{"version":1,"id":"amir-forouzani","title":"Amir Forouzani","summary":"Amir Forouzani is a blockchain entrepreneur and Puffer Finance co-founder and CEO, known for developing Ethereum staking and scaling infrastructure.","content":"**Amir Forouzani** is a researcher and technology contributor with a background in data science, engineering, and scientific research. He is the co-founder and CEO of [Puffer Finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/puffer) and previously worked as a data scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a graduate research assistant at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and a research assistant at the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-kpa3sacf1u) \n\n## Education\n\nForouzani graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering in 2017. He then attended the University of Southern California, where he earned his MS in Electrical Engineering in 2020. [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-415g6pxmgy) \n\n## Career\n\nForouzani worked as a Research Assistant at the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics from June 2016 to December 2017. From May 2018 to May 2020, he worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, where his work also included electrical and integration engineering. From June 2020 to November 2022, Forouzani worked as a Data Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Forouzani began contributing to [Puffer Finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/puffer) in November 2022. He also held a full-time Contributor position at the company beginning in February 2023 and continues in both roles. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-m55fn1zvcz) \n\n## Interviews\n\n### AI Moves Money\n\nAt [TOKEN2049](https://iq.wiki/wiki/token2049) in October 2026, Forouzani participated in a fireside chat with Richard Widmann of Google and Carl Jiang of [Anchorage Digital](https://iq.wiki/wiki/anchorage-digital) on infrastructure for institutional and [AI agent](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents)-driven payments. The panelists discussed Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), which supports controls over agent transactions through spending limits and agreed-upon purchase details, and how [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency)-based pay-as-you-go payments could enable new types of purchasing activity. They suggested that adoption would likely begin with emerging use cases, including pay-per-call services and limited treasury experiments, before extending to established business-to-business and consumer payment flows. The discussion also covered the governance requirements for agent payments, including identity verification, authorization, spending limits, and accountability, as well as board-level oversight and separation of duties. [\\[7\\]](#cite-id-qlqxmnhivc) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](_TKeJqHAaG4)\n\n## Presentations\n\n### Agentic Economy\n\nAt [TOKEN2049](https://iq.wiki/wiki/token2049) in October 2026, Forouzani discussed the emerging agentic economy, in which [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) conduct transactions and purchase data, computing resources, and other services. He examined the implications for [Ethereum’s](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) [stablecoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/stablecoin) and [real-world asset](https://iq.wiki/wiki/real-world-assets-rwas) activity, highlighting questions around transaction speed, settlement infrastructure, and security when granting [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) access to financial accounts. Forouzani outlined [Puffer’s](https://iq.wiki/wiki/puffer) development from a [liquid staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/liquid-staking) platform toward Unifi, a scaling solution designed to support fast transactions and connectivity with [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum). He described its execution environment and real-time proofs, citing transaction times of approximately 20 seconds and finalization in 12 seconds. He also discussed partnerships with Google Cloud and [Anchorage](https://iq.wiki/wiki/anchorage-digital), which provide infrastructure and custody services relevant to agent-driven transactions, including controls such as trading and liquidation limits. The presentation concluded with a flash-loan demonstration connecting [Layer 2](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-2) activity with [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) liquidity, along with an introduction to discussions on [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) scaling, [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents), and supporting infrastructure. [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-h28244qong) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](pKKKb90odE4)\n\n### Underwrite Yields\n\nAt the Digital Asset Yield Summit in May 2026, Forouzani discussed the security and risk-management requirements institutions face when allocating capital to [decentralized finance (DeFi)](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi). He identified risks including hacks, irreversible transactions, composability, and operational security weaknesses, and outlined [Puffer’s](https://iq.wiki/wiki/puffer) security measures, including upgrade time locks, community-controlled multisignature safeguards, two-[ETH](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ether-eth) operator bonds, and guardian modules for verifying off-chain code. Forouzani also described [liquid staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/liquid-staking) products designed for institutions that require segregated pools and [know-your-customer (KYC)](https://iq.wiki/wiki/know-your-customer-kyc) controls. He also presented Puffer Unifi, an execution environment designed to provide customizable transaction processing and allow institutions to set their own operational rules while accessing [Ethereum’s](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) security and liquidity. He explained that [Puffer’s](https://iq.wiki/wiki/puffer) products were intended to address the needs of both individual [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) participants and institutions seeking tailored [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) environments and security controls. [\\[5\\]](#cite-id-jiey5dhtzh) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](l8Lm71p3hQk)\n","categories":[{"id":"people","title":"people"}],"tags":[{"id":"Founder"},{"id":"Developer"},{"id":"Ethereum"},{"id":"Speaker"}],"images":[{"id":"Qmf4qAJxFu6akcDuXK8Tsg9bb2bB6hb8TEWWqA8D52xML2","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"media":[{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TKeJqHAaG4","name":"_TKeJqHAaG4","source":"YOUTUBE","thumbnail":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TKeJqHAaG4","caption":""},{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKKb90odE4","name":"pKKKb90odE4","source":"YOUTUBE","thumbnail":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKKb90odE4","caption":""},{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Lm71p3hQk","name":"l8Lm71p3hQk","source":"YOUTUBE","thumbnail":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Lm71p3hQk","caption":""}],"metadata":[{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"kpa3sacf1u\",\"url\":\"https://www.puffer.fi/\",\"description\":\"Puffer Finance website\",\"timestamp\":1792502370542},{\"id\":\"m55fn1zvcz\",\"url\":\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/amir-forouzani-995a86a2/\",\"description\":\"LinkedIn profile\",\"timestamp\":1792502370542},{\"id\":\"415g6pxmgy\",\"url\":\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/amir-forouzani-995a86a2/details/education/?locale=en-US\",\"description\":\"Education and project profile\",\"timestamp\":1792502370542},{\"id\":\"m5s3ylgo83\",\"url\":\"https://x.com/AmirOnchain\",\"description\":\"Forouzani’s profile and posts\",\"timestamp\":1792502370542},{\"id\":\"jiey5dhtzh\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8Lm71p3hQk\",\"description\":\"Digital Asset Yield Summit discussion\",\"timestamp\":1792502370542},{\"id\":\"h28244qong\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKKb90odE4\",\"description\":\"TOKEN2049 discussion of agentic infrastructure\",\"timestamp\":1792502370542},{\"id\":\"qlqxmnhivc\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TKeJqHAaG4\",\"description\":\"TOKEN2049 payments panel\",\"timestamp\":1792502370542}]"},{"id":"linkedin_profile","value":"https://linkedin.com/in/amir-forouzani-995a86a2"},{"id":"website","value":"https://www.puffer.fi/"},{"id":"twitter_profile","value":"https://x.com/AmirOnchain"},{"id":"main-image-origin","value":"{\"imageId\":\"Qmf4qAJxFu6akcDuXK8Tsg9bb2bB6hb8TEWWqA8D52xML2\",\"originalId\":\"QmNaFHPHGz9C921d47zK6CV5ixndV2DsaLmDfF7a6rkRLB\"}"},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"QmY2TdJZPoZJQ3H6No7f7LcR5tg9hkfDHrDMU9C9vancgs"},{"id":"commit-message","value":"Update tags for Amir Forouzani wiki"},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"QmY2TdJZPoZJQ3H6No7f7LcR5tg9hkfDHrDMU9C9vancgs"}],"events":[{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Puffer UniFi OP testnet release","date":"2025-08-01","description":"Forouzani said Puffer had released UniFi OP on testnet.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"9b2edee9-2b06-489a-a979-e463eccf8655"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"TOKEN2049 fireside chat","date":"2026-10-01","description":"Forouzani joined a fireside chat on infrastructure for institutional and AI agent-driven payments.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"fde0dcea-0104-4475-96fd-62ee298362ef"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"TOKEN2049 presentation","date":"2026-10-01","description":"Forouzani discussed the agentic economy, Ethereum stablecoins and real-world assets, and Puffer's Unifi scaling solution.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"fd562353-8be9-4ce9-8674-dafc632b14b1"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Digital Asset Yield Summit","date":"2026-10-01","description":"Forouzani discussed institutional DeFi security, risk management, and Puffer's security measures and products.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"0bf37765-dbbc-4118-9dd6-c355cad03ea8"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Puffer Finance panel on blockchain in the AI era","date":"2026-10-01","description":"Forouzani moderated a Puffer Finance panel about blockchain in the AI era.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"be32be56-8556-4744-a457-ca0432dc614b"}],"linkedWikis":{"founders":[],"blockchains":["puffer"],"speakers":[]},"user":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"author":{"id":"0xacb6c5AD52b8f605299B0d774CE97F26e3DB80c2"},"language":"en","operator":{"id":"0xacb6c5AD52b8f605299B0d774CE97F26e3DB80c2"}}