Meet the Team Behind H2O Nodes

Our team brings together decades of collective experience in IT, blockchain, legal, and data center operations. At the helm of our infrastructure is Daniel Urstöger, who served as Head of IT at CHECK24 before making his entrance into crypto by working as an independent contractor.
We have an entrepreneurial spirit – each of us either runs our own company, works as an independent contractor, or contributes to open source projects.

Daniel Urstöger

Co-founder, Tech Lead

During his 22-year long career Daniel has served in the roles of CTO and Head of IT, most recently at CHECK24 where he ran on-prem infrastructure before overseeing a migration onto AWS. He made his entrance to crypto working as a contractor, where he gained initial experience with staking infrastructure.

Daniel Urstöger

Co-founder, Tech Lead

During his 22-year long career Daniel has served in the roles of CTO and Head of IT, most recently at CHECK24 where he ran on-prem infrastructure before overseeing a migration onto AWS. He made his entrance to crypto working as a contractor, where he gained initial experience with staking infrastructure.

Daniel Urstöger

Co-founder, Tech Lead

During his 22-year long career Daniel has served in the roles of CTO and Head of IT, most recently at CHECK24 where he ran on-prem infrastructure before overseeing a migration onto AWS. He made his entrance to crypto working as a contractor, where he gained initial experience with staking infrastructure.

Max Sherwood

Co-founder, Managing Director

Max entered the crypto world in 2013 by mining bitcoin, and eventually ran a Proof of Stake node in 2017. With a deep understanding of the industry and experience at custodial and non-custodial crypto service providers, he has emerged as a thought leader in the staking space and understands the challenges that lie ahead.

Max Sherwood

Co-founder, Managing Director

Max entered the crypto world in 2013 by mining bitcoin, and eventually ran a Proof of Stake node in 2017. With a deep understanding of the industry and experience at custodial and non-custodial crypto service providers, he has emerged as a thought leader in the staking space and understands the challenges that lie ahead.

Max Sherwood

Co-founder, Managing Director

Max entered the crypto world in 2013 by mining bitcoin, and eventually ran a Proof of Stake node in 2017. With a deep understanding of the industry and experience at custodial and non-custodial crypto service providers, he has emerged as a thought leader in the staking space and understands the challenges that lie ahead.

Dr. Alexander Taiyo Scheuwimmer

Legal & Regulatory

Taiyo not only runs his own law firm Taiyo Legal, but is also the president of the Austrian Lawyers Association. His regular contact with the Ministry of Finance ensures that he’s kept up to date with changing regulations, which in Austria currently look very constructive for staking. His multinational background further opens the door for H2O Nodes’ infrastructure decentralization in Asia-Pacific.

Dr. Alexander Taiyo Scheuwimmer

Legal & Regulatory

Taiyo not only runs his own law firm Taiyo Legal, but is also the president of the Austrian Lawyers Association. His regular contact with the Ministry of Finance ensures that he’s kept up to date with changing regulations, which in Austria currently look very constructive for staking. His multinational background further opens the door for H2O Nodes’ infrastructure decentralization in Asia-Pacific.

Dr. Alexander Taiyo Scheuwimmer

Legal & Regulatory

Taiyo not only runs his own law firm Taiyo Legal, but is also the president of the Austrian Lawyers Association. His regular contact with the Ministry of Finance ensures that he’s kept up to date with changing regulations, which in Austria currently look very constructive for staking. His multinational background further opens the door for H2O Nodes’ infrastructure decentralization in Asia-Pacific.

Evgeni Kozyr

DevOps Engineer

Evgeni began his blockchain career in 2020 as a Software Developer at BlockSize Capital. In 2022 he became familiar with the Solana blockchain at Unstoppable Finance, which started as a self-custody wallet and eventually became a larger blockchain banking infrastructure project. His work at H2O Nodes focuses on Solana and Sui.

Evgeni Kozyr

DevOps Engineer

Evgeni began his blockchain career in 2020 as a Software Developer at BlockSize Capital. In 2022 he became familiar with the Solana blockchain at Unstoppable Finance, which started as a self-custody wallet and eventually became a larger blockchain banking infrastructure project. His work at H2O Nodes focuses on Solana and Sui.

Evgeni Kozyr

DevOps Engineer

Evgeni began his blockchain career in 2020 as a Software Developer at BlockSize Capital. In 2022 he became familiar with the Solana blockchain at Unstoppable Finance, which started as a self-custody wallet and eventually became a larger blockchain banking infrastructure project. His work at H2O Nodes focuses on Solana and Sui.

Tobias Albrecht

DevOps Engineer

Tobias began his career in 2008 as a web developer, and since then has led IT teams in roles such as Head of DataCenter and CTO. He also undertakes projects independently as a contractor, where he uses his hands-on mentality to ensure customer satisfaction.

Tobias Albrecht

DevOps Engineer

Tobias began his career in 2008 as a web developer, and since then has led IT teams in roles such as Head of DataCenter and CTO. He also undertakes projects independently as a contractor, where he uses his hands-on mentality to ensure customer satisfaction.

Tobias Albrecht

DevOps Engineer

Tobias began his career in 2008 as a web developer, and since then has led IT teams in roles such as Head of DataCenter and CTO. He also undertakes projects independently as a contractor, where he uses his hands-on mentality to ensure customer satisfaction.

Volker Lieder

Data Center Operations

Volker started his career in 2003 as a Linux System Engineer before eventually starting his own managed cloud service provider company Uvensys in 2012. This has given him extensive experience running high-performance server infrastructure in data centers.

Volker Lieder

Data Center Operations

Volker started his career in 2003 as a Linux System Engineer before eventually starting his own managed cloud service provider company Uvensys in 2012. This has given him extensive experience running high-performance server infrastructure in data centers.

Volker Lieder

Data Center Operations

Volker started his career in 2003 as a Linux System Engineer before eventually starting his own managed cloud service provider company Uvensys in 2012. This has given him extensive experience running high-performance server infrastructure in data centers.

Motivation

Decentralizing liquid staking pools with bare metal infrastructure

H2O Nodes is unique in its origin, compelled by the emergence of liquid staking pools to start a staking business. We are motivated by the challenge of diversifying the node operator set of liquid staking pools by running bare metal infrastructure in underrepresented data centers. Becoming a node operator for liquid staking pools enables us to focus on improving the health of blockchain networks while staying a lean, mission-oriented company. Our intention to primarily support liquid pools is reflected in our name, H2O Nodes.

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