Shahar Shamai cofounded GK8 along with Lior Lamesh in 2018 and continues to serve as the CTO of the custody division under the company’s recent acquisition by Galaxy. Shamai began his career in cyber-security when he was recruited to an elite unit of cyber-security experts reporting directly to Israel's Prime Minister's Office. There, he met Lior Lamesh and together they took their first steps into the crypto sphere. Shamai studied for his B. SC in computer science (majoring in cryptography) in parallel to his highschool studies. He then went on to study for his M. Sc. at Tel Aviv University. In 2022, Shamai and Lamesh were selected by Forbes for their 30 under 30’s list.