CoinGecko will be hosting sixteen exciting crypto projects at the upcoming Changelog stage during Invest Asia 2019 happening on 11-12 September 2019. The Changelog stage offers projects the opportunity to share important updates and development roadmap with conference attendees.
This round's Changelog Speaker Spotlight brings you Loi Luu, CEO and Co-Founder of Kyber Network. Loi holds a Ph.D in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore and has published multiple academic papers on blockchain technology. Loi is also included in the Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2018. Before co-founding KyberNetwork, Loi was the blockchain advisor of Kambria, an open source DAO focusing on development and adoption of advanced robotics system.
Kyber’s on-chain liquidity protocol allows decentralized token swaps to be integrated into any application, enabling value exchange to be performed seamlessly between all parties in the ecosystem. Using this protocol, developers can build innovative payment flows and applications, including instant token swap services, ERC20 payments, and financial DApps — helping to build a world where any token is usable anywhere.
1) What is the main thing you will be highlighting at Changelog?
I’d be sharing how Kyber’s liquidity protocol can help aggregate decentralized liquidity, and how Kyber can be used to create innovative payment flows and decentralized financial products. In addition, I’d be talking about the current DeFi (decentralized finance) trends, and how we’re witnessing greater composability between many reputable projects in the space, such as bZx, Set, Melon, InstaDApp, and many others.
2) What’s the biggest challenge Kyber faced this year and how was it resolved?
Many of the current users are crypto-savvy, but there is still a challenge to onboard new lay users to trade cryptocurrencies on our in-house product KyberSwap. Ideally, people without prior experience in crypto will still be able to understand how to obtain and trade tokens quickly.
We addressed this challenge by doing our best to understand our users and make our token swap process even more intuitive. We frequently obtained user’s feedback on what could add value to the KyberSwap product. For instance, after hearing users’ feedback, we developed a new feature, non-custodial Limit Orders, which allowed users to swap tokens at a predetermined price, even while they’re asleep or busy.
In addition, we also regularly participate in blockchain hackathons and conferences including EthCC Paris, ETHSF, ETHSingapore, EDCON, ETHIndia, Dappcon, and ETHBerlin, to educate more people around the world about the benefits of using Kyber. We tried various methods to onboard users at these events, for instance creating physical promo gift cards that allow new users to easily redeem and swap crypto on KyberSwap for the first time. To target beginners and a more mainstream audience, we are exploring fiat to crypto on-ramp options to allow people to purchase crypto directly using their credit card in under a few minutes.
3) How would you describe Kyber in one line?
Kyber’s on-chain liquidity protocol enables decentralized token swaps to be integrated into any application, including wallets, vendors, and DApps.
4) Describe your vision for the future of Kyber.
Our mission is to make any token both tradable and usable anywhere, and become the transaction layer for the decentralized economy.
As per our Long Term Objectives, we foresee Kyber becoming a permissionless liquidity protocol that can be implemented on any smart contract-enabled blockchain, and facilitating cross-chain swaps. We are already experimenting on EOS, as seen from Waterloo Bridge and Yoloswap.com. There is also an independent project building a DEX called TomoSwap on TomoChain based on the Kyber protocol.
Kyber will also support the decentralized economy in 5 key areas: end-user swaps, NFT and commerce payments, exchanges and trading, decentralized finance and liquidity provision.
Lastly, we expect protocol direction, implementation, and treasury decisions to eventually be made by the Kyber community via proposals and votes on the KyberDAO.
5) What do you think is the biggest hindrance/roadblock to mainstream adoption of Crypto in general?
The user experience of DApps still has room for improvement, some networks can get congested and slow sometimes, and transaction fees can be quite high. In addition, new users might also be fearful of using DApps due to the many scams that have occurred before, and the complex nature of blockchain systems add to the friction.
As such, it is imperative to educate users on using DApps and managing their own funds, as well as improving the user onboarding process. At Kyber, we are actively working with other ecosystem players to educate users and remove barriers to entry. We integrated our decentralized token swap functionality into various crypto wallets such as HTC Exodus, Enjin, and Trust Wallet, and on websites, DApps, trading programs, and decentralized finance platforms such as InstaDApp, Nuo, Set, Fulcrum, and Melonport, helping to create a seamless user experience. To date, there are more than 60 blockchain projects that have integrated Kyber for their liquidity needs.
We also made sure our in-house token swap service KyberSwap provides the most straightforward user interface and experience to reduce friction and help onboard newcomers. Through such efforts, Kyber wants to enable decentralized payments and finance for everyone, and help create a world where any token is usable anywhere.
6) What mascot would you use for your project? If you already have one, what inspired you to pick said mascot?
As part of our integration with Etheremon, the popular blockchain monster game, the team helped us create our very own Kyber mascot, called Kyberra! This cute monster embodies some of Kyber’s well-known traits, for instance our speed, efficiency, as well as our love for Kyber Network Crystals (KNC). Being a blockchain project, it was also appropriate that Kyberra is a NFT (non-fungible token) that can be owned and traded by our community members.
Here is a description of our mascot: Kyberra loves exploring the galaxy in search of Kyber crystals, its favourite snack. Legend has it that Kyberra is the fastest monster that ever existed, and if you catch it, good fortune will follow you wherever you go.
Make sure you do not miss the Changelog event while attending Invest Asia. Don't have a ticket yet? Get $300 discount off prevailing ticket rate if you use our special code SpkrDisc-gAMWo6cX. Sign up here at: https://www.coindesk.com/events/asia-2019/register
Market Research Analyst at CoinGecko and cryptocurrency fan since 2014. I like to geek out about things in the crypto space. You can read some of my stuff at kristiankho.com. Follow the author on Twitter @Kristian_Kho
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