E74: Aaron Payas: A Gentleman, a Crypto Lawyer and an [ex-] Footballer.

Beyond the Code

In this episode of Beyond the Code, Yitzy sits down with Aaron Payas — partner at Hassans International Law Firm in Gibraltar, CFA charterholder, and former international footballer. From the early days of Gibraltar’s DLT licensing regime to holding a Bored Ape and co-leading one of the first fully SEC-approved token offerings, Aaron brings a unique blend of legal precision, mathematical logic, and personal passion to everything he touches.

Together, Yitzy and Aaron explore:

• Aaron’s path from math grad to fund lawyer to crypto specialist;

• The rise (and recalibration) of Gibraltar as a blockchain jurisdiction;

• Behind-the-scenes of INX — the first SEC-registered security token offering;

• Why Aaron went deep into NFTs and still proudly displays his Bored Ape;

• The maturing of the tokenization ecosystem — and why it hasn’t scaled yet;

• Honest takes on MiCA, regulatory arbitrage, and how startups should choose jurisdictions;

• How football, legal practice, and crypto law can all be driven by the same thing: passion.

And yes — Spurs fandom makes a guest appearance too.

Follow Aaron on LinkedIn and X (@AaronPayas) for more.