Beniamin Mincu is a Romanian entrepreneur and blockchain executive best known as the co-founder and CEO of MultiversX, formerly Elrond. He has been a prominent public-facing figure for the network since its early development, helping position MultiversX as a high-throughput Layer 1 blockchain focused on scalable infrastructure, developer tooling, and consumer-facing applications tied to the EGLD ecosystem.
Overview
Mincu co-founded Elrond in 2017 alongside Lucian Mincu and Lucian Todea, and has served as CEO through the project’s transition into MultiversX. Under his leadership, the network has emphasized performance-oriented architecture, including sharding-based scaling and a proof-of-stake security model, while also investing in wallet, identity, and application layers intended to improve usability beyond core blockchain primitives.
History and Background
Before launching Elrond, Mincu developed experience in the crypto sector through roles focused on ecosystem growth and community building. He is widely associated with early work around NEM, where he contributed to business, marketing, and community efforts during the project’s expansion phase. He also co-founded Metachain Capital, an investment and advisory vehicle connected to the broader blockchain startup ecosystem.
Mincu’s professional profile has combined venture and go-to-market experience with product positioning, which has shaped MultiversX’s approach to pairing base-layer scalability claims with consumer products and developer tooling designed to drive network usage.
MultiversX and the Elrond Rebrand
Elrond rebranded to MultiversX in November 2022, framing the shift as an expansion from “internet-scale blockchain” toward a broader Web3 product suite that could support metaverse-adjacent experiences and composable applications. The rebrand was unveiled during the project’s xDay event in Paris and was accompanied by new product pillars intended to broaden adoption and unify ecosystem identity.
The network’s native token, EGLD, remains central to staking, transaction fees, and network security, while the MultiversX identity emphasizes a product-oriented stack built on top of the underlying Layer 1.
Core Products and Ecosystem Initiatives
Across the Elrond and MultiversX eras, Mincu has advocated for an ecosystem strategy that combines core protocol scalability with a set of first-party applications and frameworks. Key ecosystem elements commonly associated with MultiversX’s roadmap include:
- xPortal (formerly Maiar), a consumer wallet and payments-oriented app intended to simplify onboarding and everyday usage.
- xFabric, positioned as an infrastructure and tooling layer for deploying applications and “sovereign” or specialized chains in the broader MultiversX environment.
- xWorlds, a brand associated with virtual-world experiences and digital identity concepts tied to Web3 applications.
- Developer tooling and SDKs, aimed at supporting smart contract development and ecosystem growth through grants, accelerators, and partnerships.
Technology and Leadership Focus
Mincu’s leadership has consistently emphasized throughput, latency, and cost as key differentiators in Layer 1 competition. MultiversX is known for promoting adaptive state sharding and a secure proof-of-stake design as the foundation for parallelized execution and fast finality. Operationally, the project has also highlighted the importance of distribution and user experience, using first-party applications to reduce friction for users and developers entering the EGLD ecosystem.
Use Cases and Market Position
MultiversX competes in a crowded Layer 1 market where developer mindshare and application liquidity are critical. The network has sought adoption across consumer wallets, payments experiments, NFT and digital identity experiences, and general-purpose smart contract applications. In market narratives, MultiversX is often compared with other high-throughput networks that prioritize scaling and usability alongside established ecosystems such as Ethereum and broader crypto market benchmarks like Bitcoin.
Risks and Considerations
As with most Layer 1 ecosystems, MultiversX faces risks that can influence long-term adoption and token utility. Considerations include:
- Ecosystem competition: Layer 1 networks compete on developers, liquidity, and applications, not only performance metrics.
- Security and execution risk: Smart contract exploits, bridge vulnerabilities, and operational incidents can impact user trust and activity.
- Token economics and demand: Sustained utility for EGLD depends on real network usage, staking participation, and application traction.
- Regulatory uncertainty: Shifts in crypto regulation across jurisdictions can affect exchange access, developer activity, and enterprise partnerships.
Relevance
Beniamin Mincu remains one of the most visible executives in the European blockchain landscape, associated with the long-running development of Elrond and its evolution into MultiversX. His role has centered on guiding product direction, ecosystem expansion, and brand strategy, while positioning EGLD and MultiversX’s tooling as a contender in the global market for scalable smart contract infrastructure.
