Interviews
“There is room for everyone in esports.” Exclusive Q&A with Ashley Washington, Head of VCT Game Changers
There is an old, now-defunct saying in football that women can’t understand the offside rule. While there was no such explicit quote, the feeling has been pretty much the same in esports, if you go by the low number of women playing the sports.
Now, who will do something to change the gender disparity in esports? Enter VCT Game Changers.
VCT Game Changers is an esports program exclusively for women where gamers play Riot Games’ hit video game VALORANT. The Game Changers tournament is into its third edition this year.
We have here with us Ashley Washington, Head of VCT Game Changers. She talks about, well, the game-changing situation in esports. Her responses are insightful and stats-rich. Don’t miss it.
Q. Let’s start with a quick intro. How did you land in the gaming industry?
A. This is a very reductive version of the story but I was working in account management and sales in NYC after graduating from New York University. Though I did study game design, I wasn’t really sure of myself when it came to making a career in the industry. There was an evening in January of 2016 when I’d just paid my rent—a paycheck and a half—and I just decided that I wanted to move to Berlin. I knew it was fun and cheap because I studied abroad there. I bought a one-way ticket and did that. Berlin is the kind of place where you can make almost anything happen for yourself career-wise, so I chased my dreams and made the switch! I’ve done quality assurance work, data science, journalism and, it turns out, I’m strongest as a product leader.
Q. Tell us about Valorant Game Changers: Mission, vision, mode of operation and all that?
A. VCT Game Changers is a program meant to introduce women to the VALORANT ecosystem, guide them in the cultivation of their skills and, ideally, see them make their way out of the program and into the rest of the VALORANT competitive space. The goal is to have a diversified ecosystem where people from a variety of identities and backgrounds can excel at the highest levels of play. So far, we’ve set out to achieve this by running the tournament circuit that most are familiar with but, in the future, we are working to find additional ways we can make this vision into a reality.
Q. How do you analyse your performance so far? Could you talk about the changes you have brought about in esports, especially in terms of the participation of women?
A. I think there are some obvious things we are looking at and some less obvious things. Really high on the list is participation. We recently maxed out signups for the first time with 130 teams registered out of 128, meaning two teams were on the waitlist when signups closed. Ultimately we saw 126 teams participate, this is over 600 players which is great to see. We set out to create a safe space, so seeing more and more women choose to enter it is absolutely a win. One of the other stronger indicators of success, at least from my perspective, is to see women in rosters in the rest of VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA . Whilst it’s not yet exactly standard, mixed rosters can already be seen in third party VALORANT tournaments, like BLAST Spike Nations, and that’s a beautiful thing as well.
Q. Valorant Game Changers tournament is into its third series now. How has the tournament evolved and progressed over the three series?
A. Growth is probably the biggest evolving factor for Game Changers at this stage. For example, just this year, we saw 91 teams participate in the second series. In the third series, we had 126 teams. In addition to more teams, we are seeing the strength of the teams grow as well. The players are becoming increasingly more skilled and the competitive spirit among EMEA teams is a lot more dynamic. There are a lot of really interesting team and player stories developing and a notable increase in participation from regions that are usually not represented like Turkey and MENA (and some parts of Europe). So, the community that we’ve grown with the tournament is maturing in many ways.
Q. The number of women participating in esports is still low, with reference to an ideal scenario. What do you think are the hindrances women face in entering and excelling at esports?
A. I’ve spent a lot of time talking to women in the scene playing different titles and coming from different backgrounds. The things I hear referenced the most come down to the lack of opportunities (both perceived and actual—they’re equally as bad when the result is the same) and a fear of career instability should they decide to go all in with esports. Many of these women have a hard time convincing orgs to give them a chance or, when they do, getting adequate pay that allows them to focus on doing their best. The women end up needing to maintain their studies or another job so that they have a backup plan in the event that things don’t work out. This happens in esports in general but it would seem that this is a very common experience for women entering the space.
It’s very important that any organisation interested in providing these opportunities to women is also committed to investing in their careers as well. Bringing a group of women together just to have that roster there without paying any mind to what they need to thrive and grow is a costly and painful mistake. It leaves its mark and it can be incredibly discouraging for those that it affects.
Of course I also hear from women who have terrible experiences due to toxicity and the lack of confidence that can come from that or just not seeing enough representation in general. This kind of thing can strike when they’re so young that they don’t even consider trying to play competitively when they get older. It doesn’t end with players either, underrepresentation is happening in every area—women working in talent or esports-related companies might also face these issues.
Q. What kind of activities is Valorant Game Changers undertaking for training and mentoring women in esports?
A. Our approach to this varies regionally. Since Game Changers is still young, not every region has a training supplement, EMEA included. But we are hoping to introduce something like this relatively soon. The most important thing is finding something that is best suited to the region and what the Game Changers community is looking for, so we’ve been doing a lot of listening for now.
Q. How are you looking into the future regarding women’s participation in esports? In which countries do you hope to see a surge in numbers in terms of women players?
A. EMEA is already so strong when it comes to this. The interest in esports among women is high and every year, the landscape for opportunities to play is looking brighter and brighter. Continuing with this is the first thing I hope and fully expect to see. When it comes to regional representation, I dream of higher numbers from MENA—so North Africa and the Middle East. This is already happening so tapping into what players from these regions need to feel comfortable taking the leap is one of many focus points I have looking ahead to the future. Though I can safely say that I wouldn’t complain about an increase from any space in the region. This is one of the rare occasions in life where more is absolutely better.
Q. Finally, what kind of initiatives do you want to see in the esports industry in general –- by governments and other organisations — to ensure the number of women in esports continues to increase?
A. I would love to see more support for younger fans who are curious about playing or being in the industry in general. I think it’s very easy to write off “gaming” as a viable job option but I think that has a lot to do with how few resources there are for school-aged players and their families to have an idea of what this could really look like—whether that’s playing, organising or being part of a broadcast. I mean, I have a pretty standard job that I’m pretty sure my parents never imagined would fall under “working with games”. I think they’re not the only ones.
And, ultimately, I would love to see more initiatives tap into intersectionality. It’s so important to help women feel comfortable in the space, but once that’s begun, there are so many groups within this identity that could use a bit of a lift. For example, I didn’t see many other black women in the industry growing up and it’s a lot of the reason why I didn’t bother doing anything beyond studying games for a while. Eventually, I felt brave enough to go for it anyway but there are so many others like me who won’t even make it that far with it without knowing for sure that it’s possible. Initiatives connecting young players from underrepresented groups is one way to kind of combine both of these things. There are already programs like this out there and I am really excited about seeing that continue to develop in the future.
There is room for everyone in esports. If they truly want to be there, they can be—I really do believe that.
Interviews
HIPTHER Community Voices: Interview with Attorney-at-law and founder at Kancelaria Adwokacka Dr. Justyna Grusza-Głębicka
With over a decade of experience in legal proceedings and a focus on gambling regulation and anti-money laundering compliance, Dr. Justyna Grusza-Głębicka is a leading voice in navigating the legal complexities of the gambling sector. In this interview, she shares her insights on the effectiveness of current safe gambling campaigns, the growing influence of social media in promoting illegal gambling, and the urgent need for regulatory reform in Poland.
Do you believe current awareness campaigns about safe gambling are working? What more should be done to educate players?
I do not have detailed analysis or data to confirm whether they are truly effective. However, the problem still exists. First of all, I am contacted as a lawyer by players who feel deceived by gambling operators. Players report violations regarding responsible gambling (for example, offering gambling to individuals who show clear signs of addiction) or in the area of AML (disregarding the fact that someone is gambling from another EU country when the operator does not hold a license there). Moreover, the media reports numerous cases involving the exposure of children to gambling – for example, by placing slot machine like devices in amusement parks or introducing gambling like mechanisms into video games accessible to minors. These violations are numerous, so clearly more can be done. To better educate players, influencers and social media platforms should be involved in the campaigns. These are currently the most effective tools for reaching people.
What are some common ways illegal gambling sites reach Polish players today? Are social media platforms a big part of the problem?
Social media plays a significant role. Influencers are actively involved in promoting illegal gambling and are very effective, especially as role models for younger generations. The live streams they conduct are difficult for enforcement authorities to monitor, and links to illegal casinos or poker sites are often shared in the comment sections during those streams. Currently, there is a trend of creating closed groups on platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, or Signal, where players are encouraged to participate in illegal gambling and persuaded of its attractiveness. Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook are not helping in the fight against illegal gambling, as they allow such operators to advertise and be promoted through SEO.
Is the current legal system strong enough to go after these middlemen, or does it need updating too?
It is very difficult to prosecute gambling operators that offer services in Poland but are based abroad due to international legal obstacles. However, the current legal system does include tools for prosecuting intermediaries. Article 110a of the Fiscal Penal Code states that anyone who advertises gambling games in violation of the law or benefits from such advertising is subject to a fine. Additionally, under the Penal Code, there is a provision for aiding and abetting a prohibited act. Organizing gambling games without the required license is a criminal offense, and in such cases, the penalty for aiding and abetting is the same as for the principal offender. Aiding can be attributed to virtually anyone who supports the perpetrator in committing the offense.
Do you think most Polish players know whether a site is legal or not? How can they check this easily?
Research shows that only 38% of players know how to identify legal gambling websites. The legality of a gambling operator or website can be verified on the official government website: podatki.gov.pl or in the Register of Domains Used to Offer Gambling Games in Violation of the Law. However, the data indicates that it’s not that straightforward, as more than half of the players lack this knowledge.
What advice would you give to a player who has been scammed by an unlicensed online casino? Is there any legal step they can take?
First, I would advise reporting the crime to the authorities, even at the risk of personal liability, as this may be mitigated. In Poland, participating in foreign (unlicensed) gambling is punishable, so players also bear legal responsibility. Second, players can send payment demands to the entities responsible for organizing the illegal gambling, including payment institutions, although this approach may be ineffective. Under civil law, players are only protected when it comes to claims arising from legal gambling. Criminal proceedings are generally a better path. It’s also possible to seek protection through courts within the European Union.
And finally—do you think Poland is heading in the right direction when it comes to regulating online gambling? What are realistic changes you hope to see in gambling laws in the next year or two?
The last amendment to the Gambling Act was in 2016, so quite a bit of time has passed, and the world of modern technology is advancing rapidly. It is definitely time for change.
Recently, there has been an active debate on the future of gambling regulation in Poland – both within the industry and at the governmental level. A meeting of the Parliamentary Team for Free Market was organized under the topic: Illegal gambling in Poland – Diagnosis of problems in enforcement and proposed solutions, which I had the pleasure of attending. At the end of 2024, a new department dedicated to the gambling sector was also established. These may be signs of coming change.
The most visible demands include the liberalization of online casinos, which are currently under a state monopoly, and a shift from turnover tax to GGR. I believe that liberalizing the online casino market is a realistic development. Poland is struggling with a large grey market in gambling, and experiences from other EU countries show that allowing previously unlicensed operators to operate legally yields positive outcomes in this area.
Focusing on less headline-grabbing reforms, I would point to the need for improving the process through which the Ministry of Finance determines whether a particular game qualifies as gambling, currently, this process is quite costly. In general, facilitating better communication between the industry and the regulator would help avoid many misunderstandings caused by unclear legal provisions.
The post HIPTHER Community Voices: Interview with Attorney-at-law and founder at Kancelaria Adwokacka Dr. Justyna Grusza-Głębicka appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
At this year’s MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit in Vilnius, NuxGame joins as the official TECH Trends, Innovation & Marketing Stage Sponsor – bringing with them not just cutting-edge technology, but a fully integrated platform built to help operators grow smarter, engage deeper, and stay ahead in a fast-evolving industry.
We caught up with Denis Kosinsky, Chief Operating Officer at NuxGame, to talk about personalized retention, real-world tech upgrades, and how the company is redefining success in a crowded marketplace.
Denis, thank you for joining us! Can you start by introducing yourself and telling us more about your role at NuxGame and the company’s core mission?
Thank you great to be here. I’m Denis Kosinsky, COO at NuxGame. My job in this game is to make sure the product doesn’t just work — it wins. That means constantly solving problems for operators, especially in fast-moving and emerging markets, and building solutions that are not only flexible but built to adapt to whatever the iGaming world throws at us.
At NuxGame, we power the engines behind some of the most competitive casino and betting brands worldwide. We partner with 140+ game providers across dozens of markets, delivering a modular platform that supports everything from game aggregation and payment systems to CRM and bonus engines. I work across product and operations to make sure our partners can launch fast, grow sustainably, and offer the kinds of player experiences that drive real retention not just short-term engagement.
In today’s industry, it’s not enough to be functional — you have to be responsive, scalable, and smart. Our mission at NuxGame is to give operators a platform that evolves with them — whether they need a turnkey launch or custom integrations — and to act as a real partner, not just a tech vendor. Because the way we see it, if our clients win, we win.
Retention is one of the hottest topics in iGaming right now. How can modern operators plan for a successful retention-first strategy?
Acquisition gets the headlines, but retention builds the business. In today’s iGaming landscape, where player acquisition costs are rising, a retention-first strategy is not optional — it’s essential.
At NuxGame, we equip operators with tools that drive sustained engagement: dynamic segmentation, real-time reward engines, personalized bonuses, and gamification systems that go beyond basic loyalty points. Operators using our tier-based achievements and contextual campaigns have reported up to 22% higher 30-day retention and 12% increases in average revenue per user (ARPU). Our platform also supports real-time feedback loops, so operators can adapt instantly to player behavior.
Retention starts with understanding the player — what they want, when they want it, and how they engage. It requires more than just reactivations; it’s about creating an ecosystem where players feel progression, personalization, and value. At NuxGame, we don’t just give operators the tools — we help them build the strategy, map the journeys, and monitor the data to retain players longer and increase lifetime value.
NuxGame has recently upgraded its foundation with technologies like Vue 3 and Kubernetes. How do these improvements translate into better day-to-day performance and results for casino operators?
Technology upgrades aren’t just backend improvements — they directly affect player satisfaction and operator results. Speed, stability, and scalability are what keep users engaged and operations running profitably.
By moving to Vue 3, NuxGame delivers a faster, smoother front-end experience with better responsiveness across devices — crucial for mobile-first markets. On the backend, Kubernetes allows us to scale platform services dynamically, ensuring high uptime, faster deployments, and better fault isolation. Operators benefit from reduced latency, quicker updates, and minimal downtime — especially during high-traffic events or promotional pushes. These upgrades aren’t just technical milestones — they’re business enablers. Operators using our upgraded stack report improvements in player session length, bounce rates, and overall platform stability. It gives them the infrastructure to support growth, launch faster, and deliver a modern user experience that meets rising player expectations. At NuxGame, we build tech that directly improves performance where it matters: in daily operations and long-term retention.
From Pronto Paga to crypto, payment flexibility seems to be a major focus. How is NuxGame adapting to global demand for diverse, seamless payment options, and what kind of impact does this have on player satisfaction and market reach?
Payment flexibility is no longer a bonus — it’s a necessity. Players expect to deposit and withdraw using the method they trust, whether that’s a local e-wallet like Pronto Paga or a decentralized crypto wallet.
At NuxGame, we’ve built a modular payment infrastructure that supports over 250+ global payment methods, including fiat gateways, local bank systems, crypto, and Web3 wallets. We partner with PSPs and KYC providers across different jurisdictions to ensure fast, secure, and compliant transactions. This flexibility directly impacts conversion rates — platforms offering localized and crypto payments report up to 35% higher deposit completion rates and a significant reduction in churn during onboarding and cashout.
It’s not just about supporting more payment methods — it’s about adapting to player expectations in every region. Whether it’s high-growth Latin American markets with strong demand for local cash-based systems or Gen Z users entering through USDT wallets, our goal is to give operators the tools to match payment preferences with minimal friction. This increases trust, shortens time-to-play, and opens the door to new markets.
Trust is crucial in this industry. What does your recent GLI-19 certification and Jumio integration mean for operators looking for both compliance and performance?
Operators primarily want peace of mind — that’s a fact. GLI-19 certification shows that our platform is tested, secure, and ready to meet regulatory demands across multiple jurisdictions. But compliance alone isn’t enough. That’s why we’ve integrated Jumio, with the aim of making KYC faster, safer, and easier for both players and operators. This kind of trust is similar to a good Wi-Fi: you don’t notice it when it’s working, but everything runs better because of it. If the signal’s strong, you stop checking it. At NuxGame, trust is built-in, so operators can move forward without second-guessing.
Let’s talk about gamification. From custom missions to tournaments and loyalty programs, how are these tools reshaping the player experience and operator revenue models?
Gamification is paramount: it transforms activity into habit. It’s the difference between a one-time visit and a reason to come back tomorrow. Instead of players dipping in and out, they start setting goals (and reaching them). This upgrade brings major advantages to operators. Players who feel progress are more likely to stay longer, get a taste for new content, and spend more over time. Such features as missions, loyalty programs, and dynamic campaigns can guide players naturally without pressure. And such tools as our Achievements feature can make that experience even more supportive, especially during onboarding. When players feel seen and rewarded, they engage more — and that leads to higher earnings. Gamification isn’t decoration anymore. It’s how serious operators make gameplay a business strategy.
NuxGame is also taking a practical approach to blockchain. Can you share an example of how Web3 or token-based systems are already improving transparency, fairness, or loyalty in your platform?
Blockchain can help with three big things: fairness, clarity, and loyalty. We’ve already built tools that let operators offer provably fair games, so players can see for themselves that the results are legit. On the loyalty side, we’re working with token-based rewards that don’t just vanish like typical points. Players can use them later, and that keeps them engaged. It’s basically giving players something they own, not simply borrow. We are not here to make Web3 sound fancy: we are here to use it where it makes your iGaming service stronger and keeps players happy. Simple as that.
You’re enjoying some major recognition in the industry’s global Awards scene – including winning “Best Platform Provider 2025” at the SiGMA Eurasia Awards and being shortlisted in multiple key categories at our Baltic & Scandinavian Gaming Awards, as well as the AffPapa iGaming Awards. What do these milestones say about where NuxGame is headed next?
Awards are great to receive, but receiving them is not where our focus lies. Awards are proof that our platform is bringing real results for operators. Winning “Best Platform Provider” at SiGMA Eurasia and being shortlisted across several major awards tells us one thing: the work we’ve been doing is being noticed. It means that software is trusted, and we’re moving in the right direction. But we’re only picking up speed. These turning points motivate us to go further, and we’re focused on building even more impactful solutions. Recognition tells us we’re on the right path, but the future is about staying useful, flexible, and fully focused on what operators need next.
Meet Denis Kosinsky and the NuxGame team at the MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 on 27–28 May in Vilnius.
🔗 Register now to explore tech innovation, platform excellence, and the future of retention-first iGaming.
The post Retention, Recognition & Real Results: How NuxGame Powers the Future of iGaming appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Finrax steps into the spotlight as the official Lanyards Sponsor at HIPTHER’s MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 in Vilnius, bringing with them a next-gen crypto payment gateway and a bold vision that extends far beyond payments.
We sat down with Konstantinas Balakinas, CEO of Finrax, to discuss the future of AI in finance, the real-world potential of blockchain beyond the buzzwords, and how Finrax plans to bridge fintech innovation with eCommerce and beyond.
Konstantinas, thank you for joining us! Can you please introduce yourself to our readers, and share more about your professional background and role in Finrax?
Thank you — it’s a pleasure to be part of this conversation, especially as Finrax steps into a more visible role at this year’s summit.
I’ve been working in the financial industry since 1999, mostly in regulated environments. The bulk of my career has been in consumer finance, where I had the chance to grow several companies from the ground up and eventually guide one through the process of securing a specialized bank license. That experience taught me a lot about how to build resilient financial infrastructure — and how to adapt when the rules, tools, and expectations shift.
My interest in AI came later. I had a first-hand look at its practical impact while working with a Lithuanian EMI that was really leaning into AI-driven operations. That sparked something — and eventually led me to study AI for Business Analytics at Turing College, where I’m currently sharpening both technical and strategic understanding of how AI can reshape financial services.
At Finrax, I serve as CEO and Chair of the Management Board in its Lithuanian entity. Our mission goes beyond crypto payments — we’re focused on building real utility for digital assets in a way that businesses can trust and adopt without friction.
How do you see today’s AI solutions? Can they be truly predictive, like “modern oracles”, or are we still in the realm of reactive technology?
AI today is generative AI — especially large language models (LLMs), which have made impressive progress in producing human-like text and anticipating user intent. So in a technical sense, yes — these systems are predictive, but not in the way many assume. What they predict is not the future itself, but the next statistically likely word or phrase based on patterns learned from massive datasets. That creates the appearance of intelligence, but not true comprehension.
This distinction is essential. As Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West explain in The Bullshit Machines, LLMs can sound coherent and authoritative while having no actual grasp of truth. They generate content that feels convincing, regardless of whether it’s accurate or logically sound. That’s not a flaw — it’s how they’re designed.
One should approach these tools with both optimism and caution. Today’s AI still sits within the boundaries of Artificial Narrow Intelligence — excellent at specific tasks like pattern recognition, anomaly detection, and content generation, but still a long way from Artificial General Intelligence, which would reason and adapt like a human across any domain. And Artificial Superintelligence, capable of recursive self-improvement and independent thought, remains firmly theoretical.
So, while we admire the capabilities of today’s generative AI, we don’t mistake fluency for understanding. These are powerful tools — but not oracles. The real challenge is using them responsibly and building systems around them that make sense in the real world.
What are some practical ways AI is and could be integrated into Finrax’s crypto payment platform? Are there use cases you’re already exploring or see as promising?
I see three core domains where AI tools offer real practical value — not just for Finrax, but for any fintech building towards efficiency, scale, and regulatory clarity.
The first is internal productivity. AI works well as a personal assistant for employees — helping with everything from drafting emails to summarizing documents or generating code. Off-the-shelf tools like ChatGPT are already useful for this, but their impact depends heavily on how well people know how to prompt them. That’s why custom GPTs are especially promising: they allow us to build tailored assistants with topic-specific knowledge and clear task guidance. For instance, an onboarding specialist might use one to walk through a compliant KYC checklist, while a developer could use another to generate smart contract boilerplate or debug Python scripts.
The second domain is AI agents — and this space is moving fast. These systems handle automated, rule-based workflows, often collaborating with other agents to move tasks along. They’re more constrained than LLMs, but more reliable when used within predefined rules. For a crypto payment platform like ours, agents could eventually assist in payment routing, compliance alerts, or even technical monitoring — anything repetitive that benefits from low-latency automation.
The third area is pattern recognition, where AI’s value is most proven. We see strong potential in using it to support fraud detection and ML/TF screening — not to replace human oversight, but to enhance it. Spotting unusual activity, flagging anomalies, or refining transaction scoring — these are all areas where AI can quietly but meaningfully improve risk management.
That said, we’re also realistic about the limits. With the EU AI Act now on the horizon, every integration has to pass the test of explainability, compliance, and accountability. Any system we deploy will need a clear inventory, GDPR alignment, risk assessment, and, in some cases, staff training. We’re already looking into how these rules will apply — especially as we explore the potential of agent-based systems.
So yes, we’re enthusiastic — but we’re moving deliberately. We’re not building AI from scratch, but we are actively exploring how to apply it in meaningful ways — both internally and within our services. Our business development team is already using tools like ChatGPT in their day-to-day work, and we see real gains in productivity and clarity. That’s the direction we’re leaning into: using AI where it helps people do their jobs better, not just to check a box.
Finrax has built a strong reputation for reliability and speed – processing crypto payments in under a minute. What differentiates your platform from other solutions currently available on the market?
Reliability is the real star here. Speed is expected in blockchain-based systems — but combining that speed with stability, predictability, and regulatory clarity is a much harder problem to solve. That’s exactly where Finrax delivers.
We’ve built a platform that doesn’t just move fast — it does so in a way businesses can actually depend on. We offer fixed-rate settlements to remove volatility, giving partners certainty about what they’ll receive. That’s especially important in high-volume environments, where financial precision matters just as much as transaction speed.
Compliance is also baked in. Every transaction goes through full AML/CTF screening, and our onboarding and monitoring standards are designed to meet the expectations of regulated businesses. That’s not a side feature — it’s part of our foundation.
And while many of our clients have international operations, we’re careful to operate only where we’re permitted to do so. With MiCA coming into force, we’re preparing to scale responsibly, aligned with the new rulebook.
So yes, we’re fast — but more importantly, we’re reliable. And in this space, that’s what truly sets us apart.
What opportunities do you see in the field of eCommerce for a crypto-first payment provider, and what role could Finrax play in shaping the future of online payments?
Crypto is here to stay — and with that in mind, we’re building the tools to help eCommerce businesses accept crypto as naturally as they would any traditional payment method. Our goal at Finrax is to provide plug-and-play solutions that allow online stores across the EU to accept payments in stablecoins or major cryptocurrencies without having to rethink their entire checkout process.
The opportunity goes beyond retail. We see strong potential in industries like logistics, aviation, luxury, and of course, gaming platforms — areas where cross-border payments, speed, and transparency really matter. That said, everything still depends on how quickly users adopt crypto in their day-to-day transactions.
What gives us optimism is the direction regulation is moving. With MiCA coming into effect in the EU, we’re finally getting a clear rulebook — and that’s exactly what’s needed to build trust. Once customers know that only licensed, properly regulated providers can offer these services, it changes the perception. It brings structure to the market — and with structure comes wider adoption.
At Finrax, we’re preparing for that shift. We don’t just want to be ready for the future of payments — we want to help shape it in a way that’s both efficient and trusted.
As the world becomes increasingly automated, how do you see Finrax maintaining a balance between innovation and user-centric service, especially amidst the fast-evolving tech and regulatory landscapes?
Automation, at its core, is about efficiency — but that doesn’t mean we lose sight of the human side. In fact, I’d argue that smart automation should strengthen customer-centricity, not weaken it.
At Finrax, we see automation as a way to free up our people to focus on what actually matters — understanding the client’s real needs, solving problems, and making sure the experience feels consistent and supportive across the board. It also helps us align internal processes more clearly, so that we’re not sending mixed messages to clients. That’s often where customer frustration begins — not with the technology, but with the gaps between systems and people.
Another benefit is the ability to understand customers more precisely. With better data and well-designed workflows, we can respond faster and more accurately, without adding friction.
But none of this can come at the expense of trust. As regulations like MiCA, GDPR, and the EU AI Act begin shaping the environment, it’s clear that automation must be explainable, compliant, and ethically sound. For us, innovation isn’t just about what’s possible — it’s about what’s responsible. And we see that as a competitive advantage, not a constraint.
You’ll be joining the panel “Beyond the Hype” at MARE BALTICUM, discussing blockchain and AI applications in finance and governance. What are you most looking forward to sharing with the audience – and what do you hope to take away from the conversation?
A lot of the hype around AI comes from not really understanding how it works — and I think it’s important to go back to the basics. Most people still assume these systems “know” things. But in reality, large language models are built by training on massive volumes of data — much of it containing human bias, errors, or even outright misinformation. They don’t reason. They predict. They break down language into tokens and map those tokens across hundreds of abstract dimensions — far beyond how we perceive space — then generate output that mimics meaning, even if it’s not grounded in real understanding. But it’s not grounded in fact unless you make it so.
Even the best models will produce an answer to almost anything — even if that answer is fabricated. That’s why we see hallucinations. Unless you know how to prompt properly and critically assess the output, the result might sound confident while being completely off. This is why I always say: at this stage, AI should be seen as an assistant, not an authority. The human must remain in the loop — and at the top.
That said, the future isn’t bleak — it’s exciting, if we use these tools responsibly. One example that stands out to me is what Stripe recently did. They trained an AI model not on words or code, but on tens of billions of payment transactions. The model learned the “language” of money — identifying how payments behave, how fraud patterns look, and what hidden connections exist between different data points. The result? They went from detecting 59% of sophisticated card testing fraud attempts to 97% — almost overnight. That’s not just a technical win — it’s a complete shift in how we think about structured financial data.
So on this panel, I’m hoping to bring two things to the table: first, a grounded reminder that no model is infallible, and second, a practical optimism. AI has the potential to make finance faster, smarter, and safer — but only if we stay thoughtful about how we design, train, and regulate it. Humans should come first — but we don’t need to fear the future if we build it wisely.
Meet Konstantinas Balakinas and the Finrax team live at the MARE BALTICUM Gaming & TECH Summit 2025 on 27–28 May in Vilnius.
🔗 Register now to learn more about blockchain-powered finance, crypto innovation, and the real tech shaping tomorrow’s payments.
The post Modern Oracles & Smart Payments: Finrax’s Vision for Blockchain, AI & Beyond appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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