Meet the Devs! — #1 Ren Zhang
In a new series dedicated to introducing you to more of our community and team, we will be meeting some of our developers and people behind the scenes looking to make the Nervos Network expand and reach its full potential.
In this first episode, we will be chatting with Ren Zhang, the lead Researcher at Nervos, to understand what excites him in the world of blockchain and crypto and what changes need to be made in the space.
Q: How did you start your journey in blockchain and cryptocurrency?
Ren: I was mesmerized by Cryptography during my bachelor studies. It is the mathematical discipline with the strongest smell of gunpowder.
Geniuses propose system designs and destroy each other’s designs from previously unexplored angles. I enjoy reading about these dramas. Strangely, despite studying at one of the world’s centers in Cryptography, I’ve never used heavy cryptography in my research.
Like many other researchers, I joined the field of cryptocurrencies via both by accident and destiny. During my master’s study, I published a paper about using PoW to strengthen P2P networks, which eventually led to the PhD position at COSIC.
After two years of exploration in various research topics, I ended up in the nascent field of cryptocurrencies, which involve PoW, P2P, and designing and breaking systems. From hindsight, I was lucky to find an emerging field that matches well with my skill set during my doctoral study.
I learned only recently that Len Sassaman, a former PhD student of my supervisor Bart Preneel, is a strong candidate of Satoshi Nakamoto. He also had a background in P2P and committed suicide right after Satoshi disappeared and one year before I joined COSIC!
Q: What parts of the space are you most excited about in your research right now?
Ren: In the past few years, the primary focus of my research is to analyze PoW consensus protocols via tools from artificial intelligence. There is still tons of work to be done in this area.
New consensus protocols based on radical ideas are published without rigorous security analysis, which calls for justification, verification, or disenchantment. Meanwhile, existing results are constantly improved by new observations and new proving techniques, revealing insights on the theoretical limits, which may further lead us to more secure protocol designs.
Another focus of my recent research is comparing UTXO- and account-based models. This is a collaboration with the Cardano research team. I am enthusiastic about this topic as it involves so many different perspectives and seems impossible to tackle at first glance. Unlike the previous line of research where I try to strengthen every step and to pursue preciseness, in this study I would like to explore the best efforts by connecting various areas.
I will also work with my colleagues to strengthen the security and privacy of Nervos Layer two network. Who knows what the future can bring!
Q: What are the changes do you think we need to see to take blockchain to the next level?
Ren: I will limit my answer to permissionless blockchains. I think the answer lies in the social and political context, rather than the technology itself.
The necessary changes to take blockchain further: the world getting more multilateral with the US focusing more on its domestic issues and China taking a more active role in the world, and the continuous downfall of the US dollar’s supremacy as the world currency.
These changes may result in scenarios that call for a trustless platform to settle critical international issues and non-sovereign currencies to settle certain agreements. These scenarios are unimaginable to most people.
However, we have plenty of examples where the course of history changes drastically within one generation: the 20th century has witnessed the international monetary system transforming from the gold standard to the Bretton Woods system and gradually to the current US dollar’s supremacy. I don’t think the US dollar’s supremacy is the ultimate step in history.
Q: What’s the most interesting thing about blockchain that makes you want to work in the sector? Anything you dislike?
Ren: If I didn’t enter this field, I may be a postdoc at a distant university working on some obsolete ancient math problems. This rapidly-changing field of blockchain pushes me to think deeper, act faster and communicate more often, which is beneficial for my personal growth.
I sincerely appreciate it. The world-leading developers of Nervos and our impressive development and deployment productivity allow me to learn new challenges as they emerge, which is another treasure vault for a researcher.
Q: What aspect of Nervos do you think has the most power to impact the blockchain space?
Ren: I am optimistic about the future of Nervos simply because of its rational and solid design. Nervos is an ambitious project that tries to make the right choices in every aspect. It is ambitious in that we aim to offer the strongest functionalities among the competitors, and we have the skills to implement our ambition, which can be testified by the track records of our members. Its value is not abducted by any radical idea — which could be proven impractical — -or technology — which could be proven outdated as new technologies emerge.
