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Co-founder, Banking & Finance, Próspera ZEDE

Christian Betancourt

Christian is an experienced legal and strategic advisor with over 13 years of expertise in Corporate & Commercial Law, Banking & Finance, Law & Economics, and Dispute Resolution. As Partner at Ixian and fractional General Counsel for Infinita City, he supports organizations at the intersection of innovation and regulation.


He has mostly advised financial institutions, biotech ventures, and blockchain/Web3 projects, with a strong focus on investment structuring, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance. Much of his work has also involved entities operating within special economic zones (SEZs), where he brings specialized knowledge of emerging legal frameworks.

Since 2014, Christian has contributed to the development of SEZs across Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, playing a key role in shaping regulatory and industry ecosystems, particularly in financial and healthcare services within Próspera ZEDE in Honduras.


With a parallel background in public policy, he has worked with leading think tanks such as the Fraser Institute, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, and Fundación Eléutera.


Outside of his legal and policy work, Christian is passionate about ocean restoration and is a dedicated scuba diver, often found exploring marine ecosystems. He’s also an art collector.

Career Highlights

  • Lead designer of the Financial Regulation A, the first Optimal Regulation approved in Próspera ZEDE, Honduras.

  • Lead author and counsel for Infinita City's LIVES token's Whitepaper, the first payment token of any blockchain-based startup society.

  • Part of the team that designed and promoted SB-535 in the State of Montana, a Bill for the establishment of Experimental Medical Treatment Centers.

  • Lead designer of the commercial and financial regulations of the Zanzibar Digital Economic Zone in Tanzania.

  • Appointed as a Legal Scholar by the Ethereum Foundation, during Devconnect 2025.

  • Assisted strategic M&A operations and due diligence investigations for several transnational corporations in Latin America and the United States.

  • Former counsel for regional programs of the European Union regarding the structuring of technology-based medical services.

  • Former member of corporate Litigation & Arbitrations teams, representing world-renowned transnational companies in multi-million-dollar proceedings, including with international commercial arbitration courts such as the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration.

Notable Publications

  • Author of “Individual Rights Over State Integrity: The Pan-American Shift“, article published in 2026.

  • Author of the academic article “Financial Infrastructure and Payment Tokens as a viable model for Network States”, originally presented in 2025 during the Ethereum Foundation’s Legal Scholar’s Program.

  • Author of "Special Economic Zones empower the exercise of sovereignty, they don't weaken it", article published in 2023 by La Tribuna Honduras.

  • Coauthor of the yearly Honduran entries of the Economic Freedom Report, published by Fraser Institute and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, from 2014 to 2020.

  • Coauthor of the Honduran Fintech Practice Guide for 2020, published by Chambers & Partners.

Próspera ZEDE

Languages

English, Spanish, Portuguese (Intermediate)

Education

Postgraduate studies in Legal and Financial Technology from the George Washington University, 2020.


Law School at the Universidad de San Pedro Sula

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