H2O Nodes CEO: Inside the Business of Running Blockchain Validators | Let's Talk About Tech #67

In this episode of Let's Talk About Tech, host Philipp Sakuler sits down with Max Sherwood, CEO and co-founder of H2O Nodes, to explore the world of blockchain infrastructure, from Bitcoin mining in 2013 to running validators on Solana, Sui, Monad and Ethereum, and building real-yield products on top. Recorded live at Vienna Blockchain Week 2026, organized by neob.ai and Austrian Blockchain Center - ABC Research, the conversation explores what it really takes to keep decentralized networks secure, resilient, and online 24/7. They discuss why H2O Nodes runs its own bare metal instead of the cloud, what node operators actually do and why decentralization depends on it, and how a lean team decides which chains are worth betting their time and hardware on. Max also breaks down Distributed Validator Technology (DVT), unpacks RevTech, a staking pool that splits Solana's yield into two separate liquid staking tokens, and shares his perspective on where blockchain infrastructure goes next as stablecoins, prediction markets and new L1s take shape.   Guest Speaker: Max Sherwood ➡️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-sherwood/ H2O Nodes: https://www.h2o-nodes.com Vienna Blockchain Week: https://viennablockchainweek.org   Moderator: Philipp Sakuler ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-sakuler/   Venionaire Capital: 🌐 Website: https://www.venionaire.com 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venionaire/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venionaire/