Portrait of Diana Ilieva, Tokenomics Consultant at FinDaS

Diana Ilieva is a tokenomics consultant at FinDaS with over 4 years of experience designing token economies for crypto projects, grounded in more than a decade of software engineering and a postgraduate finance degree. Her work spans utility tokens for DeFi, stablecoins, RWA tokenization, and token sale structuring. Diana has contributed to over 60 crypto projects to date, both through FinDaS Ltd and as an independent consultant.

Follow Diana on LinkedIn

Tokenomics expertise

Diana built her tokenomics practice under the guidance of Hristo Piyankov, FinDaS' lead economist, and solidified it through direct project work. She applies the firm's data-driven approach to token sale structuring, sell pressure management, and liquidity design. Her traditional finance background is particularly useful when structuring stablecoins, RWA, and token sales, where regulated-instrument mechanics map closely onto their crypto counterparts.

Academic background

Diana holds a BSc in engineering and an MSc in Finance and Banking from the University of York, where she graduated with merit. The combination of a quantitative undergraduate degree and a specialised finance master's is uncommon in tokenomics. It gives her a working foundation for projects that touch regulated instruments or sophisticated financial structures, particularly stablecoins and RWA tokenization.

Teaching

Diana teaches "Financial markets and cryptocurrency" at UNWE's new Master's programme in Cryptoeconomics in Sofia. The course combines her academic training with direct FinDaS project experience, giving students exposure to real design decisions rather than textbook summaries. UNWE is among the first universities in the region to offer a dedicated cryptoeconomics Master's.

Before crypto

Before moving into tokenomics, Diana spent over 10 years in software development, rising to QA Manager with a team of 23. The senior management role covered hiring, staff development, compensation and bonuses, and defining QA strategy at both the company and the client level. That operational experience carries over directly into how she runs tokenomics engagements today.

Find Diana's work

Diana's full professional history, including her pre-crypto roles and current projects, is on LinkedIn. Recorded interviews and walkthroughs featuring Diana appear on the FinDaS YouTube channel. She also posts regularly on FinDaS' LinkedIn and X profiles.

Hristo Piyankov, Lead Token Economist at FinDaS

Hristo Piyankov

Lead token economist

Hristo is one of the best-known tokenomics designers in the industry. He is a top Web3 LinkedIn voice and a mentor in several high-profile accelerators such as Brinc and HyperNest. Hristo teaches a university masters degree in Cryptoeconomics and Decentralised Finance (DeFi). Having worked on over 300 tokenomics projects, he knows the ins and outs of token economies, what works and what does not.

Prior to working in crypto, Hristo was an Analytics Director and a Data Scientist for 12+ years in TradFi.