We asked blockchain and cryptocurrency industry builders what they think of the industry…and threw in some random jokes to keep them on their toes!
This week, our 6 Questions are going to John deVadoss, Head of Development at Neo, an open source blockchain development platform, and a member of the board of directors of the Global Blockchain Business Council, an industry association for the blockchain technology ecosystem.
I am proud to say that I create the best development tools in the blockchain industry for N3. I also build the tools for the token taxonomy framework as part of the Global Blockchain Business Council, where I serve as a member of the board of directors. Additionally, I serve as co-chair of IEEE Blockchain.
Previously, I was a co-founder of the InterWork Alliance, which is now part of GBBC. Previously, I was a general manager at Microsoft for nearly two decades, during which I built the architecture for .NET v1, Visual Studio Tools, Microsoft Application Platform, Microsoft Digital (which I scaled to a $1 billion profit and loss), and more. . I led the first service-oriented architecture and cloud architecture incubation initiatives for Microsoft, which led to Azure.
1 — What people do you find most inspiring, most interesting and most fun in this space?
This is a wonderful question. I find the young men and women in our community and industry to be the most inspiring. The young people I meet and have the opportunity to work with have boundless energy and enthusiasm, and they are not willing to take no for an answer. They come without restrictions, without any baggage of what can or cannot be achieved, and without preconceived notions of what should or should not be. They have no chip on their shoulder, nor do they have any sense of privilege or lack thereof. They just want to build, and I get tremendous energy (selfishly speaking) from working with them.
2 — What does decentralization mean to you and why is it important?
Decentralization is above all about the sovereignty of the individual. Individual sovereignty, whether from the perspective of natural rights (given by God, nature, or reason) or from the perspective of legal rights (and as enshrined in the UN charter and subsequent international treaties) implies individual autonomy.
When understood as the ability to decide for oneself and follow a course of action in one's life, individual autonomy implies individual self-government. And self-governance is what decentralization means to me, and that's why this is so important. In practical terms, this can be an asymptotic search; however, the pursuit of self-governance at the individual level is our mission as a community and industry.
3 — Do you subscribe to the idea of Bitcoin as a means of payment, as a store of value, as both... or as neither?
Bitcoin is a store of value. You can choose to use Bitcoin as a means of payment; however, you will live to regret it.
Compared to other stores of value, Bitcoin allows you to own your keys and eliminates counterparty risks typically associated with other stores of value, including gold and silver. (Remember, your assets may not really be your assets if they happen to be someone else's liabilities.)
With that reference view, it is important to understand that Bitcoin is also a protocol: a set of rules, restrictions, and schemes used to transfer value and settle definitively within the Bitcoin network. And it's all done in a secure, tamper-proof, uncensored, and fully transparent way.
4. What is the most unlikely thing to happen on your bucket list?
Perhaps the most unlikely thing on my wish list is to become a rice farmer.
I harbor aspirations, perhaps visions, that I will play a part in bringing agriculture back to its first principles. Never say Never.
5 — What is the most interesting place you have visited and why?
The Oracle of Delphi is probably the most interesting place I have ever visited.
Why? Because the Oracle couldn't tell you anything in advance. You had to ask the question and frame it so that the Oracle could answer with a yes or no. The principle that it is up to us, you and me, to frame and ask the question is something that I find humbling and uplifting.
In today's world, we rely more and more on "experts," both human and mechanical. I believe that the parable of the Oracle of Delphi teaches us to work with “experts”.
6 — If you didn't need to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
If I didn't need to sleep, I would write more. There is so much to write and so little time.
I want to write about economics, philosophy, anthropology, biology, psychology, math, cognition, astronomy, history, and more. It's all in my mind; I can visualize the ideas and sometimes even the words themselves, and yet I need time to put them down on paper.
A wish for the young and ambitious blockchain community:
Build up! Your future is yours to build!
