Leo Pestre

Léo Pestre is the founder of BIM Exchange, BIM Finance, and the real-estate tokenization company Tokeshare. Based in Las Terrenas, in the Samaná Province of the Dominican Republic, he works across France, the Dominican Republic, and other jurisdictions on projects spanning decentralized finance (DeFi), asset tokenization, and cryptocurrency exchange infrastructure.^[1]​^[2]​

Early Life and Education

Pestre completed his secondary education at Briffaut, where he obtained a Baccalauréat. He then continued his studies in France, focusing on computer science and business engineering.

At Institut G4 in Marseille, Pestre studied Computer Science within an institution that combines technical and management education. The institute offers a three-year Bachelor Numérique program and a five-year Ingénierie Numérique program, with the latter leading to a state-recognized Chef de Projet qualification at RNCP Level 7.

Pestre subsequently studied Ingénieur d'Affaires (IDA) at ORT Daniel Mayer in Montreuil, pursuing training in business engineering. ^{[2] [1]}​^[4]​

Career

Pestre's earliest documented professional role was in aerospace. Between August 2020 and July 2022, he worked as an apprentice (alternant) in computer science at the Thales AVS site of Thales Alenia Space in Valence, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, developing production-support tools.^[1]​^[4] From there he moved into a series of cryptocurrency and blockchain ventures that he founded and led in quick succession.

Early Ventures

In April 2022, Pestre became chief executive of TokenIdle, based in Valence, a role he held until August 2023.^[1] The following month, in May 2022, he founded CryptoEco in France, serving as its chief executive until October 2023.^[1] From September 2022 to August 2023 he held the position of chief technology officer at BIM Groupe, a Paris-headquartered manufacturing company founded in 2021 with a presence in China.^[1]​

Pestre is also linked in French corporate records to BIM Technologies, a société par actions simplifiée (SAS, a simplified joint-stock company) registered in Paris on 29 June 2023 with the activity classification "Programmation, conseil et autres activités informatiques" (programming, consulting, and other IT activities). He has served as its directeur général (general director) since 27 June 2023.^[2] The company reported registered capital of €3,560,000 for 2026 and at least one employee. For 2025, French filings recorded revenue of €28,500, a net loss of €7.02 million, and cash holdings of zero.^[2] Other parties linked to the company include BIM Groupe Holding International Limited, recorded under joint management since 12 May 2025; Ampere Holding, in the company's leadership from 27 June 2023 to 16 January 2025; and Pierre-Louis Choné, born October 2001, listed under joint management since 1 August 2024.^[2]​

BIM Finance

Since September 2023, Pestre has served as chief executive officer of BIM Finance, a blockchain-services company founded in 2022 and headquartered in the United States, with an operating presence in France and the Dominican Republic.^[1] According to his profile, BIM Finance provides an ecosystem for buying, swapping, bridging, and holding cryptocurrencies, built around a "bim protocol" intended to enable community ownership and stewardship. The associated BIM token is described as a public good owned and governed by its holders.^[1] BIM Finance's technical documentation lists Pestre as its CEO.^[5]​

BIM Exchange

Pestre founded BIM Exchange, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, and has been its chief executive since August 2023. The company was established in 2023, is headquartered in the United States, and maintains a presence in the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, and France.^[1] BIM Exchange is designed as a non-custodial, multi-chain interface through which users buy, sell, swap, and bridge assets across blockchains while retaining control of their funds, alongside access to staking, bonds, and planned lending.^[1]​

In a submission to the Stellar Community Fund, Pestre is identified as CEO of BIM Exchange and described as an entrepreneur and blockchain strategist with experience in DeFi ecosystems, tokenization, and Web3 business development, leading "product vision, partnerships, and long-term adoption."^[6] The submission, categorized under Financial Protocols, records that BIM Exchange was awarded $107,700. It lists a seven-member team: Pestre as CEO, Noé Rouméas as CTO, Adrien Gonçalves as lead developer, Mickaël Martiny as lead DeFi, Sébastien Bebin as CMO, Cynthia Renaudin as DEO, and Earvin Ciard as web editor and content lead.^[6]​

Under Pestre's direction, BIM Exchange has pursued a series of integrations across multiple blockchains. He has reported the platform's expansion onto the Stellar network — with named partners Soroswap.Finance, ROZO, Quickex, and Exolix — and across EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) networks including Base, Polygon, BNB Chain, Ethereum, and Avalanche.^[1] Pestre has stated that BIM data appears on the DeFi analytics site DefiLlama and that BIM ranked among Stellar protocols shortly after launching on that chain, and he projected that Stellar users could access stablecoin yield solutions targeting roughly 10 percent "according to market conditions and available protocols (DeFindex)."^[1] He has also described the integration of Exolix into BIM Exchange's aggregation and routing layer.^[1]​

Pestre announced that BIM Exchange joined the Circle Alliance Program and, separately, described the company's intent to list Open USD across all blockchains where it becomes available and to integrate yield strategies on Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) liquidity, noting that more than 140 companies had announced support for Open USD.^[1] Among BIM Exchange's yield products, he announced a tBTC-cbBTC sLP vault on the Base network via the Aerodrome platform, with an indicative yield of up to 1.33 percent, described as autocompounding and permissionless and offering Bitcoin exposure to an automated DeFi strategy without a centralized exchange or forced lock-up.^[1]​

Tokeshare

Since January 2025, Pestre has been chief executive officer of Tokeshare, a real-estate company offering what his profile describes as compliant fractionalized and tokenized ownership in Latin America, with a presence in France, the Dominican Republic, and China.^[1] RocketReach likewise lists him as CEO of Tokeshare from 2025.^[4]​

Pestre announced a strategic partnership between Tokeshare and BIM Exchange, making two Tokeshare products accessible through BIM: TGG (Tokeshare Gold Gram), defined as one gram of physical gold tokenized and traceable on-chain, and CMC 20, a single token offering exposure to the top 20 crypto assets.^[1] He also described a Tokeshare offering of "French Tacos" real shares — equity in an operating fast-food business in Las Terrenas paying an annual yield of approximately 11 percent in the USDC stablecoin, with liquid shares resellable on-chain.^[1]​

Pestre shared a French Tacos LT SRL investor report for the second quarter of 2026, reporting revenue of 584,240 Dominican pesos (DOP), growth of 63.7 percent against the same quarter of 2025, and a positive operating result before special tax of 22,671 DOP. The report described continued investment in equipment, kitchen operations, and product development, with a focus on delivery, burgers, French tacos, and a breakfast expansion, and stated an objective of building French Tacos into a recognizable fast-food brand in Las Terrenas.^[1]​

Advisory Work

Pestre serves as Web3 and blockchain advisor to DEMFI, where he is described as a specialist in Web3 infrastructure and token design. In that role he oversees the blockchain integration of DEMFI's smart contracts, with the stated aim of ensuring secure, auditable, and compliant operations bridging decentralized finance and real-world impact.^[3]​

Writing and Commentary

Pestre is the author of Le Monde des Cryptomonnaies ("The World of Cryptocurrencies"), a book on cryptocurrency that he cites in his professional biography.^[1]​^[3]​

He has published commentary on cryptocurrency policy and markets. Following the European Parliament's consideration of the digital euro (euro numérique), Pestre contrasted a state-issued digital currency with Bitcoin's 2009 origins as a decentralized, permissionless, and censorship-resistant currency.^[1] In market commentary, he noted a Bitcoin correction toward around $60,000 and referenced Strategy — the company formerly known as MicroStrategy — selling 32 BTC, situating it against a holding context he cited as more than 843,000 BTC.^[1]​

Interviews

Léo Pestre on BIM Group’s Financing Model #01

On March 9, 2023, Léo Pestre was interviewed on the Crypto for Good YouTube channel in an episode concerning BIM Group, which he co-founded with Damien Piet. The discussion covered the group’s activities, its proposed financing model for French industrial companies, industrial production, blockchain regulation, and monetary systems.

Pestre described the BIM token, issued on the Polygon blockchain, as a token associated with a portfolio of investments in privately held French startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. According to his explanation, holders of the token could participate in the selection of companies considered for investment through a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Voting power was determined by the number of BIM tokens held, with proposed investments subject to community votes conducted over a specified period.

The interview also addressed BIM Group’s approach to supporting companies involved in hardware and industrial production. Pestre explained that the group provided assistance in areas including industrialization, manufacturing, fundraising, and applications for government support programs. He described the transition from product development to large-scale manufacturing as a particular challenge for industrial startups, citing production volumes, manufacturing costs, and access to industrial networks as factors affecting the development of such companies. He also mentioned plans under consideration for manufacturing infrastructure that could be used to produce products developed by companies associated with the group.

Regarding the BIM token, Pestre stated that it could be used to purchase products from participating companies through a payment module developed by BIM Group. He also described a flexible staking mechanism that, at the time of the interview, was presented as providing an annualized return of 5%. According to Pestre, the token was also intended to provide voting rights within the group’s DAO.

Regulatory matters formed another part of the discussion. Pestre characterized BIM as a utility and governance token and stated that its distribution involved know-your-customer (KYC) procedures. He discussed the regulatory environment for crypto assets in France and the European Union and expressed the view that regulation should establish legal requirements while allowing companies operating in the sector to develop their activities. He also referred to the regulatory framework then being developed at the European level.

The conversation later addressed cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies, and monetary policy. Pestre expressed concerns about the possibility of digital currencies issued by central banks increasing the traceability of financial transactions and the concentration of financial data. He contrasted this possibility with Bitcoin’s fixed supply and decentralized structure, which he identified as characteristics relevant to its original monetary rationale. These statements represented Pestre’s views expressed during the interview.

The discussion concluded with Pestre describing BIM Group’s activities in the context of French industrial production and reindustrialization. He stated that the group intended to support companies involved in domestic manufacturing and encouraged interested parties to follow its activities or participate in its token ecosystem. ^[7]