Aschkan holds a PhD in physics and has worked for several years in semiconductor research and industry. During his time as Technological Sovereignty Officer at Leibniz Gemeinschaft, he formed the link between technology and policy and already here argued that blockchain technology should be promoted as a key technology. With this in mind, he helped rebuild the Blockchain Bundesverband and was elected president in April 2022. Today, Aschkan is the managing director of the Hanseatic Blockchain Institute and leads the BMWK-funded w3now.de project to study the economic penetration of blockchain technology in Germany.