Daniela Osorio  is a blockchain strategist and ecosystem builder with experience leading developer relations, content, and investment initiatives across projects such as NEAR Protocol, ETHDenver, and MetaWeb Ventures. She has worked on community engagement, NFT infrastructure, and early-stage blockchain investment, focusing on the adoption and practical application of Web3 technologies. ^[1]

Education

Osorio attended Dartmouth College, where she graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She pursued a double major in Comparative Literature and Sociology during her time at the institution. From 2011 to 2020, she remained involved with her alma mater, serving as the Young Alumni Chair for the Dartmouth Alumni Association of New York. ^[2]​

Career

Osorio began her professional career in the financial sector as an investment research analyst at KLD Research & Analytics, a role she held from 2006 to 2007. In this position, she worked on socially responsible investment (SRI) indexes and developed research products for institutional investors. Following this, she transitioned to the technology industry, joining Meltwater in 2007. For a decade, she served as a key accounts manager, focusing on social media analytics, corporate strategy, and client relationship management. In 2017, she was promoted to account director, continuing her work in a more senior capacity.

In December 2017, Osorio entered the blockchain industry by joining Infura, a ConsenSys-owned company, as the Director of Global Partnerships and Marketing. For over two years, until February 2020, she led marketing and partnership initiatives for the blockchain infrastructure provider, which serves as a critical backend for many applications on Ethereum. After her tenure at Infura, she joined the NEAR Protocol team in 2020, where she led developer relations and developer ecosystem initiatives until January 2022. Her work focused on building and engaging the community of developers on the NEAR platform.

While working with NEAR, Osorio also embarked on an entrepreneurial venture. From June 2021 to February 2022, she co-founded Satori, a project dedicated to building NFT infrastructure. Concurrently, in July 2021, she took on a significant role within the ETHDenver community, joining its board and leading its content initiatives. This position proved instrumental in the organization's subsequent evolution. In January 2022, Osorio transitioned into venture capital, becoming a partner at MetaWeb Ventures. She held this position until June 2025, focusing on making investments in early-stage blockchain projects and supporting their growth. Following her time in venture capital, she joined Sei Labs in June 2025 to work on strategy and go-to-market functions for the Layer 1 blockchain. Alongside her professional roles, Osorio was a contributing arts and culture writer for Mission Magazine from 2016 to 2020. ^{[2] [3]}

Presentations

Bufficorn Ventures

In a presentation at ETHDenver in February 2022, Osorio and John Paller discussed the transition of ETHDenver from a centralized event structure to SporkDAO in June 2021, outlining its shift toward a decentralized organizational model. They explained that Bufficorn Ventures was created as a mechanism to address return and value distribution challenges in event-based ecosystems by enabling value accrual for participants who are stakeholders, including attendees, speakers, sponsors, and volunteers, who receive governance tokens. The presentation described how the DAO sought to improve deal flow by connecting investors with projects emerging from the community and supporting early-stage teams with capital and resources. They also outlined an approach focused on post-hackathon investments, community-led governance through token-based voting, and the goal of generating long-term sustainability by enabling participants to benefit from projects they supported and by encouraging continued employment and collaboration within the Web3 ecosystem. ^[6]

Panels

Interop Future

At NEARCON in November 2023, Osorio moderated a panel on blockchain interoperability featuring Jason Ma (Axelar), Alex Shevchenko (Aurora Labs), Mariano Sorgente (a16z), and Alex Zaidelson (Secret Labs). The discussion examined core challenges in interoperable systems, including scalability, privacy, and security, as well as technical approaches such as bridges, shared sequencers, atomic swaps, and cross-chain message passing. Panelists emphasized that interoperability extends beyond asset transfers to support more complex cross-chain interactions and discussed the security considerations and architectural complexity involved in developing and auditing these solutions. The conversation concluded with a focus on emerging interoperability standards, modular design in a multi-chain environment, and the role of platform collaboration in improving functionality and user experience across the ecosystem. ^[7]

NEAR Use Cases

At NEARCON in November 2023, Osorio moderated an interactive panel that used a fishbowl format to encourage audience participation in discussions on emerging Web3 use cases, featuring Momo Araki (NEAR), Zoe Leavitt (GLASS), and Anjali Young (Collab.Land). The conversation began with the panelists outlining their respective projects and examining how Web3 applications could move beyond Web2 structures by addressing specific user needs. Topics included the use of blockchain to support AI-related gig and data marketplaces, consumer engagement and loyalty tools within the alcohol industry, and tokenized community management for large-scale online groups. The discussion emphasized a consumer-first approach to product design, explored applications such as cross-border remittances and in-community tipping, and concluded with perspectives on social DAOs, community ownership, and new models for participation and value exchange. ^[8]

FTW Project Edition

At ETHDenver in February 2021, Osorio participated in a panel discussion focused on blockchain projects based in Colorado, alongside Thad Batt, Matt Lockyer (NEAR), Jon ShapeShift (ShapeShift), Adam Dill (Opolis), Paul Quigley (Liberado), Angie Gallagher (BurstIQ), and Kevin Owocki (Gitcoin). The conversation examined how local blockchain initiatives were emerging outside government-led efforts, with panelists discussing topics such as self-custodial wallets, decentralized finance integration, worker benefits platforms, and compliant data management in sectors such as healthcare. The panel also addressed the importance of cultivating a supportive regulatory and talent ecosystem in Colorado, highlighting the need for skills that bridge traditional technology and blockchain development. The discussion concluded with a shared view that collaboration within the local community and adaptive regulatory approaches were central to sustaining blockchain innovation in the region. ^[9]