Biographies, photographs and wording

Biographies

25 words

Carel de Jager is the founder and CEO of Sixpence, a blockchain intelligence company, and co-founder and CTO of Bitmach, an AI and energy infrastructure company.

50 words

Carel de Jager is the founder and CEO of Sixpence, whose blockchain intelligence software is used by banks, auditors and regulators, and co-founder and CTO of Bitmach, an AI and energy infrastructure company. He led the CSIR's distributed ledger research group and spent nine years as an engineer at Eskom. He speaks, in English and Afrikaans, about AI in business, agentic payments, energy infrastructure, blockchain forensics and crypto regulation.

100 words

Carel de Jager is the founder and CEO of Sixpence, a blockchain intelligence company in Pretoria whose software helps banks, exchanges, auditors and regulators verify what happens on public blockchains. Coinbase chose the company from more than 50 proposals for a proof-of-reserves grant in 2023. He is also co-founder and CTO of Bitmach, an AI and energy infrastructure company that turns surplus electricity into computing that can be switched off when the grid needs the power. He led the CSIR's distributed ledger research group from 2022 to 2025, after nine years as an engineer at Eskom's Lethabo Power Station. A regular voice on CNBC Africa, Moneyweb, RSG Geldsake and Radio 702, he speaks in English and Afrikaans about implementing AI, agentic payments, energy infrastructure, blockchain forensics and crypto regulation.

250 words

Carel de Jager builds the systems that let institutions trust what happens on blockchains, and he is trying to turn South Africa's spare electricity into computing. He is the founder and CEO of Sixpence, a blockchain intelligence company founded in Pretoria in 2020 as Silver Sixpence. Its LedgerCore data engine powers LedgerWatch, used for investigations and monitoring, LedgerBrain, which runs compliance checks on AI agents, and Coinfig, for crypto tax. The company's Merkle tree tool was used by Mazars in its 2022 proof-of-reserves reports for Binance, KuCoin and Crypto.com, and in 2023 Coinbase selected it from more than 50 proposals to build open-source proof-of-reserves software. Its measurements of South Africa's crypto flows are regularly reported by Moneyweb. He is also co-founder and CTO of Bitmach, with Rob Hersov and Stafford Masie. Bitmach is an AI and energy infrastructure company that converts surplus electricity into computing that can be interrupted in seconds, beginning with bitcoin mining, an idea Carel first published in 2018, and building towards AI infrastructure. He spent nine years as an asset care engineer at Eskom's Lethabo Power Station and led the CSIR's distributed ledger research group from 2022 to 2025. He holds a BEng in chemical engineering and an MEng in engineering management, cum laude, from North-West University, and wrote the foreword to Auditing Bitcoin: A Framework for Digital Asset Assurance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026). He has spoken at more than 100 events since 2018, in English and Afrikaans, and is a regular commentator on CNBC Africa, Moneyweb, RSG Geldsake and Radio 702.

Afrikaans, 50 woorde

Carel de Jager is die stigter en uitvoerende hoof van Sixpence, wie se blokketting-intelligensiesagteware deur banke, ouditeure en reguleerders gebruik word, en medestigter en tegnologiehoof van Bitmach, 'n KI- en energie-infrastruktuurmaatskappy. Hy het die WNNR se navorsingsgroep vir verspreide grootboektegnologie gelei en was nege jaar 'n ingenieur by Eskom. Hy praat in Afrikaans en Engels oor KI in die sakewêreld, agentbetalings, energie-infrastruktuur, blokketting-forensika en kriptoregulering.

Afrikaans, 100 woorde

Carel de Jager is die stigter en uitvoerende hoof van Sixpence, 'n blokketting-intelligensiemaatskappy in Pretoria wie se sagteware banke, beurse, ouditeure en reguleerders help om te verifieer wat op openbare blokkettings gebeur. Coinbase het die maatskappy in 2023 uit meer as 50 voorstelle vir 'n bewys-van-reserwes-toekenning gekies. Hy is ook medestigter en tegnologiehoof van Bitmach, 'n KI- en energie-infrastruktuurmaatskappy wat oortollige elektrisiteit omskep in rekenkrag wat afgeskakel kan word wanneer die netwerk die krag nodig het. Hy het die WNNR se navorsingsgroep vir verspreide grootboektegnologie van 2022 tot 2025 gelei, ná nege jaar as ingenieur by Eskom se Lethabo-kragstasie. Hy is gereeld op CNBC Africa, Moneyweb, RSG Geldsake en Radio 702 te hoor.