Henri Arslanian is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Nine Blocks Capital Management, a Dubai-based crypto hedge fund, and the former Global Crypto Leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Arslanian is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hong Kong, where he has taught graduate-level courses on digital assets since 2015, and is the author of several best-selling books on finance and cryptocurrency. ^{[1] [2]}​

Education

Arslanian's educational background includes multiple degrees in law, finance, and management from institutions in North America, Europe, and Asia. He earned a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Montreal, graduating on the Dean's List of Excellence. He subsequently completed a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Transnational Law at the University of Sherbrooke, where he graduated with the highest academic standing and was awarded the Governor General of Canada Gold Medal for Academic Excellence. ^{[1] [5]}​

He later earned a Master of Laws in Chinese Law from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Arslanian also holds a joint Global Executive MBA, a program run collaboratively by Columbia Business School, London Business School, and The University of Hong Kong. ^[1] He is an admitted member of the Bar in both Quebec, Canada, and New York, USA. ^[8]​

Career

Early Career in Law and Finance

Arslanian began his career as a lawyer specializing in financial markets and funds, working at firms including Fasken in Montreal and later in Hong Kong. ^[1] He then transitioned from law to finance, joining the prime brokerage capital consulting team at UBS Investment Bank in Hong Kong in 2013. ^{[1] [9]}​

His involvement in cryptocurrency began around 2013, prompted by client inquiries and his own interest in the inefficiencies of traditional banking. He has stated that some of his early legal clients paid him in bitcoin when the price was around US$1. ^[3] In early 2014, he organized an event at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong titled "Bitcoin Could Be the Future of Money," which was met with skepticism from some members at the time. ^[3]​

PwC Global Crypto Leader

In 2016, Arslanian joined PwC to establish and lead its FinTech advisory services in the China and Hong Kong region. ^[1] He convinced the firm's leadership that cryptocurrency should be a central part of its strategy and was elevated to Partner and appointed the firm's first Global Crypto Leader in May 2017. In this role, he was responsible for PwC's crypto initiatives worldwide, growing the practice to over 400 professionals located in 25 different countries. ^[3]​

During his tenure, he advised a wide range of clients, including global financial institutions, technology firms, crypto exchanges, and investors. He also advised numerous governments, central banks, and regulators on their crypto policies and regulatory frameworks. He remained in this role until his departure from the firm in May 2022. ^{[1] [10]}​

Entrepreneurship: Nine Blocks and ACX

After leaving PwC in May 2022, Arslanian moved to Dubai and co-founded two ventures in the digital asset space. ^[1]​

He launched Nine Blocks Capital Management, where he serves as Co-founder and Managing Partner. Nine Blocks is an institutional-grade digital asset management firm structured as a crypto hedge fund. It became the first crypto hedge fund to receive a license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). ^{[1] [3]} The firm primarily pursues market-neutral strategies, such as relative value and arbitrage, to generate returns from market inefficiencies rather than directional price bets. ^{[5] [8]} As of late 2024, the fund reported US$175 million in assets under management, a net return of +38.2% for 2024, and a Sharpe ratio of 2.6. ^[11]​

Concurrently, he co-founded ACX International, a specialized crypto compliance services firm, where he serves as Chairman of the Board. The company is described as a large firm in its niche, with over 250 staff dedicated to digital asset compliance and customer support. ^[1] ACX maintains a significant office in Yerevan, Armenia, with over 90 employees as of June 2023, a large portion of whom are alumni of the American University of Armenia. ^[7]​

Academic Work and Public Education

University of Hong Kong

Since September 2015, Arslanian has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hong Kong, where he developed and teaches postgraduate courses on FinTech and digital assets. ^[1] He is credited with teaching one of the first university-level FinTech and crypto courses in the world. His courses, "Introduction to FinTech" and "FinTech & RegTech: Law, Policy & Regulation," became highly popular, with one attracting over 1,500 students in its first year, making it the largest course in the university's history at the time. ^{[1] [4]} He also created and hosts an online course for edX, "FinTech: The Future of Finance," which has enrolled over 60,000 learners. ^[12]​

Publications

Arslanian is the author of three books on finance and cryptocurrency:

• Decoding Crypto with Henri & Hodler (2024): A children's book designed to explain concepts of money and cryptocurrency. The book became a #1 new release and #1 best seller in its category on Amazon upon its release. ^[1]
• The Book of Crypto: The Complete Guide to Understanding Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets (2022): Published by Palgrave Macmillan, this guide became a global top-ten best seller in the financial services category. ^[1]
• The Future of Finance: The Impact of FinTech, AI, and Crypto on Financial Services (2019): Also published by Palgrave Macmillan, this book was a global top-ten best seller in financial services and was recognized by Bookauthority as one of the "Best FinTech Books of All Time." ^{[1] [5]}

Media and Public Engagement

Media Appearances and Content

Arslanian maintains a significant public profile as a media commentator and content creator. He is the co-host of Crypto Weekly, a program broadcast on CNBC Arabia that reaches an audience of over 60 million households in the Middle East. ^[1] He also produces and hosts The Future of Money podcast and newsletter, as well as the short-form educational video series Crypto Capsules™ on social media. ^{[1] [9]}​

He is a regular contributor to media outlets such as The Block, Forbes, and Cointelegraph, and is frequently featured as an expert commentator on international news networks including Bloomberg, CNN, BBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. ^{[1] [13]} He has a social media following of over 500,000 on LinkedIn. ^[11]​

Public Speaking

Arslanian is a global keynote speaker at major industry conferences and private events, where he speaks on topics including crypto, FinTech, and the future of finance. He has delivered multiple TEDx talks, including "How FinTech is Shaping the Future of Banking" at TEDxWanChai and "RegTech, LawTech and the Future of Lawyers" at TEDxYerevan. ^[1] He has been a featured speaker at events such as Paris Blockchain Week, CoinDesk's Consensus, and the Cayman Digital Economy Conference. ^{[5] [4]}​

Board and Advisory Roles

Arslanian holds and has held numerous advisory positions with corporations, industry bodies, and regulatory authorities. Since October 2023, he has served as an Independent Non-Executive Director for the Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company Bit-Digital, Inc. (BTBT). ^[2] He is an active member of the Board of Trustees for the American University of Armenia, a role he has held since May 2019. ^[1]​

He has been appointed to several government and regulatory advisory bodies, including the FinTech Advisory Group for the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the RegTech subcommittee for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and the Innovation Panel for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). ^{[10] [5]} He also serves on the Examination Board of The Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (HKSI) and is a member of the Alternative Investment Management Association's (AIMA) global and APAC digital asset working groups. ^[1]​

Previously, Arslanian was the first elected Chairman of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2019 and served as a court-appointed expert on FinTech matters for the Hong Kong High Court. ^[1]​

Views on Cryptocurrency and Finance

Arslanian often speaks about the maturation of the digital asset industry and its convergence with traditional finance. A central theme in his commentary is the shift in institutional interest from a phase of asking "why" to get into crypto to "how" to get into crypto, indicating a move from speculation to strategic implementation. ^[10]​

He views regulation as a critical enabler for mainstream adoption, providing the clarity and safety required by large institutions. He has extensive experience advising regulators and has praised jurisdictions like Dubai for creating specialized regulatory bodies like VARA, which he believes has helped establish the region as a global crypto hub. ^[3]​

Arslanian is a proponent of tokenization, particularly of real-world assets (RWAs), believing it will democratize access to previously illiquid investments like real estate and fund units. He has also referred to stablecoins as a "killer use case" in crypto due to their role in facilitating cross-border payments and providing access to the U.S. dollar in emerging markets. ^[3] He has commented on the promise of digital assets for financial inclusion, arguing that decentralized currencies can provide access to financial services for populations excluded from the traditional global system. ^[3]​

In early 2025, Arslanian commented that the year would be pivotal for finance, citing the impact of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., increasing regulatory clarity, and a deeper push by traditional finance into the digital asset space. ^[4]​

Awards and Recognition

Arslanian has received numerous awards and accolades for his work in finance and FinTech. He was named by LinkedIn as one of its "Global Top Voices in Finance" and was ranked by the analytics firm Onalytica as the "#1 Most Influential Individual on Finance on LinkedIn" from a pool of 50,000 professionals at top consulting firms. ^{[1] [5]}​

He is often referred to in media and conference biographies as the "Godfather of FinTech in Asia." ^[12] Chambers Global has named him the "Highest Profile FinTech Consultant in Hong Kong," and he has been recognized as the "Most Influential Crypto and Blockchain Thought Leader in Asia" by Blockchain Asset Review. In addition to industry recognition, he is a recipient of the Governor General of Canada Gold Medal for Academic Excellence. ^[1] The World Economic Forum has also selected him as a "Young Global Leader." ^[12]​