Founder · tracee · Paris

Bassel Assaad, PhD.

Engineer and inventor with 29 patents across five jurisdictions. Doctoral background in IT and systems from Sorbonne University. Founder of tracee, the independent consulting practice in Paris advising banks, multilateral funds, and regulated digital asset platforms on the architecture of the tokenized economy, compliant stablecoins, multi-rail settlement, and agentic AI workflows.

Bassel Assaad, PhD, founder of tracee, photographed under the Louvre Pyramid in Paris
In short

Engineer. Inventor. Consultant.

Bassel Assaad founded tracee in 2024 after roughly five years of building at the intersection of regulated digital assets, humanitarian finance, and institutional infrastructure. tracee was originally conceived as a stablecoin payment platform on Stellar, supported by the Stellar Community Fund and recognized by the Circle Impact Award. It has since evolved into a focused consulting practice, retaining the technical depth of an infrastructure builder while operating at the strategic altitude of a board advisor.

The work spans four practice areas: product strategy for digital assets, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized products (including tokenized deposits and money market funds), and agentic AI workflows in finance. tracee is currently advising a United Nations multilateral climate fund on digital payment and AI infrastructure across six Central African countries, and serving as capital and product architect for a regulated digital asset platform with a South African regulatory footprint.

Bassel lectures on blockchain and digital assets at the Sorbonne, Mines ParisTech, Sciences Po, and the Collège de Paris. He holds 29 patents across five jurisdictions, has 19 scientific publications, and an AI patent currently in advanced review, a multi-agent architecture for digital-payment platforms covering automated transaction flows, security, and contextual execution.

The output of every engagement is judgment, written down, that institutions can act on.
Credentials

Education, recognition, publications.

Sorbonne University
MSc and PhD in IT and Systems
Oxford Saïd Business School
Blockchain Strategy Programme
29 patents
19 scientific publications
Stellar Community Fund
Circle Impact Award
UN advisor

Awards and mandates

  • Stellar Community Fund recipient. Recognition and support for designing an AI-powered, non-custodial, stablecoin-based payment system for cross-border settlements serving small businesses and NGOs.
  • Circle Impact Award winner. Awarded for architecting a bulk-payment system that delivers funds to refugees and enables secure collection through SMS-based one-time codes and MoneyGram access points across emerging markets.
  • AI patent, imminent approval. A patent in advanced review covering a multi-agent AI architecture for digital-payment platforms. The architecture automates transaction flows, enhances security, and delivers contextual, intelligent payment execution at scale.
  • UN multilateral climate fund mandate. Current advisory engagement on digital payment and AI infrastructure across six Central African countries. Six-country footprint, multilateral programme scale.
  • Regulated digital asset platform, South African footprint. Current mandate as capital and product architect for a regulated platform navigating the South African regulatory environment.
What I write and speak about

Where regulation, infrastructure, and AI converge.

Bassel's editorial work under tracee covers a tight set of topics, all sitting at the intersection of regulated digital assets and AI in finance. Recent briefings include the GENIUS Act and its bank-versus-stablecoin perimeter, JPMorgan's JPMD deposit token launch on Base, BlackRock's BUIDL multichain expansion, the Kinexys cross-border tokenized Treasury redemption pilot, the euro stablecoin split between Christine Lagarde and Denis Beau, and the JPM-Citi-SocGen-UBS stablecoin reserve substrate emergence. Long-form reports cover stablecoin architecture for regulated issuers and the full 2026 state of the stablecoin market.

Speaking topics

  • The architecture of the tokenized economy. What banks, multilateral funds, and digital asset platforms need to decide in 2026 to ship infrastructure that works at institutional scale.
  • Stablecoins, deposit tokens, and the regulatory perimeter. GENIUS Act, MiCA, NYDFS, MAS, what each codifies and how it shapes issuer choice.
  • Multi-rail payment settlement for emerging markets. The on-chain leg, the bank-rail leg, and where they meet, drawing on the UN multilateral mandate and the cross-border infrastructure design recognized by Stellar and Circle.
  • Agentic AI workflows in regulated finance. Treasury reconciliation, KYC review, exposure monitoring, what to deploy first, what to delay, and how to design human-in-the-loop guardrails that hold up under audit.
  • The independent consulting model for digital assets. How tracee structures fixed-scope, milestone-based engagements that ship judgment rather than slide decks.

Recurring teaching

  • Sorbonne University, Blockchain seminar series in the IT and Systems department.
  • Mines ParisTech, Guest lecture series on regulated digital assets.
  • Sciences Po, Public policy seminar on the architecture of digital money.
  • Collège de Paris, Executive education on stablecoin issuance and reserve design.
Frequently asked

Common questions about Bassel Assaad.

Who is Bassel Assaad?
Bassel Assaad is the founder of tracee, an independent consulting practice in Paris advising banks, multilateral funds, and regulated digital asset platforms on stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized products, multi-rail settlement, and agentic AI workflows. He holds a PhD in IT and Systems from Sorbonne University, an MSc from the same institution, and is an alumnus of the Oxford Saïd Business School Blockchain Strategy Programme. He is an engineer and inventor with 29 patents across five jurisdictions and 19 scientific publications.
What is Bassel Assaad's background?
Engineer by training, inventor by practice, consultant by trade. After completing a PhD at the Sorbonne, Bassel led product and software design teams at Renault Nissan as project manager and team lead, founded two startups in fintech and culture, and built the original stablecoin payment infrastructure that became tracee. He has been working at the intersection of regulated digital assets, AI in financial workflows, and institutional infrastructure for roughly five years.
What does Bassel Assaad lecture on, and where?
Bassel lectures on blockchain and digital assets at four institutions in Paris: the Sorbonne, Mines ParisTech, Sciences Po, and the Collège de Paris. Topics include the architecture of tokenized money, stablecoin issuance and reserve design, multi-rail payment settlement, and AI workflows in regulated financial functions.
What are Bassel Assaad's current mandates?
Bassel currently advises a UN multilateral climate fund on digital payment and AI infrastructure across six Central African countries, and serves as capital and product architect for a regulated digital asset platform with a South African regulatory footprint. He works under tracee, which operates as Tracee SAS, a registered French consulting firm.
How many patents does Bassel Assaad hold?
29 patents across five jurisdictions. The most recent, a multi-agent AI architecture for digital payment platforms covering automated transaction flows, security, and contextual payment execution, is in advanced review with imminent approval expected.
What awards has Bassel Assaad received?
Two principal awards in the digital assets space: the Stellar Community Fund supported tracee's original work designing an AI-powered, non-custodial, stablecoin-based payment system for cross-border settlements for small businesses and NGOs. The Circle Impact Award recognized tracee's bulk-payment architecture that delivers funds to refugees and enables secure collection through SMS codes and MoneyGram access points.
Can I hire Bassel Assaad?
Yes. tracee offers four consulting engagement formats: milestone-based mandate (fixed-scope, strategic advisory plus architecture review), embedded engagement (senior expertise inside the client team on committed dates), advisory (recurring review sessions, weekly to monthly), and executive workshop (two-day private session). The first step is a free 30-minute discovery call. Book a call or email hello@traceeapp.com.
Where is Bassel Assaad based?
Paris, France. tracee operates as Tracee SAS from 33 rue Lafayette, 75009 Paris. Engagements are delivered globally, current mandates span Europe, Africa, and emerging markets in the Indian Ocean rim.
What does Bassel Assaad write about?
Bassel publishes two streams of editorial output under tracee. Briefings decompose press releases, regulator filings, and newswire items into structured analytical explainers, recent topics include the GENIUS Act, JPMorgan's JPMD deposit token, BlackRock's BUIDL multichain expansion, the Kinexys cross-border Treasury redemption pilot, and the euro stablecoin split. Long-form reports cover stablecoin architecture for regulated issuers and the full 2026 state of the stablecoin market. Browse at briefings and reports.
Does Bassel Assaad speak at conferences?
Yes. Bassel speaks on stablecoin architecture, regulated digital asset infrastructure, agentic AI in financial workflows, and multi-rail payment settlement. Lectures at the Sorbonne, Mines ParisTech, Sciences Po, and Collège de Paris are recurring; conference appearances and panel discussions are taken selectively. To inquire about a speaking engagement, write to hello@traceeapp.com with the audience, date, and topic.

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