Dave Pulis is a crypto exchange executive and co-founder of ZBX, a Malta-registered, regulation-oriented cryptocurrency exchange focused on European market access. He has been associated with ZBX’s strategy around fiat rails, institutional-style market structure, and a compliance posture designed to operate within clearer regulatory frameworks rather than relying solely on offshore accessibility.
Overview
Pulis is best known for leading ZBX as a senior executive and for public commentary that emphasizes regulatory clarity, banking connectivity, and standardized operating practices as core requirements for centralized exchanges. He is frequently described as coming from an institutional trading background, a framing that aligns with ZBX’s stated focus on regulated access and traditional finance-compatible workflows.
- Primary role: Co-founder, ZBX
- Sector: Centralized exchange infrastructure and market access
- Focus: Fiat integration, regulatory alignment, and institutional-grade operations
History and Background
Pulis has been described publicly as a former institutional trader with more than a decade of experience in markets. Speaker biographies and interview material have often framed his early crypto involvement as dating back to the early 2010s, a period when exchange infrastructure and fiat onramps were still limited and fragmented. This background is commonly used to explain his focus on market structure and the operational requirements of running exchange services that can support professional counterparties.
In the crypto industry, the transition from trading to exchange-building is a common path, because experienced market participants often prioritize predictable execution, risk controls, and reliable settlement and custody. These priorities are reflected in ZBX’s public positioning and in Pulis’ repeated emphasis on the importance of compliance-ready structures.
Founding ZBX and the Malta Regulatory Strategy
ZBX has been positioned as a Malta-registered exchange oriented toward European customers. CryptoSlate has reported on Pulis’ view that Malta’s regulatory direction created a viable jurisdiction for crypto companies seeking legal certainty. In that coverage, he argued that Malta’s regulatory infrastructure could attract serious operators and reduce ambiguity for businesses that need to work with banks and other regulated counterparties.
Malta’s push to formalize crypto regulation, including frameworks associated with virtual financial assets, became a focal point for several exchange and token projects during that period. ZBX’s strategy has been presented as taking advantage of this environment by building an exchange offering that supports fiat-to-crypto workflows and is compatible with regulated market expectations.
Core Products and Services
ZBX’s public positioning has emphasized the importance of fiat access and regulated product development. CryptoSlate’s company profile describes ZBX as working toward EUR and USD deposits and withdrawals and offering fiat pairs for trading. The profile also references an ambition to pursue licensing that would support listing security tokens under Maltese rules, a direction that implies a more structured compliance and disclosure approach than spot crypto trading alone.
- Fiat channels: Banking-connected deposits and withdrawals to support euro and dollar trading access.
- Spot trading access: Fiat pairs and crypto markets designed for straightforward onboarding.
- Security token ambitions: A licensing-oriented approach to supporting tokenized securities offerings.
Market Position and Industry Context
Pulis’ exchange-building narrative fits within a broader industry shift toward regulated infrastructure, especially in Europe where frameworks increasingly define custody, onboarding, and reporting obligations. Exchanges targeting this segment must typically maintain stronger compliance operations, clearer disclosures, and resilient custody and security practices. They also face the practical challenge of obtaining and maintaining banking relationships, which remain a central constraint for fiat-connected crypto platforms.
Security token ambitions can expand an exchange’s product scope, but they also introduce additional obligations tied to investor protections, marketing rules, and jurisdiction-specific authorization. As a result, a regulated strategy is often both an opportunity, to access institutional users, and a constraint, because it can slow product iteration and increase operational costs.
Risks and Considerations
Operating a centralized exchange brings custody and cybersecurity risks, as well as market integrity concerns such as manipulation and liquidity fragmentation. A regulation-forward strategy adds another set of risks, licensing regimes evolve, compliance expectations can change quickly, and cross-border operations may require continuous updates to onboarding and reporting policies.
For users, key considerations typically include transparency around custody arrangements, fee schedules, liquidity conditions, and the extent of regulatory oversight in the jurisdiction where services are offered. Pulis’ role as co-founder is therefore tied to how ZBX balances product development with compliance readiness and operational resilience in a competitive exchange landscape.
