Nicolas Vaiman is the CEO and co-founder of Bubblemaps, a platform bringing advanced analytics and onchain intelligence to the crypto space. The ecosystem is powered by $BMT, which underpins analytics, governance, and investigations — and is now listed on Binance.
How did you first get into crypto, and what led to Bubblemaps?
I got into crypto in 2017 during the bull run. Everyone around me at the time was talking about it.
Like a lot of people, I bought in at the top and lost everything pretty quickly. But I stuck with it. My job at the time was dull, so in 2018, I started Cryptonavia, a data aggregator a bit like CoinMarketCap.
It didn’t take off, but we pivoted towards onchain data, which was just gaining traction. That pivot became Bubblemaps.
You describe Bubblemaps as part of the InfoFi movement. What does that mean to you?
InfoFi stands for “information finance,” the idea that in crypto, information drives price.
It’s clearest with meme coins. Something goes viral, the price explodes, then crashes when attention fades.
But it’s not just memes — any information, whether forecasts or news, has a financial impact. That’s InfoFi.
Do you think that challenges the Efficient Market Hypothesis?
In crypto, absolutely. The EMH assumes everyone has the same information at the same time, but that’s rarely true here.
Insiders know about listings, governance votes, whale movements, and things the public only sees after the fact. So the idea that everything’s already priced in doesn’t really hold up.
Why take such a visual approach with Bubblemaps?
We wanted to show that onchain data doesn’t have to be complex or intimidating. Traditional explorers are just tables of transactions — not exactly user-friendly. Visuals are more intuitive. They help people understand what’s happening, even if they’re new.
Plus, it helps with identity. When people see a bubble map, they know it’s us.
What do you look for in spotting suspicious behaviour with memecoins like Trump, Melania, and Hawk Tuah?
It’s all onchain, which makes it easier to analyse.
We always say: “Just bubble it.” Look for dense clusters, like 50 wallets holding 20% of supply. Then compare that to the published tokenomics. If it doesn’t match, that’s a red flag.
With Trump’s token, for example, one address held 80% of supply. That’s a serious red flag unless there’s a good explanation.
Was investigating memecoins part of your original plan?
Not at all. We started with big protocols like Uniswap and dYdX. What we found was that many were VC-controlled and that governance was often just symbolic.
Then Solana’s memecoin season kicked off, especially with Pump.fun, and that really brought a new audience and new use cases.
How did the Pump.fun partnership come about?
We reached out to them early, before they really took off. They were doing around $100,000 in daily volume at the time.
We pitched the idea of adding our widget so users could see token distribution straight away. They got it and integrated it in less than a week. They’re super fast, very much from the trenches.
You’re also integrated with CoinGecko, Binance, and others. How important are these partnerships?
They’re crucial. Crypto is still built on trust and reputation.
Being integrated with platforms people already use like CoinGecko, Dexscreener, and Pump.fun gives us reach and credibility. We go where the users are, and we’ll keep following that strategy.
What’s next for Bubblemaps?
Exchange integrations. It’s a big leap for us as we’ve never done it before. And it won’t just be memecoins.
With V2, we want to support as many chains and tokens as possible.
Tell me about the Intel Desk.
It started with us doing our own investigations into TRUMP, MELANIA, and all that, as a way to build visibility. But it quickly grew into something more.
Now half the team is focused on it. There’s no real justice system in crypto, so it’s often up to the community to expose bad actors.
Intel Desk is our way of decentralising that process. People use our token, BMT, to vote on which projects we investigate.
There’s game theory too. If a project wants to avoid scrutiny, they might try to redirect votes elsewhere.
Sounds a bit like LobbyFi on Arbitrum, where people pay to influence governance outcomes.
Exactly. It’s a similar mechanic. We’re entering a phase where the token really matters.
Bubblemaps is now a token-first company. Everything — Intel Desk, V2, partnerships — is being built around making BMT essential.
If you could create a bubble map for something outside crypto, what would it be?
Easiest answer: traditional stocks. But that’s boring.
Someone once suggested a Tinder bubble map that shows matches as clusters. The most attractive people would be in the centre. A bit dystopian, but kind of fun.
Any projects outside Bubblemaps that you’re personally excited about?
I’m really bullish on TON. Telegram already has hundreds of millions of users, and they’re experimenting with games and other integrations.
If anyone can bring web2 users into web3, it’s them.