Hal Robson-Kanu interview: West Brom Striker by Day, Blockchain Entrepreneur by Night
Article by: https://www.independent.co.uk/author/jack-pitt-brooke @jackpittbrooke
The Wales and West Brom striker is an expert in blockchain technology and crypto-currencies, and intends to use his knowledge on a new application out next year
Thomas Robson-Kanu, known to the football world as ‘Hal’, is explaining exactly what ‘blockchain’ is. With patience and precision, he moves through the basic definitions towards more advanced concepts. What is crypto-currency? What is a smart contract? What is network effect? What distinguishes BitCoin from LiteCoin, or DigiByte from Ethereum?
But by night, or rather in the afternoons, Robson-Kanu is a blockchain entrepreneur. When West Brom training finishes at lunch-time he drives down to London, sees his family and then goes to his office in Chiswick. Where he works until 9pm on ‘Sports Ledger’, the blockchain-based sport data-sharing platform his team have been developing for the last two years. “Lots of athletes have other interests. Some of my team-mates finish playing FIFA at 12.30 at night.”
So two years ago, Robson-Kanu, his brother David, childhood friend and developer Bozidar Ijacic and German blockchain expert Fabian Kippenberg decided to launch a blockchain-based sports application. Early last year they came up with the name ‘Sports Ledger’, and the application will be gradually rolled out from the second quarter of 2019 onwards.
Eventually Robson-Kanu wants Sports Ledger to improve connections between clubs and fans and to even hold biometric data from athletes’ training sessions from all over the world, information that has never been public before. “Most blockchain enthusiasts have a bias for transparency,” he explains. “They feel that everything should be open and available for access.”
For the full Independent article, please head over to: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/hal-robsonkanu-west-bromwich-albion-championship-interview-blockchain-bitcoin-cambridge-analytica-a8476756.html
Follow Sports Ledger on:
Website: https://www.sportsledger.io
Telegram: https://t.me/sportsledger
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sportsledger_io
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sportsledger
Medium: https://medium.com/sports-ledger
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/sportsledger
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sportsledger
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sportsledger
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/sportsledger
