Aviation · Fintech · Blockchain · AI
Frank Poncelet
From cockpit to blockchain — three decades of building what's next.
Pioneering Agentic AI in 2026
About
I'm a systems thinker who keeps arriving early to revolutions. My career started at 30,000 feet — maintaining Alpha Jets and Fouga Magisters for the Belgian Air Force, teaching 55 cadets to fly their first solo, and becoming a specialist in composite materials and flight instruments. When I pivoted to software in 2004, I graduated 1st in class out of 80 students, and spent my evenings teaching computer science at an evening school.
At ING Belgium, I moved from Java architect to leading the mobile banking team, then founded internal tech culture programs that won the Golden Lion Trophy. The thread through it all: spotting what's next and building the bridge to get there.
Today I operate at the intersection of blockchain and enterprise — as Operations Architect at Xplore Group and co-founder of Hyperlabs. I've written 40+ smart contracts, created ERC721F (a low-gas template now used as an industry standard), and spoken at conferences from Lisbon to New York on NFTs, from robot bartenders to mass adoption of crypto.
I've mined Bitcoin, left, returned for Ethereum, left again, and came back for NFTs (still here) — each time seeing further than before. As an early-stage investor, I now back the builders who remind me why I kept coming back. The intersection of engineering, art, and finance isn't just where I work — it's where the future lives.
My current focus: agentic and physical AI systems that move beyond chat interfaces into real-world workflows, devices, and autonomous coordination.
The Journey
Blockchain & Web3
- —2026: Pioneering Agentic AI / Physical AI
- —As part of the MoonMars project, I did send my CryptoPunk pair #4706 (V1/V2) to the surface of the moon
- —2025: Web3 Advisor & Art curator for NewChic Capital Family office
- —2024: Head of Speaker Selection & Art curation for The Banana Conf Tallinn
- —2023: Co-founded Hyperlabs — Xplore Group's blockchain brand
- —Developed 40+ smart contracts, including the ERC721F — a low-gas template setting industry standards
- —2022: Built the ERC-721 wrapper for CryptoPunks V1, enabling safe trading of the original CryptoPunks from 2017
- —Co-founded We are Dorkis — created the old-fashioned way with pen and colored pencil on paper
- —2021: Came back for the NFT revolution as an amateur artist, but realized engineering skills mattered more — still here
- —2017: Returned for Ethereum and "programmable money" — left again as the ICO hype faded
- —2010: Mined Bitcoin in the early days — left the scene when ASICs industrialized mining
Cronos / Xplore Group / Hyperlabs
- —Innovation, pre-sales, project & program management — Operations Architect
- —Major Belgian bank: The Profiler — a reusable MiFID platform — Project Manager
- —Major Belgian bank: Material Blockchain — Blockchain Advisor
- —Crelan: New Mobile App — Project Manager & Strategy Advisor
- —Agentschap Natuur & Bos — digitalization of subsidy management on blockchain
- —Co-founded Hyperlabs — Xplore Group's blockchain brand
- —Elout: Digitalization of IRL games to streaming video — Project Manager
- —Major Belgian bank: Asset management tool — Project Manager
- —Conundra: Transport planning platform — Steerco Committee member
- —Epilog: MRI data processing platform — Steerco Committee member
- —Descours & Cabaud: Webshop middleware platform — Project Manager & Technology Advisor
- —Pioneer: Real-time automotive telematics platform — Project Manager & Technology Advisor
- —Speaker at Devoxx Belgium
ING Belgium
- —Team Manager Mobile Banking — Delivered a new mobile security platform
- —Team Manager New Service Platform — building the next generation of ING's digital services
- —Won the Golden Lion Trophy twice (2015 & 2016) for tech culture initiatives
- —Organized ING Hackathon SYTYCC (So You Think You Can Code) for students — promoting ING as a tech company
- —Co-founded Devoxx4Kids@ING for employees' children
- —Team Manager Mobile Banking — led the team that built the first mobile banking app in Belgium
- —Senior Java Architect — code quality, architecture documentation, production systems
The Educator
- —Part-time IT Instructor @ CVO-IVV de avondschool
- —Founding faculty — helped build the department's foundational IT courses
- —Taught Structured Computer Organisation (based on Prof. Tannenbaum)
- —Later added Network Management Advanced to the curriculum
- —Served as Promotor for final graduation projects in Network Management
Belgian Defence & Air Force
- —IT Instructor at Defence — teaching Java EE and design patterns
- —Graduated 1st in class (out of 80) in military IT conversion — Java EE, distributed computing, AI
- —Glider Pilot Instructor — trained 55 cadets to their first solo flight, and 75 for cross-country
- —Composite materials specialist — structural repairs on Schleicher & Grob glider aircraft
- —Aircraft Engineer on Fouga Magister — scheduled maintenance & team management
- —Alpha Jet Crew Chief — day-to-day maintenance in a 12-member team keeping 18 jets mission-ready
Speaking
Exploring the intersection of blockchain, AI, and enterprise innovation — with talks on digital ownership, smart contract design, mass adoption, and the systems shaping what comes next, at conferences across the world.
2026 · Berlin
Dappconn
The Death of the Human Middleman: AI Agents, RWAs & the Automation of Everything — duo keynote with IrishNFTgal
2025 · Lisbon
NFC Summit 2025
Mass Adoption: The Final Frontier — duo keynote with IrishNFTgal
Watch on YouTube →(opens in a new tab)2024 · Tallinn
NFT Tallinn — The Banana Conf
ERC-6551 Token-Bound Accounts — duo keynote with IrishNFTgal
Watch on YouTube →(opens in a new tab)2024 · Brussels
ETHcc — 0x499
Decentralized Masterpieces — NFTs and the Future of Art — with IrishNFTgal, Ioana Surpatean, Yiqin Zhu & Zarina Izy
2024 · Dublin
ETH Dublin
NFT panel with John Crain & IrishNFTgal
Watch on YouTube →(opens in a new tab)2024 · Lisbon
Non Fungible Conference
Soulbound Tokens — The Future of Identification and Recognition
Watch on YouTube →(opens in a new tab)2023 · Lugano
NFT Fest Lugano
Ordinals or NFTs? On-chain or not?
2023 · Copenhagen
Nordic Blockchain Conference
Soulbound Tokens — The Future of Identification and Recognition
View on Sessionize →(opens in a new tab)2023 · Biarritz
NFT Biarritz
Panel — Bitcoin Ordinals: The New Age of NFTs? — With John Karp, Benjamin Mauger, Benjamin Cohen and Quentin de Beauchesne
2023 · New York
NFT.NYC 2023
The Future of NFTs and Their Regenerative Role
Watch on YouTube →(opens in a new tab)2023 · Lisbon
Non Fungible Conference
Panel Discussion on Ordinals
View on Sessionize →(opens in a new tab)2023 · Tallinn
NFT Tallinn
Soulbound Tokens — The Future of Identification and Recognition
View on Sessionize →(opens in a new tab)2022 · London
NFT.London
Low-gas Smart Contracts & ERC721F
Projects
ING Mobile Banking
Led the team that built the first native iOS mobile banking app in Belgium for ING Belgium. Pioneered mobile financial services for millions of users, setting the standard for digital banking across the continent.
Crelan Mobile App
Project Manager & Strategy Advisor for Crelan Bank's new mobile application (2022–2024). End-to-end delivery of a modern banking experience for one of Belgium's leading banks.
Major Belgian bank — MiFID Platform
Project Manager of The Profiler, a reusable MiFID compliance platform for asset management. Bringing regulatory tech into the modern era.
ERC721F
Open-source low-gas NFT contract template that became an industry standard. Optimized minting costs and set new benchmarks for efficient smart contract design.
Visit →Hyperlabs
Co-founded Xplore Group's blockchain brand in 2023. Building enterprise blockchain solutions — from asset management to subsidy management processes on-chain.
Visit →Natuur & Bos on Blockchain
Digitalization of the Flemish forestry agency's subsidy management process using blockchain — bringing transparency and trust to public administration.
We are Dorkis
Co-founded a collection of 4,724 hand-drawn NFTs — dorks, goofballs, and weirdos created the old-fashioned way with pen and colored pencil on paper. Building an inclusive community celebrating what makes us all unique dorks.
Visit →CryptoPunks V1 (Wrapped)
Built the ERC-721 wrapper that brought the original 2017 CryptoPunks back to life. A community-driven recovery of the first-ever Punks smart contract — now safely tradable with 51K+ ETH in total volume.
Visit →Get in Touch
Interested in collaboration, speaking engagements, or just want to connect? Let's start a conversation.
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