Edwin Mata (born August 17, 1987) is a Mexican-Spanish blockchain lawyer, businessperson, and keynote speaker known for his role in the tokenization of real-world assets through blockchain technology. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Brickken, a fintech company specializing in digital assetization.[1]
Edwin Mata | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 17, 1987 Mexico City |
| Citizenship | Mexican-Spanish |
| Education | ISDE (Master's in Law) Universidad Pública de Navarra (bachelor's in Law |
| Occupation(s) | Blockchain lawyer, businessperson, keynote speaker |
| Known for | tokenization of real-world assets through blockchain technology |
Mata has extensive experience in blockchain technology, decentralized finance and digital transformation. He has held various academic and professional positions, contributing to legal education, blockchain management and the legal aspects of emerging technologies. His work spans several institutions and organizations, focusing on tokenizing assets, decentralized finance, and legal frameworks surrounding blockchain technologies. He has also contributed to developing educational programs in collaboration with leading institutions and companies.[2][3]
Early life and education
editMata was born on August 17, 1987, in Mexico City, where he began his education at Olinca. He later relocated to Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, attending the American School of Puerto Vallarta before moving to Germantown, Maryland, in the United States, where he completed his secondary education. Mata completed his high school education at Colegio Marianistas in Logroño, Spain.[4]
Mata pursued his higher education at the Universidad Pública de Navarra, where he earned a degree in Law. He furthered his studies at the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), completing a Master's program in International Law, Foreign Trade, and International Relations. Additionally, he completed coursework in U.S. Law at Columbia Law School in New York.
Career
editMata's early career began in traditional law, where he managed corporate transactions as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer. His experience in corporate law laid the foundation for his future work in blockchain technology and decentralized finance. Mata joined Ross LGL, where he worked as an associate lawyer in the Commercial Department and was in charge of the Emerging Technologies area. He also created efficient companies and business structures.[5][6]
In 2016, Mata joined Lawyer ANF Certification Authority as the director of operations. Under his leadership, the company achieved the Qualified Trust Services Provider status in Spain and Malta. It became the only company on two different trust lists and the only one in Malta. Mata implemented the information security and quality systems and ETSI EN standards. He coordinated with external auditors to obtain certificates such as ISO 9001, ISO 27001, Webtrust and compliance with Regulation (EU). Later, he served as Head of Legal at Signaturit, a legal tech firm specializing in digital signatures, where he integrated legal expertise with technology. He also made it a Qualified Trust Service Provider, getting them the ISO 9001 and 27001. Mata left Signaturit in 2019 and co-founded Leypal, a company specializing in electronic signatures and certified mail services. He later sold the company to a multinational corporation in Colombia, which integrated Leypal's platform into its service suite.[1][7]
In 2020, Mata co-founded Brickken, a blockchain platform that tokenizes real-world assets, transforming traditionally illiquid assets into liquid, tradeable digital tokens.[1] Under Mata's leadership, Brickken has facilitated tokenizing over $238 million worth of assets across 14 countries, democratizing access to investments in markets such as real estate, intellectual property and commodities. In 2021, Brickken achieved a significant milestone by entering Spain's Financial Sandbox, enabling the company to test its blockchain solutions in a controlled, regulatory environment and further validating its business model. In 2024, Brickken expanded its influence on the European stage by being accepted into the European Blockchain Sandbox in collaboration with Coinbase, a prestigious initiative to foster blockchain innovation across the EU. These key regulatory achievements demonstrate Mata's ongoing commitment to ensuring Brickken's global compliance and leadership in the tokenization space.[8][9]
Through his leadership at Brickken, Edwin Mata has revolutionized how assets are managed and traded, paving the way for broader financial inclusion and reshaping global investment markets.[10]
Thought leadership
editMata is a frequent global keynote speaker and panellist at major blockchain and fintech conferences. He has delivered over 20 keynote addresses and participated in events, including the Mobile World Congress, Smartcon by Chainlink in Barcelona, AIBC Summit in Dubai and EthCC in Paris. His tokenization and decentralized finance expertise have made him a sought-after speaker in countries including the United States, Spain, United Arab Emirates, France, Serbia and Malta.[11][12]
Mata's contributions extend to media and academia. He has been featured in leading blockchain publications like Cointelegraph, CoinGeek, CoinDesk, Nasdaq, and Finance Yahoo, offering insights on the future of decentralized finance and digital asset markets. He has also collaborated with Binance Academy and Nuclio Digital School to create the "Master in Blockchain & Crypto" program, contributing to blockchain education.[13][14]
Contributions in the academic sector
editMata has held several academic positions. He was the executive master in LegalTech at AICAD Business School, teaching digital identity and contract automation courses. He lectured at the UPF Barcelona School of Management in the Postgraduate Program on Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT). He served as the Regional Co-Chair for the Barcelona Chapter of FIBREE.[15]
Mata became the director and professor of the "Master in Blockchain and Crypto" program at Nuclio Digital School, where he developed a comprehensive curriculum covering blockchain, non-fungible tokens, decentralized finance, metaverse technologies and more. He also created the "Minor Intro to Blockchain" program, a 20-hour course to offer theoretical and practical insights into blockchain technology.
As of 2024, Mata is a professor at the Blockchain School for Management in the Postgraduate Program in Blockchain Management, teaching modules on the tokenization of assets, working remotely with Outlier Ventures, where he continues his exploration of blockchain technology and its applications in the decentralized finance ecosystem, and a professor at the CEU San Pablo University in the Master's program in LegalTech, teaching several modules and serves as a thesis advisor for students completing their final master's projects.[16]
Mata is a contract professor at the University of Seville, teaching a 10-hour course on tokenizing business projects and decentralized finance. In addition to lecturing, he coordinates the educational module, manages content integration and supervises academic progress through curriculum planning and quality control.[17][18]
Throughout his academic career, Mata has developed several innovative courses and programs in collaboration with universities and business schools. Notably, he created the "Master in Blockchain and Crypto" program in partnership with Binance at Nuclio Digital School, which covers advanced blockchain topics such as tokenization, non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance.[19][20]
Publication
editIn November 2022, Mata collaborated with a media company named Lefebvre and published a book, Memento Sociedades Mercantiles 2023 (Memento Commercial Companies 2023). The book provides consultation references for entrepreneurs and legal advisors on managing a company from its creation to its transformation or dissolution. It also includes an analysis of the legal regime of investment services companies and other entities that provide investment services. The manual also offers practical solutions based on the most recent and relevant regulations, doctrine and jurisprudence of application in each case and clarifies the most complex aspects. Mata later published Memento Sociedades Mercantiles 2024 (Memento Commercial Companies 2024).[21][22]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Attolón incorpora a Edwin Mata, como socio del departamento fintech y blockchain". Lawyerpress NEWS (in Spanish). 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Kishinchand, Indra (2021-09-10). "Brickken permite la digitalización y tokenización de activos". El Referente (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Legal, Innova (2022-03-02). "BRICKKEN - TOKENIZANDO EL MUNDO". Innova.legal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Redacción (2022-02-17). "Edwin Mata: "Creo que este 2022 puede consolidarse como el año de la tokenización de activos"". Blockmedia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Interview: Brickken Opens Up New Decentralized Business Administration Model - Coincu". coincu.com. 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ ""We Are Cutting Off The Middleman" - Brickken Co-Founder and CEO Edwin Mata Navarro on Tokenization | HackerNoon". hackernoon.com. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Ramirez-Escudero, Daniel (2022-05-05). "La tokenización tiene un recorrido infinito: STOs, inversión institucional, inmuebles, DeFi, metaverso..." BeInCrypto (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Jiménez, Marimar (2022-01-25). "Brickken probará en el sandbox un mercado secundario para startups 'tokenizadas'". Cinco Días (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Navigating the tokenization maze: Brickken CEO discusses regulatory challenges". Cointelegraph. 2024-07-25. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Valencia, Andrea (2021-04-29). "Brickken, el puente entre inversores y activos reales". myconomy (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Field, James (2024-06-19). "Brickken CEO Edwin Mata tackles firm's selection for European Commission's blockchain, DLT regulatory sandbox". CoinGeek. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Brickken Unlocks the Potential of Company Stock Tokenization". cryptonews.net. 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Brickken, la tokenización para principiantes". VIA Empresa (in Spanish). 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Lubillo, Paloma (2021-12-08). "Lefebvre Sarrut celebra su primer LightSpeed Open Day". El Referente (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Empresa española entra en el Sandbox de ese país para probar un mercado secundario para startups tokenizadas". Cointelegraph (in Spanish). 2022-01-26. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Staff member, Redacción (2022-03-24). "Lefebvre Sarrut lanza la segunda edición de LightSpeed, la aceleradora europea de startups de legaltech". Ibero Economia (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Feature Fridays: Brickken". QuickNode Blog. 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Fernandez, Covadonga (2024-05-22). "Edwin Mata: "la estandarización de la tokenización llegará en 2030"". Observatorio Blockchain (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ "Edwin Mata: I Find It Very Interesting Complex Matters, and Failures, Because I Do Know That When the Calm Arrives, Everything Is Just Better". Bugy. 2022-08-29. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Donoso, Yolanda (2022-06-02). "BlockchainRadio: #Ethereum 2.0 y los cambios que vienen". Radio Intereconomía (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Blockchain, Hipther (2022-05-25). "Brickken opens the door to tokenizing company stock". News, Events, Advertising Options. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
- ^ Kumar, Ravi (2022-08-02). "Brickken Adds New VCs To Help Businesses Usher Into Web3". AlexaBlockchain. Retrieved 2024-11-28.