Anthony Anzalone (Burnt Banksy)
Anthony Anzalone is the founder and CEO of Verona (formerly XION), a Layer 1 blockchain. He is also known for his work under the alias "Burnt Banksy," which involved a notable project in the non-fungible token (NFT) space that garnered global media attention.[1][2] In 2026, Anzalone was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Finance list, which highlighted his contributions to verification infrastructure.[3]
Career
The "Burnt Banksy" Project
Anzalone first gained widespread recognition in the Web3 industry as the figure behind the "Burnt Banksy" project. This initiative involved the purchase of an authentic, physical screenprint by the anonymous street artist Banksy, which was then publicly destroyed by burning in a live-streamed event. Immediately following its destruction, a digital version of the artwork was minted as a non-fungible token (NFT) on a blockchain. The act was framed as a conceptual art piece intended to question the nature of value and explore the transition of ownership from the physical to the digital realm.
The project successfully sparked a global discourse on the meaning of authenticity, scarcity, and value in the age of digital assets. It raised questions about whether the value of the physical artwork could be transferred to its digital counterpart and what it meant to own an object that existed solely in a digital format. The event attracted significant attention from major international media outlets, including Bloomberg, the BBC, and CBS, which covered the story extensively. This media focus elevated Anzalone's profile and positioned him as a provocative thinker in the burgeoning NFT space, known for blending performance art with commentary on blockchain technology.[2]
Founding of XION/Verona
Following the notoriety of the Burnt Banksy project, Anzalone transitioned his focus from conceptual art and NFTs to building foundational blockchain infrastructure. He founded XION, serving as its CEO, with the stated mission of solving the persistent problem of mass consumer adoption in Web3. His experience in the NFT space highlighted the significant technical barriers that prevented mainstream users from easily interacting with blockchain-based applications. The complexity of managing crypto wallets, understanding gas fees, and navigating different blockchain networks was identified as a major impediment to growth beyond a niche audience of technically proficient users.
The creation of XION represented a shift in Anzalone's career from commentary to construction. He aimed to build a platform that would "abstract away the complexities of crypto," thereby democratizing access to the technology. This venture moved him from the art world into the competitive landscape of Layer 1 blockchain development, where he began to focus on user experience and building a platform capable of supporting consumer-grade applications at scale. Over time, Verona (then known as XION) evolved from a consumer-focused blockchain into verification infrastructure used across industries, providing tools for brands to verify real user interactions and help combat fraud and fake engagement online.[4]
By late 2025 and early 2026, Verona's verification technology (then operating under the XION name) had been adopted or tested by over 150 brands, including companies such as Uber, Amazon, and BMW, and had processed on the order of 68–69 million verified interactions across millions of users.[3][4] Within this framing, Verona (then known as XION) was positioned as a "trust layer" for the internet, built around zero-knowledge verification that allows participants to prove certain facts about activity or identity without revealing underlying sensitive data. In June 2026, the project rebranded from XION to Verona and closed an $18.5 million funding round, with Verona described as a verification and intelligence layer for AI agents that builds on the same verification primitives; Anzalone remained the project's founder and CEO through this transition.[5]
Media Appearances
NYSE TV Live
Anthony Anzalone appeared on NYSE TV Live on March 14, 2025, where he discussed his Burnt Bansky project and the beginning of XION.
