Aptos isn’t just another blockchain—it’s a mission born from the ashes of a failed dream. Back in 2021, when Meta’s Diem project crashed under regulatory heat, most people would’ve called it quits. Not Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching. These two former Meta engineers took the tech they’d built, the lessons they’d learned, and a vision to make finance fairer, and turned it into Aptos, a Layer-1 blockchain that’s now making waves in the Web3 world.
This is the full story: who Mo and Avery are, how they built Aptos and its Foundation, what makes the tech special, where it stands in 2025, and why it’s got everyone from crypto degens to Microsoft paying attention. Grab a coffee—this is a wild ride.
The Diem Days: A Dream That Didn’t Last
Let’s start at the beginning. In 2019, Facebook (before it became Meta) made a bold move: they announced Libra, a digital currency meant to let anyone with a smartphone send money as easily as a text.
The idea was massive—a stablecoin backed by real-world assets like dollars and euros, run by a group of companies like Visa and Uber, aimed at helping billions, especially people without bank accounts. The team included Mo Shaikh, a finance and strategy guy, and Avery Ching, a tech wizard who built systems for scale.
Libra wasn’t just a coin; it was a full blockchain project. They created Move, a programming language to make smart contracts secure, and a consensus system to handle millions of transactions fast. But Libra freaked out regulators.
A tech giant like Facebook controlling a global currency? Governments saw red flags—money laundering, economic instability, you name it. By 2021, Libra, now called Diem, was done. Meta sold its assets to Silvergate Capital for $182 million, and the project was history.
For Mo and Avery, it was a punch to the gut. They’d poured years into building tech that could change the world, only to see it shelved. But they weren’t the type to give up. They saw a chance to take Diem’s best ideas—Move, the consensus system, their team’s know-how—and build something new, something decentralized, something for everyone. That’s where Aptos comes in.
Who Are Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching?
Aptos is the brainchild of two guys with different skills but the same drive. Let’s meet them.
Mo Shaikh: The Hustler with Heart
Mo Shaikh’s the guy you want pitching your startup. He’s not writing code—he’s out there making deals, rallying people, and seeing the big picture. Mo’s background is in finance and consulting. He studied finance and accounting, so he gets how money works—banks, markets, regulations, all of it. Before blockchain, he worked at places like Boston Consulting Group and ConsenSys, a big Ethereum player, where he learned how to connect tech with real-world problems.
At Meta, Mo joined the Diem team to handle strategy and partnerships. His job was to make Diem work in a world full of skeptical regulators and big corporations. He worked on the Novi wallet, a crypto version of Venmo, and built ties with companies in the Diem consortium.
When Diem fell apart, Mo didn’t see a dead end—he saw a new beginning. He teamed up with Avery and started Aptos Labs in December 2021, with a mission to make blockchain something anyone could use, not just crypto nerds.
As CEO, Mo was the face of Aptos. He raised over $400 million—$200 million in a seed round and $200 million in a Series A—from top investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and FTX Ventures (before FTX’s collapse). He named Aptos after an Ohlone word for “the people,” showing it’s about inclusion.
Mo’s been out there landing partnerships with Microsoft, Google Cloud, Mastercard, Franklin Templeton, and even NBCUniversal, making Aptos a platform that’s legit for both Web3 and the real world. In early 2025, he stepped back as CEO to focus on global strategy, but he’s still driving Aptos’s big-picture goals.
Avery Ching: The Tech Genius
If Mo’s the guy selling the dream, Avery Ching is the one building it. Avery’s a systems engineer with a knack for making tech work at massive scale. He’s got advanced degrees in computer science and a background in high-performance computing, working on systems that handle huge amounts of data without breaking.
At Meta, Avery was a lead engineer on Diem. He helped create Move, a language that makes smart contracts safer than Ethereum’s Solidity, and worked on Diem’s consensus system to keep it fast and secure.
When Diem shut down, Avery saw a chance to take that tech and push it further. He co-founded Aptos Labs with Mo and became CTO, leading a team of over 350 engineers, many from Diem, to build a blockchain that could outdo the competition.
Avery’s big contributions include Block-STM, a system that processes multiple transactions at once, hitting theoretical speeds of 160,000 transactions per second (TPS). He also built AptosBFT, a Proof-of-Stake consensus that keeps the network secure even if some nodes go bad.
In 2025, when Mo stepped back, Avery became CEO, balancing his love for code with running the company. He’s still the guy making sure Aptos’s tech stays ahead of the pack.
How Aptos Came to Life?
When Mo and Avery started Aptos Labs in Palo Alto, they were building a second chance. Diem had given them a head start: Move, a fast consensus system, and a team that knew how to deliver. But they had to make it decentralized, open-source, and community-driven, which meant rethinking a lot.
Their goal was to create a Layer-1 blockchain—think Ethereum or Solana, but better. They wanted to fix the big problems in crypto: slow speeds, high fees, and tools that make developers want to pull their hair out. Here’s what they focused on:
- Move: This language makes smart contracts safer. It treats tokens like unique resources, so you can’t accidentally duplicate or lose them. It’s also got formal verification, meaning devs can mathematically prove their code won’t break.
- Block-STM: This lets Aptos process transactions in parallel, not one by one like Ethereum. It’s why Aptos can theoretically hit 160,000 TPS—way faster than Visa’s 1,700 TPS.
- AptosBFT: A Proof-of-Stake system that’s energy-efficient and stays secure even if some nodes act up.
- Modular Design: Aptos can upgrade without messy hard forks, keeping things smooth as it grows.
- Easy to Use: Mo pushed for wallets and apps that regular people can understand, not just crypto pros.
In early 2022, they launched a devnet, a sandbox for developers to test the blockchain. Then came testnets, where they pushed Aptos to its limits, hitting over 10,000 TPS in controlled settings—already faster than most blockchains. Mo was out raising cash, pulling in $400 million from VCs, which let them hire top engineers, including some from Solana, and build tools like SDKs to make Aptos developer-friendly.
On October 17, 2022, the Aptos Autumn mainnet went live. They celebrated with an airdrop of 20 million APT tokens to 110,000 testnet users, building a community from the jump. The APT token, with a 1 trillion total supply, about 304 million circulating by late 2023, powers fees, staking, and voting.
But it wasn’t all high-fives. Early on, Aptos didn’t hit its promised 160,000 TPS—real-world numbers were closer to 9 TPS. Some folks cried hype, and others questioned the token distribution, with VCs and insiders getting a big chunk. The FTX collapse in 2022, since FTX Ventures was an investor, added more heat. Mo and Avery stayed focused, improving the tech and pushing forward.
Mo and Avery knew a blockchain isn’t just tech—it’s a community. So, they launched the Aptos Foundation in 2022, right after the mainnet, to make sure Aptos stays decentralized and community-driven.
The Foundation is the heart of Aptos. It’s a non-profit that manages grants, supports devs, and keeps the network from being controlled by a few big players. They got over 51% of the APT token supply to fund:
- Grants: Cash for devs building DeFi, NFTs, games, or wallets.
- Aptos Experience: A yearly event where the community shows off projects and swaps ideas.
- LFM Program: Rewards for projects launching tokens on Aptos, growing the ecosystem.
By May 2025, the Foundation has helped Aptos grow to over 106 projects. Think Aries, a decentralized lending platform; SwapGPT, an AI-powered DeFi app; Kana, a mobile-first wallet; and NFT marketplaces like Topaz and BlueMove. The Foundation’s grants have pulled in devs from Ethereum and Solana, and its governance work is keeping Aptos decentralized, even with big VC backing.
The Aptos Ecosystem: What’s Happening in 2025
Aptos is more than just tech—it’s a whole world of projects and partnerships. By May 2025, it’s got a Total Value Locked (TVL) of about $966 million, ranking it 12th among all blockchains and 4th among non-EVM chains (ones that don’t use Ethereum’s tech). The APT token hit a high of $18.37 in early 2023, with a market cap near $3 billion, though it’s had ups and downs since.
The ecosystem’s buzzing with over 106 projects across:
- DeFi: Platforms like Aries for lending and borrowing, or SwapGPT for AI-driven trading.
- NFTs: Marketplaces like Topaz and BlueMove for digital art and collectibles.
- Wallets: Petra and Martian make it easy to use Aptos without a crypto PhD.
- Gaming: Projects building play-to-earn games on Aptos’s fast network.
Aptos has landed huge partnerships. They’re working with Microsoft on AI and blockchain integration, Google Cloud for validator nodes, and NBCUniversal for fan experiences. In finance, Aptos Ascend, a platform for institutional DeFi, brings in players like Mastercard and Franklin Templeton to tokenize assets.
In October 2024, Aptos Labs bought HashPalette, a Japanese blockchain company, to break into Asia. They’re also part of Hong Kong’s e-HKD pilot, testing digital currencies for central banks.
Challenges and Drama
Aptos hasn’t been all smooth sailing. At launch, the gap between the promised 160,000 TPS and the actual 9 TPS sparked some shade—people called it overhyped. The team’s been upfront about needing time to optimize, and they’re getting closer with upgrades.
The FTX collapse in 2022 was a hit, since FTX Ventures was an early backer, but Mo and Avery diversified funding to keep things steady. The token distribution is another sore spot—VCs and insiders got a big slice, which has some folks questioning how decentralized Aptos really is. The Foundation’s work to empower the community is helping, but it’s not a quick fix.
Competition’s fierce too. Solana’s fast and popular, and Sui, started by other ex-Diem folks, is a direct rival using a version of Move. Aptos needs more developers to match Ethereum’s ecosystem, but the Foundation’s grants and hackathons are pulling in talent.
The Future: Where Aptos Is Headed
Mo and Avery aren’t chilling—they’re pushing hard. Their roadmap includes:
- More Developers: Grants and events like the Aptos Experience are bringing in devs from Ethereum and Solana.
- Better Tech: Upgrades to Block-STM and Move aim for higher TPS and smoother tools.
- Global Growth: The HashPalette buy and e-HKD pilot show Aptos is going big in Asia and beyond.
- Real-World Impact: Aptos Ascend and partnerships with Mastercard and others are bringing tokenized assets and enterprise DeFi to life.
Mo wants Aptos to be as easy as PayPal—blockchain you don’t even notice. Avery’s making sure the tech can handle it. Together, they’re aiming for a world where Web3 isn’t just for crypto bros but for everyone.
Why Aptos Matters
Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching didn’t just build a blockchain—they built a movement. They took Diem’s failure and turned it into a platform that’s fast, secure, and built for the real world. Aptos isn’t about memes or hype; it’s about solving problems: giving someone in a remote village access to DeFi, letting companies like Mastercard tokenize assets, and giving devs tools that actually work.
Their journey—from Meta’s corporate world to the wild west of Web3—shows what happens when you don’t give up. Mo’s hustle and Avery’s tech smarts are a rare combo, and the Aptos Foundation keeps the community in the driver’s seat. In a crypto space full of noise, Aptos is the real deal—a blockchain with the tech and vision to change how we deal with money and the internet.
Also Read: He Sold His Litecoin, Kept His Vision – The Charlie Lee Story