Giving Back with Ali Hassan

Ali Hassan immigrated to the US from Egypt when he was nine years old. He was a competitive swimmer, which he kept up when he got to the US. In college, he swam as an NCAA Division I Swimmer and was even a Junior Olympian! Aside from his athletic talent, Ali is also the Co-founder and CEO of Crescent Crypto Asset Management and a strong advocate for his hometown of Bayonne, NJ, where he helped to establish the community’s first mosque.

After graduating from college in 2013, Ali began his career at Goldman Sachs. He then transitioned to venture capital at Fairview Capital Partners. In 2017, he co-founded Crescent Crypto Asset Management, which he launched with former colleagues from Goldman Sachs.

Ali has been an active Muppies member for seven years. He’s an executive member of the NYC City Committee, where he has enjoyed participating in everything from soup kitchen volunteer work to graduate school information sessions, plenty of iftars, and countless networking events. Muppies has also promoted and benefited from Ali’s blockchain expertise. He has been a speaker on Bitcoin at a number of events, including the Annual Conference in Toronto.

Ali grew up in a town outside of New York City that never had a masjid. At the time, his mother wasn’t able to drive because of immigration, so traveling to Jummah prayer was always complex and required help from family friends. As Ali grew older, it became clear to him that a masjid was needed in the community. He decided that he needed to be the change and started campaigning vigorously against the bigotry and racism that was preventing his community from having its own religious center.

The Muppies network helped Ali raise a significant amount of money for this cause that is near to his heart, and he is happy that the hard work has paid off. His membership in Muppies allowed him to speak at events where members made donations. The Muppies community was also helpful with legal advice, networking, support, and resources. Without Muppies, Ali says, he is not sure his community would have had the resources to complete this ambitious project.

Ali’s community purchased a spacious property and filed and won a federal lawsuit against the city of Bayonne for impeding the construction of the masjid. They have now completed construction of the first Mosque in Bayonne, NJ, and are now in the last stretch of finalizing interior design and fixtures and hope to host the inaugural prayer after the Coronavirus has abated.

Ali continues to give back to the Muppies community by providing guidance and mentorship to those in earlier stages in their careers. He also provides context and  updates on the blockchain world and works with prospective entrepreneurs on the business structure.

Ali is a superfan of Survivor and is pretty sure that he can win if he gets on the show. Between episodes of Survivor, Ali enjoys spending lots of extra time with his new baby boy, Adam.

Learn more about the Bayonne Mosque on their Facebook page .