Interview with Gabriel Krantz
Ambassador for Blockchain XRP Ledger

Current Role

​

Q: Can you describe your current position and what field you work in?

​

A: I wouldn’t even call it a current position, but I’m trying to get into the blockchain industry. I’m an ambassador for the XRP Ledger, which is a blockchain. At first, I thought it was going to be more on the marketing side—hosting events on campus, talking to people, educating them. But it’s really more project focused.

​

I found myself building a project on the XRP Ledger and collaborating with other campus ambassadors and people in the XRP community. We’re creating a document signing and signature verification platform for the blockchain. I don’t know if I’ll do this full time—it’s more of a practice project, getting started in entrepreneurship and going through the motions. I’m just trying anything and everything to get involved and figure this world out. It’s constantly evolving, and I feel it’s better to just do it and figure things out rather than having analysis paralysis.

​

Understanding Blockchain

​

Q: Could you tell us a little bit about what blockchain technology is?

​

A: Blockchain is a giant ledger. It’s going to be a fundamental technology—the next generation of the Internet. I wouldn’t call it a total revolution, but it will certainly change how things operate over the next 10–20 years.

I think it will be adopted by pretty much all aspects of business. We’re in such an early stage of blockchain—equivalent to the late ’90s for the Internet. It’ll be the underlying infrastructure of everything in the next 15–20 years.

Career Journey

​

Q: How did you get interested in this, since it’s not a very popular thing a lot of people know about?

​

A: It started with researching and investing in disruptive innovation. I began with Tesla stock. I’m a huge car guy, have followed that industry since I was a kid, and I’ve been investing in Tesla since my bar mitzvah.

I bought more Tesla stock in fall 2019 when they were close to bankruptcy, and even more during peak COVID. That got me into the idea of disruptive innovation. From there, I stumbled into XRP and other blockchain technologies.

I dabbled in blockchain a bit with my dad in 2017, but I didn’t really start researching it deeply until recently. Blockchain feels like the next frontier after EVs.

​

Career Opportunities in Blockchain

​

Q: In your current field, what do you think are the most interesting career opportunities emerging in the next 5–10 years?

​

A: Having a fundamental understanding of blockchain will help in most business career paths. In 5–10 years, it’ll give you an edge.

Main areas:

• Finance: faster, cheaper payments, streamlined banking infrastructure, and roles within banks.

• Computer Science: if you can code, there’s huge opportunity—tons of companies need blockchain engineers.

• Business Development: for someone like me without coding experience, I see myself doing business development—finding clients, partnerships with banks, or building companies in Web3.

​

There’s so much opportunity across finance, Web3 startups, and partnerships.

​

Advice for Students

​

Q: Do you have any advice for someone interested in what you’re doing?

​

A: First, hop on Twitter—that’s the unofficial home of crypto. Follow influencers who are genuine, intelligent, and honest. Look at who they retweet, and follow them too.

​

Second, go on company websites and read their white papers. Follow blockchain companies and their executives on LinkedIn—they post articles and updates all the time. Just start reading.

​

You don’t need to know everything at once; just start researching. That’s how I learned about the auto industry when I was your age, and those same research skills apply here. Dwight already prepares you well—it’s harder than college. You just need to start digging in.

​

Goals

​

Q: What are your short- and long-term plans and goals?

​

A: Honestly, I’m all over the place. I know I don’t want to be a corporate slave—stuck at a desk for 30–40 years. I want to create businesses.

​

I see Web3 as the next frontier of the Internet, and if I understand it now, I can either build in the space, consult, or work with financial institutions. The whole point is to be in the world so I can see where things are heading.

Right now, we’re in a bear market, which is the best time to research and get involved. You don’t buy when everyone’s talking about it—you buy when no one’s paying attention, which is now. Meanwhile, big institutions like BlackRock and major banks are investing heavily in blockchain infrastructure.

​

Long-term, I want to build generational wealth. That means creating businesses, investing, maybe real estate, maybe blockchain—it won’t be just one asset class.

​

Final Thoughts

​

Q: Any last words of advice?

​

A: Even if this doesn’t work out for you, the experience itself is huge. Don’t be afraid of failure—it makes you more valuable. Entrepreneurs would rather hire someone who built and failed than someone with an MBA.

We would like to thank Mr. Krantz for the time he spent speaking with us, and we hope you were able to learn something from the insight he provided

​

From,

Cooper