# Afnan Rahman

> Afnan Rahman is a Bitcoin entrepreneur who co-founded OpenNode and later became co-founder and CEO of AYCE. His documented work spans Bitcoin design, the Zap wallet, merchant payment infrastructure, education partnerships and international payment projects. He graduated from UC Santa Barbara and has publicly argued for protecting Bitcoin’s base protocol while building new financial applications.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at AYCE
- **Organizations:** OpenNode, AYCE, Masen, Zap
- **Education:** University of California, Santa Barbara
- **Known for:** Co-founded OpenNode., Helped build the Bitcoin wallet Zap., Co-founded AYCE.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2018** — Founded Bitcoin-focused design and technology studio Masen; collaborated there with João Almeida.
- **2018** — Co-founded OpenNode with João Almeida and Brandon Lewis.
- **2019** — As OpenNode CEO, discussed its BEN education partnership and Shopify Lightning integration.
- **2020** — Discussed merchant interest in retaining Bitcoin as OpenNode tested a Wyre-powered fiat-to-Bitcoin checkout feature.
- **2021** — OpenNode announced Lightning payments at all 19 McDonald’s locations in El Salvador, plus online and app ordering.
- **2022** — OpenNode announced its $20 million Series A at a $220 million valuation and a Bahrain regulatory-sandbox payment trial.
- **2024** — Identified as AYCE & Co co-founder and CEO in his June 5 opinion article on OP_CAT.
- **2025** — Listed as AYCE co-founder for Advertising Week LATAM and interviewed about platform trust in Latin America.

## Achievements

- Co-founded OpenNode.
- Helped build the Bitcoin wallet Zap.
- Co-founded AYCE.
- Led OpenNode as CEO during its documented merchant integrations and 2022 financing.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — A corporate-record summary refreshed March 25 listed Rahman as AYCE Global Inc.’s CEO; this refresh does not establish a new appointment.
- **2025-11** — Interviewed about trusted crypto platforms, credible partners and customer support in Latin America; listed as AYCE co-founder for Advertising Week LATAM.
- **2024-06** — Published an opinion arguing against rushed OP_CAT adoption and favoring infrastructure on additional layers.

## Links

- Website: https://www.ayce.co/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/afnan-rahman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11