Oren Havshush, CTO of blockchain compliance platform Crymbo, shares his playbook for the Web3 era. He discusses why AI is a “co-worker,” not a threat, why the future of crypto depends on regulation, and how to retain top tech talent by making the work interesting.
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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- AI is Not a Threat; It’s Your Best Co-Worker.
Instead of replacing developers, AI augments their skills. It acts as a powerful, 24/7 co-worker for code reviews, security checks, and testing, making your team faster. - The Future of Web3 is Regulated and Transparent.
The crypto industry will not reach mass adoption while it remains anonymous and decentralised. Its future depends on becoming regulated, with compliance layers that bring the transparency of traditional finance to the blockchain. - The Key to Retaining Top Tech Talent is Interesting Work, Not Just Money.
High turnover is often caused by boring, repetitive tasks. The solution is to ensure every developer is full-stack, touching all aspects of the product to keep the work challenging and satisfying.
Could you please introduce yourself and share a bit about your journey into the IT Industry?
My name is Oren Havshush, and I am the CTO of Crymbo, a Web3 SaaS platform delivering on-chain compliance solutions for VASPs, banks, and financial institutions. I’ve been in the web development industry for most of my career and have spent the past five years deeply involved in the blockchain and crypto space.
After completing my military service, I spent a decade in Germany, working on large-scale technology projects with T-Mobile, where I honed my skills in architecture design, product delivery, and leadership. Upon returning to Israel, I founded and managed several development companies, leading them through growth and successful exits before fully transitioning into the blockchain industry.
Over the years, I’ve led and contributed to multiple high-impact projects, including serving as the technical lead for the FIFA Blockchain Platform, where I designed and implemented the blockchain infrastructure, and architecting Funtico’s Web3 gaming platform.
At Crymbo, I lead a cross-functional R&D team focused on building secure, scalable, and compliant blockchain infrastructure. My expertise spans Solidity, DeFi, NFT standards, oracles, SaaS architecture, and financial compliance frameworks (KYC, KYT, AML) — combining technical leadership with strategic business execution to bridge traditional finance and blockchain innovation.
What are some of the most significant challenges you’ve seen in your industry?
The biggest challenge, especially in Web3, is that everything is new. We are in a world where we have to invent everything. There are not many tools available, and there are not many people in the industry who have deep experience. This makes it very challenging to find the right people and to create new solutions from scratch.
Looking ahead, what emerging technologies should developers be focusing on?
If I were a new developer trying to find my way, I would go for AI and blockchain.
We are already working heavily with AI. I don’t see it as a tool that will do our job for us, but as the best co-worker you can have. It’s cheap, available 24/7, and helps with everything. It’s a consultant, a reviewer for code and security, and a partner for thinking of alternative ways to do things.
It doesn’t replace developers; it gives them more power and makes them faster. Something that used to take me a week, I can now do in a few hours.
In your extensive experience, what is the biggest IT-related mistake other companies make?
The biggest mistake is not keeping employees for a long time. In Israel, the lifespan of an employee at a company can be two years maximum. It takes a lot of time and money to onboard a new developer, so as far as you can keep an employee satisfied, it’s hugely beneficial.
Companies often think it’s about the money, but it’s not. When I interview people, they tell me they left their last role because the work was boring and repetitive. The key is to keep them satisfied with interesting and professionally challenging work.
How do you envision the IT sector evolving over the next three to five years?
The pace of development is going to get much quicker because of AI. I think each developer will have an AI agent as a co-worker. This won’t drain the work; I believe it will increase the need for developers because so much more will be possible.
The time-to-market for new ideas is shrinking, and the speed of knowledge acquisition is huge. The changes in just the last year have been amazing.
Beyond the technological shifts, how is the regulatory environment changing, especially in Web3?
In the past, Web3 was decentralised and unregulated. Now, everything is shifting as banks and financial institutions adopt the technology. For the crypto industry to truly grow and achieve mass adoption, it must become regulated and transparent.
The era of anonymity is ending. The future is a regulated world where every transaction on the blockchain will have a compliance layer to identify the participants, just like a SWIFT transaction in a traditional bank.
What do you consider to be the most critical skill that IT leaders should have today?
The ability to co-work with AI. It doesn’t matter what other skills you have; if you know how to write the right prompts and extract the correct information from AI, you can succeed in any area.
I’ve seen people with no experience deliver a working application in a few hours with AI. It’s unbelievable.
How do you approach mentoring and developing the next generation of IT leaders?
I build a plan with the developer, based on their interests and what they want to achieve. My main approach is to ensure that every developer is full-stack. They touch every item of the product and do everything, sometimes even QA. This ensures their work is not the same every day.
For developers, the work must be interesting. They have to feel like they are inventing new things. This is the key to satisfaction, and it’s more important than just compensation.
Reflecting on your experiences, what’s been the most memorable insight or takeaway from your career?
My greatest success is seeing my developers grow. I work in a very flat organisation where even a junior developer can lead their own project. I focus on building careers, taking people from junior to highly professional in a relatively short time.
I’ve worked with over 100 developers in my lifetime, and seeing their progress is what I take as the key success of my career. I like to impact other people’s lives.
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