1/ The right founder and their leadership is often a defining factor in why a blockchain project progresses & succeeds beyond the “good idea” stage.
We are going to dig into some leaders in the crypto space.
First up, who is Sergey Nazarov? $Link
A thread 🧵👇
We are going to dig into some leaders in the crypto space.
First up, who is Sergey Nazarov? $Link
A thread 🧵👇
2/ For those unaware, Sergey Nazarov is a 32-year-old tech entrepreneur and the co-founder of #Chainlink.
3/ He is the son of Russian immigrants who moved to New York in the early '90s. His parents were engineers and they introduced him to computers at the tender age of five.
4/ By middle school, Nazarov was reading programming manuals while simultaneously taking apart old cathode-ray televisions to figure out how they work.
5/ Sergey was a finalist in the 2006 Google coding jam, a prestigious international programming competition, which has been running since 2003.
6/ So, Sergey was clearly a talented programmer in his youth, but what’s unusual about his education is that he went on to study Philosophy rather than computer science.
7/ Sergey entered the New York University as a student in which he graduated with a degree in Philosophy & Management, fueling his interest and skills in becoming an entrepreneur.
8/ Here is a quote that gives us a bit more insight into Sergey as a student:
“He was the most curious kid I ever taught…Relentlessly questioning. If he didn’t understand anything he would corner you and pummel you until it was clear.
“He was the most curious kid I ever taught…Relentlessly questioning. If he didn’t understand anything he would corner you and pummel you until it was clear.
9/ And usually the reason it wasn’t clear to him was because there was a fault in the original explanation.” — NYU Professor Lawrence Lenihan
10/ His passion and interest in philosophical thinking can be seen from his various tweets over the years:
https://twitter.com/SergeyNazarov/status/336771550416076801
13/ We can see what directly interests him from an old couch surfing description on his profile:
14/ So when did Sergey get into blockchain and cyptocurrency?
Here are where things get interesting.
Here are where things get interesting.
15/ After looking into the history of the smartcontract domain we can see that the domain was bought by someone just 6 days before the Bitcoin white paper was released by Satoshi.
16/ The record of the domain provided by DomainTools states that the domain was registered on the 25th October 2008, with the Bitcoin white paper being released on the 31st October 2008.
17/ Through looking at the internet archives from 2008 onwards of smartcontract.com we can see that no one ever did anything with this domain, it was simply being held, until the Smart Contracts website was launched in 2014.
18/ If we look even deeper we can see that the domain was transferred to another account in November 2014. At this point, we can be certain that it was Sergey that the name was transferred to.
19/ This means that the person or group that transferred the domain to Sergey, bought it just 6 days before the Bitcoin white paper was released.
It is impossible to say whether Sergey was transferred the domain by someone else, or he transferred it to himself.
It is impossible to say whether Sergey was transferred the domain by someone else, or he transferred it to himself.
20/ Just a matter of days after the domain changed hands, the first version of smartcontract.com was pushed live by Sergey.
21/ Sergey's email address was discovered by looking through the source code of one of his past endeavours.
Sergey used this email address to register domains of new businesses, projects and organisations.
Sergey used this email address to register domains of new businesses, projects and organisations.
22/ This gives you a window into his thinking and ideas throughout the last decade.
23/ The first version of smartcontract.com was based around Bitcoin. You can see some of the first practical uses of Smart Contracts, including making Bitcoin payments based on SEO rankings and Bitcoin Escrow.
Check it out here: web.archive.org/web/2014120201…
Check it out here: web.archive.org/web/2014120201…
24/ In this talk on Chainlink’s channel Sergey mentioned he had been working in the blockchain space for 10 years before correcting himself.
25/ Adding further fuel to the theory that Sergey could be Satoshi Nakamoto or possibly could have been one of a number of people working with Satoshi.
26/ Lastly on the SN=SN stuff, Sergey published a unique metaphor in 2013 on Quora about a person called “Kokichi Mikimoto.”
27/ According to the tale, Mikimoto created super spherical pearls or pearls that are smoother than they are today. Mikimoto Pearls were also farmed and the entire metaphor is eerily similar to Satoshi Nakamoto’s story.
28/ “In 1878, Kokichi Mikimoto discovered how to make superior pearls through man-made pearl farming, his pearls/product turned out to be better than the majority of the best pearls found in all-natural conditions,” Nazarov wrote at the time.
29/ “He made this discovery with no education in the ‘natural sciences’ and basically came to his innovative results through costly trial and error.”
30/ Nazarov's story further said:
"Before his discovery the vast majority of pearls did not even appear spherical to the naked eye, today 90% of all pearls sold are made using his method to create what appear to be perfectly spherical ‘cultured pearls.’"
"Before his discovery the vast majority of pearls did not even appear spherical to the naked eye, today 90% of all pearls sold are made using his method to create what appear to be perfectly spherical ‘cultured pearls.’"
31/ Very interesting to say the least.
32/ Sergey's choice of clothing has become iconic within the space. He wears the same flannel shirt and trainers each day.
Just to be clear, he has many of the same flannel shirts and trainers. He doesn't wear the same shirt every day.
Just to be clear, he has many of the same flannel shirts and trainers. He doesn't wear the same shirt every day.
33/ He has explained that this is because he doesn't want to waste any time thinking about what he has to wear each day.
This is a dedication to using his limited time each day to think about important problems.
This is a dedication to using his limited time each day to think about important problems.
34/ It’s difficult to identify when Sergey identified the oracle problem as a major barrier to blockchain and smart contract adoption, but it’s possible that he could have been theorising a solution as early as 2014 with the launch of smartcontract.com.
35/ The growth of Chainlink from its ICO in 2017 to becoming the dominant oracle solution for the industry today has been staggering.
Sergey’s commitment to the project and methodical nature with which Chainlink Labs has executed has been second to none.
Sergey’s commitment to the project and methodical nature with which Chainlink Labs has executed has been second to none.
36/ It’s clear Sergey has a combination of unique skills that make him one of the greatest leaders and visionaries in the space.
37/ He is able to envision the tech solutions needed to solve big problems, but by also applying his developed philosophical way of looking at the world he identifies problems that are worth solving for the greater benefit of the masses.
38/ This quote from Sergey sums up his motivations:
“I think the pinnacle, the absolute fucking pinnacle of success for somebody building this type of infrastructure is that they build something that becomes a public good that is important to how society functions properly.”
“I think the pinnacle, the absolute fucking pinnacle of success for somebody building this type of infrastructure is that they build something that becomes a public good that is important to how society functions properly.”
39/ His charismatic way of confidently explaining complicated topics also makes him one of the greatest orators in the industry.
40/ Sergey is clearly comfortable pitching and developing relationships with some of the biggest organisations in the world.
Swift is one of many examples.
swift.com/news-events/ne…
Swift is one of many examples.
swift.com/news-events/ne…
41/ In conclusion, Sergey Nazarov is a founder and a leader that you invest in.
$Link
$Link
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