6 Questions for Ming Duan of Umee

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 Ming Duan, the co-founder and main operating serviceman of Umee, a cross-chain DeFi hub that allows decentralized interactions betwixt antithetic blockchains.

Ming Duan’s cognition of the crypto and blockchain satellite goes backmost to 2014 erstwhile she initially learned astir the emerging manufacture done the first-ever blockchain people taught astatine a concern school. Since then, she has developed extended crypto concern cognition done hands-on practice. Duan brings unsocial penetration to Umee, having acquisition arsenic some a crypto capitalist and builder successful the ecosystem. Her extremity for Umee is to physique a level wherever individuals tin interact with antithetic tokens and chains each successful 1 place. While propelling Umee forward, Duan leads crypto investments astatine Argonautic Ventures and Fenbushi Capital. She graduated from Duke University and received her Master of Business Administration grade successful 2016.


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

Simply put, blockchain exertion is excessively hard to use.

When it comes to wide adoption, it’s truly astir comparing what blockchain exertion tin bring to users done existing solutions. The situation is that, astir of the time, our existing solutions work. When wearing my investor’s chapeau connected a caller project, I ever similar to inquire astir whether blockchain is truly indispensable to execute the extremity for the product. From a user’s perspective, if the people assemblage is not already successful Web3, blockchain is oftentimes not needed due to the fact that a centralized solution is already faster, cheaper and easier to use.

So, wherefore are we here? Well, it’s due to the fact that of the imaginable that blockchain-based applications tin beryllium arsenic fast, inexpensive and casual to usage arsenic existing solutions portion creating caller solutions: caller ways of looking astatine economical coordination, caller ways of looking astatine finance, from some an open-source arsenic good arsenic open-access perspective. There is besides that small other constituent of being decentralized. We’re getting there.

2 — From astute contracts to DApps to NFTs to DeFi, we person seen truthful galore of the adjacent “killer apps” for crypto, but nary person truly taken disconnected conscionable yet. What volition stick?

The thought of a decentralized integer satellite volition stick. It’s excessively aboriginal to accidental what will, oregon what has already, taken disconnected erstwhile it comes to crypto experiments. Crypto follows marketplace cycles, and it takes clip for radical to recognize this caller industry. We volition beryllium seeing caller ideas and caller experiments, and a batch of them volition fail, but immoderate of them volition permission an content connected radical that volition propulsion it to germinate into thing new. This process is wholly expected and healthy. Crypto is some a technological and societal paradigm shift. We can’t get it close successful 1 effort and we person the luxury of a promising aboriginal to marque proceedings and error. The committedness of specified an uncoordinated and distributed mechanics to tally a integer satellite volition instrumentality successful individuals’ heads. It volition spur questions designed to situation the presumption quo, and pull much endowment to articulation the abstraction and physique retired this decentralized integer future.

3 — What are the apical 5 Crypto Twitter feeds you can’t bash without, and why?

Umee_CrossChain needs nary mentation — it’s our breadstuff and butter! I find specified joyousness and excitement erstwhile seeing Umee’s latest updates via our Twitter feed. Plus, conscionable seeing Adora the octopus’s smiley look each present and past makes everyone consciousness happy, right? 

Zhu Su is your cheatsheet to being a crypto insider. He helps you zoom retired and recognize however crypto fits into the broader societal and economical representation portion paying attraction to the macro trends. Oftentimes successful the crypto space, we get excessively heavy into the weeds and hide astir the bigger picture, but grasping the bigger representation is what sets the instauration for coagulated semipermanent success.

Samczsun is the crushed wherefore everyone should clasp a steadfast consciousness of paranoia erstwhile it comes to bundle information successful crypto. His wont of generously sharing information vulnerability and hack reviews is highly beneficial adjacent to non-technical readers. 

If you are looking for an alpha oregon trying to onshore connected the close broadside of the doorbell curve of the crypto crowd, I would urge pursuing ASvanevik. He is simply a laminitis arsenic good arsenic a talented information idiosyncratic who has shed much-needed airy connected the acheronian wood of blockchain data. Alex has Ieft maine with a lasting content since the precise archetypal clip we spoke.

Bond_dog_51 is my spouse successful crypto, truthful his Twitter provender is an important travel for me. As the main enforcement bureau of Umee, we enactment broadside by broadside to marque this level each it tin be. I bask pursuing his unsocial penetration connected the manufacture done his feed, and I emotion speechmaking his retweets.

And a sixth one, conscionable for fun! Weird_AnimaIs is 1 of the fewer Twitter accounts I travel that person thing to bash with crypto. It makes maine grin and instrumentality a infinitesimal to admit the powerfulness of parent quality and however things are each interconnected. I’m a large instrumentality of however quality follows the aforesaid patterns successful an absorbing and transcendent way.

4 — Which 2 superpowers would you astir privation to have, and however would you harvester them for good… oregon evil?

I would emotion to person the powerfulness to frost time, similar Hermione successful Harry Potter! We crypto radical ever gag astir however it already feels similar 1 period is equivalent to years successful crypto clip with exciting, caller things happening each time and truthful overmuch accusation to ingest. I’m a precise dilatory scholar and similar to walk clip knowing the ins and outs of a taxable earlier moving connected to the next. Having 200 tabs unfastened connected my browser is inevitable due to the fact that I don’t person capable clip to process everything! How astir a small one-hour clip frost everyday? I’ll beryllium capable to prevention my Chrome from burning down excessively quickly.

Alternatively, I would besides emotion to person the superpower to clone myself — not once, but twice! One of maine would be each the crypto conferences and meetups, portion the different keeps way of the latest quality and trends successful the space. The 3rd Ming would absorption solely connected shipping and building! 

5 — ​​What’s the happening connected your bucket database that is astir improbable to happen?

I’m acrophobic it’ll beryllium the 1 wherever I implicit a part-time programme astatine a culinary school. I’m a large foodie. I started attempting to navigator connected the stove erstwhile I was six years aged and I astir applied to  a culinary schoolhouse for college, but I gave successful to my ma and studied concern instead. Reading and practicing antithetic recipes has been 1 of the astir relaxing activities erstwhile taking a interruption from surviving successful the limitless crypto world. Remember Monica from Friends? I ideate myself to beryllium rather similar her if I really accomplished my imagination of becoming a chef. Although crypto ne'er disappoints — successful 2020, I happily indulged successful each the nutrient coins retired there. Food was really a ample inspiration for Umee, arsenic the connection successful Japanese means “Delicious!” Team Umee can’t get capable of the nutrient coin degen culture.

6 — Where bash you basal connected alien quality and the beingness of beingness elsewhere successful the universe?

Aliens perfectly exist! What we presently cognize astir the beingness is precise limited, astir akin to however aboriginal we are successful crypto adoption. The thought that life, oregon immoderate signifier of intelligence, exists determination retired determination is truly exciting. Though I’m a instrumentality of The Three-Body Problem, I’d similar to deliberation that we should beryllium cautious erstwhile reaching retired and looking for aliens. 

A privation for the young, ambitious blockchain community:

I privation and anticipation to spot much women successful the crypto satellite usage their voices. There is simply a diverseness problem, but it is important to item that women are already successful the abstraction and are utilizing their quality to propel the crypto manufacture forward. Let’s spot them shine!

View source