described Frax as the first fractional‑algorithmic stablecoin, combining collateral backing with algorithmic mechanisms.[31][32] According to these analyses, FRAX has been characterized as the first stablecoin with parts of its supply backed by collateral and parts stabilized algorithmically.[31][27] The protocol officially launched on the Ethereum mainnet on Monday, December 21, 2020, at 0:00 UTC. On Monday, December 21, 2020, one hour after launch at 1:00 UTC the total value locked (TVL) in Frax Finance was over $43 million. As the founder of Frax, Kazemian has led the growth of the Frax Finance ecosystem with the launch of innovations including Frax V2, veFXS, Frax Price Index (FPI), and Fraxswap.[2][1]
On the Frax Finance governance forum, Kazemian proposed a new decentralized protocol called Babelfish. The protocol is designed to act as a universal translator for stablecoins, with the goal of unifying the fragmented stablecoin market. Babelfish aims to allow seamless conversions between different stablecoins such as USDT, USDC, and FRAX.
In September 2025, Frax announced it had selected Crypto.com to provide secure custody and liquidity services for its digital assets. This partnership was aimed at making the native asset of the Fraxtal blockchain, FRAX, more accessible to institutional clients through Crypto.com's custody and liquidity platform. Kazemian noted that trusted custody is critical for institutional engagement with the Frax ecosystem.[8]
In January 2025, the Frax community unanimously approved governance proposal FIP-418 to back the frxUSD stablecoin with BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), aiming to pair on-chain transparency and programmability with collateral from a large traditional asset manager.[16] Kazemian described the move as combining “the transparency and programmability of blockchain technology with the trust and stability of BlackRock’s prime treasury offerings,” framing it as a step toward bridging traditional finance and decentralized systems.[16] In December 2024, Frax published its “2025 Vision” roadmap positioning the protocol as a “decentralized central bank of crypto,” including plans to rebrand the FRAX stablecoin and upgrade its network via a hard fork, reflecting Kazemian’s role in shaping the protocol’s long-term strategy.[13]
In August 2025, Fraxtal surpassed $500 million in TVL, becoming the fastest L2 to achieve this milestone. It continued its growth, and in September 2025, the Fraxtal blockchain achieved another significant milestone, surpassing $1 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL). Kazemian commented on the achievement, highlighting the rapid pace at which the ecosystem reached this scale.[10]
Advisory Roles
In August 2025, it was announced that Kazemian would be an advisor to Agora, a new stablecoin project backed by VanEck. The stablecoin is backed by cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and overnight repo agreements.
In September 2025, it was announced that Sam Kazemian was an advisor to Stable Labs, a new restaking AVS focused on building infrastructure for Real-World Assets (RWAs).[12]
In March 2025, Kazemian also participated as an angel investor in Level, a yield-bearing stablecoin protocol backed by firms including Dragonfly Capital and Polychain.[14]
Industry Commentary
Stablecoin Regulation
Following the collapse of Iron Finance in June 2021, a project that forked Frax's code, there were calls for increased regulation of stablecoins from figures like Mark Cuban. Sam Kazemian expressed caution, arguing that applying securities laws from the 1930s to the modern era of decentralized finance is not the right approach. He clarified that he is not against regulation in principle but believes it needs to be "smart and competitive," similar to the frameworks seen in countries like Singapore.[6]
Kazemian also contested the description of the Iron Finance event as a "bank run," preferring to call it a "protocol failure." He pointed out that the Iron Finance team used a very basic, early version of Frax's code and had removed the safeguards his team had implemented to prevent such collapses. He stressed that the failure of a forked project should not be seen as an indictment of all algorithmic stablecoins.[6]
Views on Ethereum
In an April 2025 podcast, Kazemian discussed what he considered a significant issue for Ethereum: the separation of ETH as an asset from Ethereum as a technology. He argued that the Ethereum community has not successfully established a unified social consensus on what ETH is, which he believes has negatively impacted its valuation compared to Bitcoin.[7]
He identified a narrative shift following the implementation of EIP-1559 and the transition to Proof of Stake. The perception of ETH moved from being a "digital commodity" to a "discounted cash flow" (DCF) asset, where its value is primarily assessed based on future burn revenues. Kazemian views this as a mistake, as it anchors ETH's valuation to its cash flows, like a tech stock, rather than its potential as a sovereign store of value. The solution, in his view, is for the community to rebuild a strong social consensus around ETH as a store of value, similar to the narrative surrounding Bitcoin's fixed supply, while continuing to develop Ethereum's technology.[7]
SEC and National Security
In an August 2025 interview, Kazemian commented on the broader regulatory landscape, particularly in light of the SEC's Wells Notice to Robinhood. He argued that the United States' approach to crypto regulation could have significant national security implications. Kazemian expressed the view that a restrictive regulatory environment could push innovation and capital offshore, potentially undermining the U.S.'s position in the future of finance. He emphasized that stablecoins and blockchain technology represent a strategic asset for the country, and that fostering a clear and supportive regulatory framework is a matter of national security to ensure the U.S. remains a leader in the global digital economy. He further elaborated on this point, suggesting that future global conflicts would be won not with traditional military hardware, but with superior 'crypto and AI' capabilities. He has publicly stated his belief that winning the 'AI & crypto race' is the most important objective for the United States, framing it as a non-partisan, national issue crucial for the future.[9][11]
GENIUS Act
Sam Kazemian was part of a bipartisan group of tech leaders and national security experts who helped draft the Guarding the United States’ Economic Prosperity and National Security Act of 2025 (GENIUS Act). The bill was introduced by Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn and aims to establish a national strategy to ensure the United States remains a global leader in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. The act proposes the creation of a new agency, the National Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Assets, to oversee this strategy.[9]
