Tor Bair

Tor Bair is a technology entrepreneur and blockchain advocate who specializes in privacy-focused decentralized technologies and digital ownership. He currently serves as the CEO and co-founder of Stashh, a social marketplace for digital collectibles, and as President of Honest Pirate Advisory, a consulting firm for early-stage Web3 projects ^[1].

Overview

Tor Bair has established himself as a prominent figure in the blockchain and Web3 space, with particular expertise in privacy technologies, decentralized finance, and digital ownership. His career spans multiple sectors including blockchain technology, social media analytics, and financial trading. Bair's work has focused on developing and promoting privacy-first decentralized technologies, particularly through his leadership roles at Secret Foundation and Enigma MPC.

Bair holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, where he conducted research on emergent leadership in online peer communities and blockchain applications in the music industry. His academic background, combined with his practical experience in data science and growth marketing, has informed his approach to building and scaling blockchain projects with a focus on user privacy and digital rights.

Throughout his career, Bair has been an advocate for privacy as a fundamental right in the digital age, frequently speaking at industry conferences and participating in podcasts about the importance of privacy-preserving technologies in blockchain and Web3 ecosystems.

Career

Stashh Labs

Bair currently serves as the CEO and co-founder of Stashh, a social marketplace platform focused on digital collectibles ^[2]. The platform aims to create a user-friendly environment for trading digital assets while incorporating social features to build community around digital ownership.

Honest Pirate Advisory

As President of Honest Pirate Advisory, Bair provides consulting, coaching, and capital to early-stage entrepreneurs, applications, and open protocols in the Web3 space. The firm focuses on digital ownership and identity, decentralized finance, privacy, and open marketplaces ^[1].

Secret Foundation

From 2020 to 2023, Bair served as the founder of Secret Foundation, an organization dedicated to the growth and adoption of privacy-first decentralized technologies. The foundation supported the development of Secret Network, a privacy-focused blockchain platform. During his tenure, Bair led initiatives to promote privacy as a fundamental right in the blockchain space and worked to expand the adoption of privacy-preserving technologies ^[1].

In January 2023, Bair's departure from Secret Foundation was reported amid controversy regarding a $2 million dividend payment and governance concerns within the organization ^[3].

Enigma MPC

Prior to founding Secret Foundation, Bair worked as Head of Growth and Marketing at Enigma MPC from 2017 to 2020. At Enigma, he focused on building privacy-first computing networks in the blockchain space, contributing to the company's mission of enabling secure, private computation on sensitive data ^[1].

Snapchat

Bair served as a Revenue and Growth Data Scientist at Snapchat from 2016 to 2017, where he applied his data science expertise to analyze and optimize the platform's revenue and growth strategies ^[1].

Early Career

Before his work in the blockchain space, Bair worked as an options trader and market maker at Optiver US from 2009 to 2013, gaining experience in financial markets and trading strategies ^[1].

Education

Bair earned his MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management between 2014 and 2016. During his time at MIT, he conducted several notable research projects:

• Emergent Leadership in Online Peer Communities (independent study at MIT Sloan, 2016)
• Blockchain Technology and Applications in the Music Industry (report for Future Commerce at MIT Media Lab, 2015)
• Growth and analytics lead for FOLD, an MIT Media Lab startup (2015)

He also completed internships at several prominent companies:

• Content Valuation for Riot Games (January 2016)
• Data Science for Spotify (Summer 2015)
• Community Analytics and Growth for Hubspot (January 2015) ^[1]

Publications and Thought Leadership

Articles

Bair has authored several articles on LinkedIn, including:

• "Your Life Is Tetris. Stop Playing It Like Chess" (February 2016), which uses game metaphors to discuss life strategies and decision-making ^[4]
• "The Power of Intention and the Future of Social" (January 2016)
• "Exponential Growth Isn't Cool. Combinatorial Growth Is." (December 2015)
• "Playlists: How Listeners Take Ownership" (December 2015)
• "Augmented Reality is Already Here. It's Called Music." (November 2015)

Public Speaking and Interviews

Bair has participated in numerous interviews, podcasts, and panel discussions about blockchain technology, privacy, and digital ownership:

• Featured as a guest on the Reimagine Ownership Podcast, discussing digital ownership and privacy in the blockchain space ^[5]
• Appeared in interviews with The Collectoors, discussing topics related to digital collectibles and blockchain technology ^[6]
• Participated in discussions about privacy in cryptocurrency and blockchain applications ^[7]
• Presented on Stashh Labs and its role in the digital collectibles marketplace ^[8]

Projects and Research

During his time at MIT, Bair was involved in several research projects that explored the intersection of technology, community, and media:

• Emergent Leadership in Online Peer Communities: Investigated how initial leadership guides the development of online communities, how new leaders emerge, and how leadership dynamics change as organizations grow or evolve ^[4]
• eSports Valuation / Strategy Project: Worked on a short-term project for Riot Games in Santa Monica, CA, focusing on eSports content valuation and strategy as part of a six-person team from MIT Sloan ^[4]
• Blockchain Technology: Applications in the Music Industry: Final project for Future Commerce at the MIT Media Lab, examining the potential of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to transform elements of the music industry value chain, including digital identity, payments, rights ownership, and content delivery ^[4]
• Future Opportunities in Social Communication: Media Ventures report on the evolution of human communication needs and how to structure product strategy based on this understanding, including case studies, future projections, and recommendations ^[4]

Expertise and Skills

Bair's expertise spans several domains:

• Blockchain Technology: Deep knowledge of blockchain systems, particularly privacy-preserving technologies and applications
• Data Science and Analytics: Experience in applying data science to growth and revenue optimization
• Digital Ownership: Expertise in NFTs, digital collectibles, and the infrastructure supporting digital asset ownership
• Privacy Technologies: Specialized knowledge in privacy-preserving computation and blockchain privacy features
• Growth Marketing: Skills in developing and implementing growth strategies for technology platforms
• Financial Markets: Background in options trading and market making

Controversies

In January 2023, Bair's departure from Secret Foundation was accompanied by controversy regarding a $2 million dividend payment. According to reports, the payment sparked outcry within the Secret Network community and raised questions about governance and transparency within the foundation ^[3].

Current Focus

As of 2024, Bair is based in Chicago, Illinois, and continues to focus on advancing privacy-first technologies and digital ownership through his roles at Stashh and Honest Pirate Advisory. He remains active in the Web3 community, participating in discussions about the future of digital ownership, privacy, and decentralized technologies ^[1].