Adriana Mihai, a key figure in the Cosmos ecosystem, describes her journey from corporate banking to becoming a dedicated blockchain advocate, validator, and community leader. Her foray into crypto began in late 2015 when, as a corporate loan manager, a client introduced her to Ethereum. Tasked with researching the technology for a project proposal, Mihai found herself quickly "in love with the technology and the crypto space," a revelation she likens to a "drug" that hooked her instantly. This led her to invest in Ethereum in March 2016. Her understanding of the burgeoning blockchain landscape, combined with an inherent curiosity about interoperability, naturally drew her to Cosmos. After reading the Cosmos white paper in 2017, she clearly articulated her vision for the project: "it became so easy for me to understand that we have a technology that allows all these blockchains that are acting individually until now to be able to connect and to be able to speak with one another and to be able to transfer information and I honestly thought that time this is what the crypto space actually needs in order for the technology to get adopted in a real world this is why cosmos." This conviction, after 12 years in corporate finance, culminated in her transition from banking to Tendermint in September 2019, a decision that "came so naturally there was no room for hesitation for me." Mihai's deep involvement with Cosmos also includes her role as a winner of the Game of Stakes testnet with her validator, Kalpatek. She views Game of Stakes as a testament to communal effort, calling it "a chance for me to see how the community work together to make sure this project will be a success." Despite the "sleepless nights" and constant challenges, she believes the experience fostered a strong sense of cooperation, which is vital for the ecosystem's success: "only through cooperation and mutual help a community like this can actually thrive." Kalpatek, a small team of three, operates with a profound belief in the project, stating, "we believe in this project so much that we haven't even sold any of the rewards that we had so far." When choosing other networks to validate, their decisions are guided by a blend of factors, prioritizing projects with "a real case you study and also in projects which show that they have like a very good team that could sustain them," and expressing a personal affinity for initiatives like the Regen Network, which support "environmental sustainability actions." In her capacity as a community advocate for Tendermint, Mihai defines her role as "a person who advocates for the community and who takes care of the community and listens to their needs," striving to ensure "all voices are heard." She openly discusses the challenges of "working with people which have different characters, different opinions, different points of view," and emphasizes the importance of not taking disagreements "personally." A core aspect of her identity is her deep-rooted connection to the Cosmos community: "i was born in the community and i have known cosmos through the community before i was actually hired by tendermint." This passion also ignited the creation of "Today in Cosmos," a daily news roundup she launched a year before the interview. Recognizing her strengths in marketing and information processing over coding, she sought to "bring something useful to the space" by curating daily news. "Today in Cosmos" began as a single tweet and has grown to feature as many as 17 or 18 tweets daily, reflecting the vibrant growth of the ecosystem. The project thrives with the support of 50 international translators, whom she considers part of the "Cosmos family." Mihai attributes her relentless drive to her passion, asserting that "when i find something that i love doing and in this case was cosmo i am literally unstoppable," believing it grants her "unlimited resources of energy." She values the freedom and open possibilities the space offers, describing it as "priceless." Beyond her operational roles, Mihai offers crucial insights into the long-term sustainability of the Cosmos ecosystem. She highlights the eventual depletion of Interchange Foundation funds as a concern, advocating for a proactive strategy to bolster the community pool. Her proposal includes increasing the percentage of rewards diverted to the community pool from two percent to potentially "five percent on 10 percent" to "create a financial system a sustainable financial system in place that is independent from the fundraising resources and we should do that sooner rather than later." She envisions a future where an "independent community pool which acts like an individual zone" is established, with each Cosmos zone contributing its native tokens. This collective, transparently managed pool would function as a decentralized replacement for the Interchange Foundation, funding projects across the entire Cosmos ecosystem and ensuring its ongoing growth. Mihai's philosophy is rooted in an unwavering passion, a profound commitment to community, and a forward-looking vision for a decentralized and sustainable future. She is continuously working to enhance her technical understanding, underscoring her belief that "passion opens a lot of gates and a lot of doors that you never thought you up before." While deeply invested in Cosmos, she also finds other projects like Solana, Coda, Nervos, Keep, and Celo interesting, noting Solana's appeal due to its "rapid speed in which it broadcasts transactions" and its potential for high-volume, real-world applications.