Meet Waves Association members: Marc Jansen
Marc Jansen, professor at the University of Applied Sciences Ruhr West, speaks about mass adoption prospects for blockchain and a gap between academic research and practical implementation.
Q: When and how did you get interested in blockchain?
A: Originally, I studied mathematics and computer science, I was always on the edge between computer science and math. I studied a lot of cryptography and distributed systems, so blockchain came quite naturally to me. On the one hand, it’s distributed systems of decentralized nodes, on the other hand, it has a lot to do with mathematics and cryptography. I read about it quite early — around 2010 — and I immediately got interested. But it took me quite a while to do something practical. Around 2013, I did more reading and got behind the architecture and technicalities of those systems.
Q: You’ve been a Waves enthusiast since 2016. What did originally attract you to the project?
A: Basically, if I think back, it was the slogan, “Blockchain for the people.” What attracts me most in general about blockchain technology is democracy that stands behind it, so that we have a network of equal nodes that make decisions together and develop the future together. And that was very well represented by Waves’ slogan. Then I started reading about [Waves], I read its whitepaper and I very much liked the idea of simple asset creation — which wasn’t so easy back then. I liked that Sasha planned to implement a blockchain that could be easily used with a low entrance barrier.
Q: Another way of interpreting this slogan, which doesn’t contradict to what you just said, of course, is blockchain gearing for mass adoption. What is your take on the current state of blockchain mass adoption and what could be done to step it up?
A: If I think back to 2015–2016, [the main issues were] the high entrance barrier to this kind of systems, as well as user interface design and user experience. And Waves managed that very well. If you look at the client, it has a nice UI and offers great user experience. So, this is no longer a problem. What I currently see as the biggest problem is that we still don’t have a killer application for blockchain. Of course, we have bitcoin and other things around money, we have a new move, decentralized finance, which attracts a lot of people. But it’s not yet at a level where the average Joe uses it. There are several reasons for that. First, most of the projects I’m aware of, including Waves, lack a clear marketing strategy towards everyday Joe. They are more or less known in the blockchain field, but hardly outside it. And this comes alongside the onboarding issue: how can we get people onboard in the blockchain space. Basically, you need to buy bitcoin somehow, and only then you can buy ETH, WAVES or other cryptocurrencies. And, depending on the country you live in, buying bitcoin may not be so easy. And, in this respect, I very much appreciate the step of Waves.Exchange, to add a possibility to buy WAVES or bitcoin directly via credit card. Then you still have the hassle of registration, KYC and AML processes. I think this is the biggest problem that we face bringing the technology to everyday Joe rather than to other people who already are in the blockchain field.
Q: You are an academic. From your viewpoint, is there a gap between academic research and practical blockchain implementation?
A: There is a big gap on both ends. On the one hand, we see a lot of academic research in this field. When I read those research papers, I often have an impression that it’s nice and well done research but what is a practical implication of that? What blockchain will benefit from that, and what are other benefits? On the other hand, I see lots of developments in the blockchain field, which is very hands-on and practical, but oftentimes lacks a theoretical grounding of the approach. But I’m not even sure [this gap] needs to be filled, since both parties seem to be doing quite well, and sometimes we see academic research brought into production. The best example is the migration of bitcoin NG into Waves NG. It originates from a paper about bitcoin NG that was later picked up by Waves developers who adapted it for the Waves protocol, resulting in the fastest blockchain out in the field.
Q: As a member of the Waves Association, what do you think are the most vital tasks that lie ahead for the association?
A: Honestly, there’s one critical thing that the association really needs to fiddle with, and that it to ensure that the association really has some power in the further development of the Waves ecosystem. So far, not many decisions have been taken by the association, and it is all still managed from the Waves headquarters, and I’d really like to see that moving towards the association making decisions that are crucial for the ecosystem. If we do not manage to ensure that, the association is just an empty building that we have set up but it has no meaning at all. All other things result from that.
Q: We’ve already talked about the mass adoption issue. What are other challenges that the blockchain space is facing at this point?
A: Fragmentation. We have so many blockchains out there that try to solve very similar problems. The market capitalization of blockchain technology is still about nothing, compared with the US dollar, for example. But if you think that this capitalization is still split across many projects, then you quite easily see why those projects do not have the impact they should have. The fragmentation is a big problem, and Gravity is going to tackle that, and I hope they’ll manage to. That’s the best approach to blockchain unification that I have seen for quite some time.
Q: Where there are problems, there are opportunities, as well. What do you think are the most promising opportunities currently in the blockchain space?
A: I think DeFi is really able to make a difference. I don’t think it’s just by chance that bitcoin was the first implementation of blockchain. It starts sort of like money and then develops into DeFi where you can really replace the traditional banking system with a decentralized system in which you are really in control of what is happening with your money. And that’s also a good chance to achieve mass adoption because everybody is interested in money. That’s a good use case that can attract a lot of people. If you look at things, like Neutrino, for example, the interest generated on a daily basis is just incredible. If that proves to be a stable system, — and you need time for that — it can really make a difference for mass adoption.
