Omar Zaki, known online as 0xbrainjar, is the founder of Composable Finance and a co-founder of Mantis. His work has focused on infrastructure that allows applications and transactions to operate across different blockchain networks.
Composable Finance and Mantis
Composable Finance describes its infrastructure as an interoperability layer for decentralized finance. Its projects include Centauri, which uses the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, and the Cross-Chain Virtual Machine, which coordinates activity across networks. Picasso is part of that wider infrastructure.
In a January 2024 podcast interview, Zaki discussed Composable and Picasso and the development of Mantis as a system for executing user instructions across chains. His personal X profile identifies him by both his name and alias and lists him as a Mantis co-founder. He has also published technical and organizational commentary through his 0xbrainjar Medium account.
2019 SEC settlement
On April 1, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission entered a settled administrative order concerning Zaki's earlier management of an unregistered investment adviser and hedge fund. The SEC found that he had misled investors about assets, performance and management. Zaki settled without admitting or denying the findings.
The order imposed a $25,000 civil penalty, a cease-and-desist order and securities-industry and registered-investment-company bars. It allowed him to apply for reentry after three years; that provision did not make the bars expire automatically.
