Blockchain technology has been making headlines for quite a few years, so perhaps may come as a surprise to many of you that its use in fields such as aerospace finance has been rather limited to date.

But this may soon change if a Florida-based company, Forum Markets (previously known as ETHZilla) gets its way.

On this episode of the podcast, two of Forum Markets’ VPs, John Kristoff and Max Van der Griend, explain they have used Ethereum-based tokens to securitize airliner engine leases for a major US carrier, opening up this segment of the aviation finance market to retail (accredited) investors.

If we are to judge by the size other asset-backed security markets have grown to, the potential is enormous!

Following the first successful deal in this space, which was closed in early 2026, John and Max have certainly plans to develop this concept further, perhaps expanding into adjacent market niches, such as aircraft leases.

Blockchain and aerospace leasing are two highly technical disciplines, so it is great to be able to learn about both of them directly from those that are innovating by linking them up to create new products and solutions.

So, tune in to find out how all this works!

And, before going into today’s episode, please, remember this is not financial advice and everything we discuss here on this podcast is for informational purposes only!

The popularity of flight tracking apps has transcended the boundaries of the aviation community and truly become mainstream.

I guess most of our readers and listeners are familiar with the market leader in this space, but what if I told you the competitive landscaspe in this space is far from static?

Alex Lungu is the CEO of Wingbits, a ventur capital-backed Swedish startup that is aiming to disrupt the flight tracking industry by introducing a new model to build a flight tracking community which shares differently the value it creates.

It is precisely the way incentives are built into its system that has allowed Wingbits to grow fast in a matter of just over a couple of years, from a few dozen tracking stations when it launched in 2023 to some 6,000 worldwide, as we recorded this conversation.

In this episode of the podcast, Alex will explain what Wingbits is doing differently from its competitors and what factors have allowed this company to grow that fast.

We also discussed, more generally, how flight tracking works and how the huge amounts of data generated by the flight tracking community hold immense value that can be put to good use if the right tools are available.

And this is, precisely, what Wingbits has set to do, because Alex describes Wingbits as, essentially, a data business at its core.

So, tune in for a deep dive into the flight tracking business with our guest today, Alex Lungu, CEO of Wingbits!

The popularity of flight tracking apps has transcended the boundaries of the aviation community and truly become mainstream.

I guess most of our readers and listeners are familiar with the market leader in this space, but what if I told you the competitive landscaspe in this space is far from static?

Alex Lungu is the CEO of Wingbits, a ventur capital-backed Swedish startup that is aiming to disrupt the flight tracking industry by introducing a new model to build a flight tracking community which shares differently the value it creates.

It is precisely the way incentives are built into its system that has allowed Wingbits to grow fast in a matter of just over a couple of years, from a few dozen tracking stations when it launched in 2023 to some 6,000 worldwide, as we recorded this conversation.

In this episode of the podcast, Alex will explain what Wingbits is doing differently from its competitors and what factors have allowed this company to grow that fast.

We also discussed, more generally, how flight tracking works and how the huge amounts of data generated by the flight tracking community hold immense value that can be put to good use if the right tools are available.

And this is, precisely, what Wingbits has set to do, because Alex describes Wingbits as, essentially, a data business at its core.

So, tune in for a deep dive into the flight tracking business with our guest today, Alex Lungu, CEO of Wingbits!