Sandi Fatic - CEO of Calimero Network | Privacy Academy Interviews

Thu, Oct 2, 2025, 12:00 AM

This conversation is part of Privacy Academy Interviews (https://academy.web3privacy.info/) our peer-to-peer knowledge project where we explore the most important ideas in Web3, privacy, and digital freedom. Inspired by the Socratic method, we share deep conversations to learn from each other and grow together. In this episode, we speak with Sandi Fatić, CEO of Calimero Network privacy infrastructure project born from the cypherpunk spirit. Highlights from this interview: * Why the dream of the open web needs privacy at its core * How Web3 drifted away from its cypherpunk roots and how to bring it back * What it means to be a modern-day cypherpunk (hint: it's not just code) * The problem of privacy paradox: everyone says they care, but no one acts * Why privacy tech builders are criminalized and what that says about our system * What developers can do today to start building sovereign, user-owned apps * How to protect your own data from being trained on by AI models * Practical tools, techs, and mindsets for the next generation of builders Timecodes 00:00 - Intro & Background 00:50 - Joining Google & Facebook 01:50 - First Web3 Experience & Disillusionment 03:00 - Returning to Web3 with NEAR Protocol 04:00 - Founding Calimero & Importance of Privacy 05:00 - Cypherpunk vs Web3 Values 07:00 - Open Web: Uniting Cypherpunk & Web3 08:00 - What It Means to Be a Cypherpunk 09:00 - Learn Privacy: Books, Docs, Conferences 10:30 - Privacy Paradox & User Inaction 12:00 - Black Swan Events & Awareness Shift 13:30 - Criminalization of Builders & Regulation 15:00 - Peer-to-Peer Use Cases & Tools 16:30 - Tips for Privacy Builders 18:00 - Developer & User Experience Challenges 20:00 - Sovereign Data Vision 22:00 - Critique of Surveillance Capitalism 25:00 - Community Building & How to Start Useful links http://web3privacy.info http://academy.web3privacy.info Camera & sound: https://x.com/BabyBitProd Interviewer: https://x.com/0xfarbey Let privacy be with you!