6 Questions for Chen Li of Youbi Capital

2 years ago

We inquire the buidlers successful the blockchain and cryptocurrency assemblage for their thoughts connected the industry… and propulsion successful a fewer random zingers to support them connected their toes!

This week, our 6 Questions spell to Chen Li, the co-founder and CEO of Youbi Capital, a task superior steadfast investing successful blockchain technologies and disruptive decentralized applications.

Chen Li is the co-founder and CEO of Youbi Capital. He has a Ph.D. successful chemistry and worked arsenic a idiosyncratic for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, wherever helium won 2 awards for his contributions to processing groundbreaking antibody drugs. In 2015, helium was introduced to Bitcoin mining by his roommate successful college, past jointly founded Youbi Capital successful 2017. Chen built the instauration of Youbi’s thesis successful blockchain infrastructure and led investments successful Algorand, Avalanche, Polkadot, Flow, Kadena, Chainlink, Debank and others. He was besides an advisor to JP Morgan’s blockchain team.

1 — What is the main hurdle to wide adoption of blockchain technology?

The main hurdle to wide adoption of blockchain exertion present is inactive its infrastructure, specifically, scalability and information of furniture 1s. We each saw that the watershed infinitesimal for Axie Infinity was not the play-to-earn question that started successful aboriginal 2020 but the migration of the crippled from Ethereum to Ronin successful mid 2021, which led to an detonation of players and gross maturation close away.

But Axie was conscionable 1 application, and tin truthful beryllium easy accommodated connected a dedicated chain, portion for the DeFi protocols — which are highly composable and already interconnected — we inactive don’t person a furniture 1 for the full acceptable of DeFi protocols to migrate implicit without starting to jam its traffic. Solana mightiness beryllium the closest to achieving this goal, but it is not horizontally scalable for wide adoption.

There is inactive a batch to bash to laic a coagulated instauration for the blockchain application.

2 — What volition hap to Bitcoin and Ethereum implicit the adjacent 10 years?

Bitcoin has successfully extended the statement connected its plus arsenic a decentralized store of worth for everyone from individuals to a ample radical of institutions successful this cycle. It is lone a substance of clip earlier it is universally accepted. Furthermore, nether the planetary ostentation backdrop, Bitcoin mightiness besides person the accidental to go a broadly utilized currency successful planetary settlements. There has been a batch of speculation connected the Bitcoin worth proposition breached down to its usage successful antithetic categories.

In presumption of technology, the assemblage has intentionally kept Bitcoin’s advancement astatine a dilatory gait to debar introducing immoderate uncertainty. While I judge that is the close strategy for its usage cases, Bitcoin volition inactive beryllium constricted successful supporting astute contracts implicit the adjacent 10 years.

Ethereum, connected the different hand, is going done overmuch faster reiteration by transitioning to proof-of-stake and perchance sharding successful the adjacent future. All EVM-supporting chains are besides successful the Ethereum ecosystem, contributing worth to the basal layer. Due to the beardown web effect, the Ethereum ecosystem volition apt stay arsenic a ascendant unit successful the DeFi abstraction passim the adjacent 10 years.

3 — When you archer radical you’re successful the blockchain industry, however bash they react?

I retrieve erstwhile I archetypal talked to outsiders astir Bitcoin successful 2015 — they either fell soundless and gave maine awkward looks similar I was trying to speech them into immoderate benignant of scam, oregon successful immoderate cases, enthusiastically challenged maine connected whether Bitcoin had immoderate value. Bitcoin mining was much of a concern that radical could understand, but it was highly uncommon to find idiosyncratic that was open-minded astir the cryptocurrency itself.

Now, radical are becoming much and much knowledgeable and engaged astir blockchain exertion and crypto. I americium often not the lone idiosyncratic they cognize successful the industry. I utilized to beryllium asked tons of basal questions astir blockchain. But now, radical who aren’t blockchain professionals sometimes stock their perspectives archetypal erstwhile they cognize I americium successful the industry.

They person overmuch much divers perspectives connected the blockchain manufacture now. Besides holding crypto successful their portfolio, respective radical are NFT collectors oregon adjacent landowners successful blockchain games. They spot blockchain arsenic a exertion to contented and transact NFT assets arsenic good arsenic infrastructure for the Metaverse, but are much attracted to NFTs and Metaverses. That is wherefore I americium precise assured that the Metaverse volition beryllium the introduction constituent to the Web3 era.

4 — Who makes consciousness to you, and who makes nary consciousness whatsoever?

Whoever is gathering a merchandise past tells a communicative makes consciousness to maine and who conscionable tells a communicative oregon builds a merchandise for imaginary request makes nary consciousness whatsoever.

There are tons of large products that are cautiously designed and reiterated to acceptable the needs of the users. For example, Binance has a precise businesslike feedback loop, from lawsuit work to management. As a result, it is capable to reiterate its merchandise successful the close mode and prosecute a caller inclination successful the market. The Binance squad makes consciousness to me. Polygon, Debank and The Graph are each fantabulous examples of products with beardown product-market fit. All these teams marque consciousness to maine and I spot tons of imaginable successful the adoption of their product.

5 — List your favourite sports teams, and take the azygous astir memorable infinitesimal from watching them.

My favourite sports teams were the Chicago Bulls and Denver Broncos. The astir memorable infinitesimal was Michael Jordan’s last changeable with the Bulls that won them the sixth championship.

6 — Other than the contiguous day, successful what clip and successful what state would you similar to person lived?

I privation I had lived successful Shanghai, China from 2012 to 2015. That was the archetypal crypto marketplace rhythm that I missed. The 2 large events successful that clip framework were the maturation of Bitcoin mining and the fundraising and archetypal community-building of Ethereum. They some happened during that clip successful China.

Plus, China is my location country. I emotion the nutrient and people.