Innovating Beyond ‘Bad Tech that We Can Live With’: An Interview with Beniamin Mincu, CEO & Founder of MultiversX

by

As someone who has had the privilege of closely following MultiversX’s journey, I am genuinely impressed by their dedication to creating a robust, extensible, and developer-friendly blockchain platform. Beniamin Mizrahi, MultiversX’s co-founder, shared valuable insights into their approach and the impact it has on their community and ecosystem.

As a analyst in the GoCrypto series, I had the privilege of conducting an interview with Beniamin Mincu, the inspiring CEO and founder of MultiversX. In this conversation, Beniamin generously imparted his perspectives on the repercussions of MultiversX’s recent technological innovations, their plans for fostering community involvement, and their aspirations for shaping the future landscape of blockchain technology.

Each installation derives its power from GoMining, an initiative that prioritizes eco-friendly Bitcoin mining using NFT technology. This approach aims to create a more balanced mining ecosystem.

Mincu’s Role in Advancing MultiversX and Blockchain Technology

Beniamin is well-known for his groundbreaking contributions in the blockchain industry. He has played a pivotal role in creating scalable L1 solutions, with a particular focus on enhancing cross-chain security, facilitating interoperability, enabling asset tokenization, and building sovereign chains. Prior to joining MultiversX, Beniamin co-founded and headed Metachain Capital, a digital asset investment fund that supports emerging innovation in the blockchain sector by providing capital, essential connections, strategic guidance, and more, with backing from industry heavyweights.

With his guidance at the helm, MultiversX has risen to become one of the leading blockchain projects, handling an impressive workload of 263,000 transactions per second. Its expanding ecosystem comprises over 8,200 decentralized applications (dApps) and 3,200 nodes. Notably, MultiversX stands out as an eco-friendly solution with a proven carbon-neutral status.

The newest deployment of the Sovereign Chains by the chain offers on-the-spot execution environments for sovereign contracts, boasting a 100-fold scaling capability, and acting as a coordinating hub for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other Layer 1 networks.

Effects of the Auction-Based Mechanism on Network Decentralization and Security

As a researcher studying the developments in the MultiversX ecosystem, I’ve observed a pivotal moment marked by the introduction of an auction-based system. In this new setup, validators have been assigned a crucial role that significantly enhances the network’s security and decentralization. Allow me to elaborate on Beniamin’s perspective.

Based on my extensive experience in the cryptocurrency industry, I can confidently say that the implementation of the auction model has brought about noteworthy enhancements to the network. The Nakamoto Coefficient, a significant metric reflecting the decentralization level of a blockchain, has witnessed a remarkable 50% increase. This means that more nodes are now participating in validating transactions and securing the network, which is a clear positive sign.

In the past, smaller providers faced significant challenges in expanding their businesses within the MultiversX staking ecosystem due to the limited number of validator slots and high demand. Even if they managed to secure stake commitments from delegators, they had to endure lengthy waitlists with estimated waiting periods reaching several months. Consequently, during this phase, these providers often had to offer lower Annual Percentage Rates (APR) due to the inactivity of their waiting nodes, leaving unhappy delegators who could potentially churn due to uncertainty.

Beniamin observes that the system has become significantly more merit-driven, and there are already victories to report among smaller providers who have experienced a five to tenfold increase in nodes following the Staking V4 update.

A notable achievement in this field is that of Colombia Staking, a South American staking operator. They gained the community’s favor through their active engagement in the ecosystem and innovative method of setting up nodes at home using Starlink and solar energy.

Enhancing Developer Productivity and Testing Accuracy

To quicken the development process and make network testing more efficient, MultiversX launched Chain Simulator as an additional tool. Beniamin explains.

As a researcher, I would explain that the chain simulator serves as an effective tool for recreating the actions of a local testnet. Unlike typical testnets, this simulator functions without requiring a consensus group, enabling secluded experimentation. It offers the advantage of mirroring the state of the mainnet, thereby fostering precise, authentic development environments and expediting comprehensive testing of smart contracts.

One significant benefit of using Chain Simulator is that it allows for instant transaction execution, even while regular mainnet is processing blocks in real time. According to Beniamin, this feature sets Chain Simulator apart.

Based on my extensive experience as a blockchain developer, I strongly believe that one of the most significant advantages of using a testnet like Chain Simulator is its ability to execute transactions instantly, even though the mainnet may have longer blocktimes. This feature allows developers to perform comprehensive tests involving large volumes of transactions much more swiftly than they would on the mainnet or against a real-life blockchain.

Prioritizing Swift Fixes and Future Improvements

To help validators overcome the obstacles they encounter, MultiversX has introduced Vega Patch 2 – an upgrade to the protocol that encompasses targeted solutions and enhancements. Beniamin elaborates on this.

As a seasoned developer and active member of the MultiversX network community, I strongly believe that addressing issues in production, no matter their size, should be prioritized promptly. Based on my extensive experience working with complex distributed systems, even seemingly minor problems can escalate into major issues with unforeseen consequences.

Moving forward, Beniamin mentions that the fourth phase of the staking module has been finished, but there are still potential enhancements to come. He points out,

After launching our mainnet in 2020, we unveiled and engaged the community in discussing our staking strategy. The fourth phase marked the completion of this roadmap, making MultiversX one of the most decentralized non-PoW networks next to Ethereum with over 3,300 validator nodes. We’re closely tracking the development, receiving positive feedback and outcomes thus far, and plan to maintain the current structure without significant modifications in the near term. Our primary goal now is enhancing finality (up to 90% improvement), reducing latency (from 6s to 1s), creating a superior ecosystem for developers, and upgrading crypto infrastructure through the Sovereign Chains SDK for native interoperable L2s.

Epochs Handler Refactor and System Management

Beniamin talks about the advancements made with the revised epochs handler, significantly upgrading the network management and flexibility of MultiversX. He asserts,

The epoch manager is the sole component responsible for determining when new features and significant repairs should be activated, allowing the network to synchronize in terms of behavior modifications. Consequently, most major subcomponents within nodes depend heavily on it. In our recent refactoring effort, we aimed to streamline and align this component with our coding standards, resulting in a lighter, more flexible, less error-prone component during development, and simpler to integrate into various internal repositories requiring distinct processing before/after a specific epoch. Currently, it manages 114 distinct flags on the mainnet.

Community and Developer Feedback

The input from both the public and our development team significantly influences the direction of future advancements for MultiversX, according to Beniamin.

“We receive feedback from our community and collaborators in two primary categories. The first group comprises dedicated individuals who trust our technology, team, and vision, and remain actively involved to track the advancements of MultiversX protocols and core app development. The second category consists of Web3 enthusiasts exploring various chains. They recognize MultiversX as a powerful, adaptable solution addressing critical concerns such as security, scalability, and user experience/developer experience across multiple Web3 platforms.”

He continues,

As an analyst, I’m constantly interacting with the community and Web3 builders to identify priorities, distribute resources effectively, and develop strategies for expansion and progress. Our latest roadmap unveils a structure that invites community participation, enabling everyone to endorse initiatives in various domains, including our protocol and Sovereign Chains, through an upvoting mechanism.

Driving Adoption, Innovation, and Community Engagement

As a researcher exploring the MultiversX platform, I’ve discovered that they employ a comprehensive strategy to foster adoption and advance innovation within their community. They actively participate in significant industry events, broadening their reach and establishing valuable connections. Additionally, they organize large-scale hackathons, providing opportunities for developers to collaborate and build innovative projects on the MultiversX network.

He notes,

“Conferences and meetups serve dual purposes in our experience. Primarily, they provide valuable opportunities for engaging directly with the community to gather feedback and generate ideas for improvement. These face-to-face interactions are both enjoyable and effective. Additionally, they act as powerful channels for disseminating information about MultiversX technology, services, ecosystem, builders, and the upcoming on-chain upgrade, which could revolutionize various industries. Furthermore, these events are ideal platforms for establishing new connections, securing deals, and initiating collaborations.”

Discussing how the MultiversX Network Hackathon has influenced the creation of innovative blockchain projects and attracted the interest of academia, Beniamin explains.

“MultiversX is committed to a prolonged plan and methodology for bringing on board builders and developers. The projected outcome of these endeavors includes maintaining current progress at minimum. We engage in partnerships with nearly 10 universities worldwide, conducting research on blockchain applications alongside professors and industry professionals. Additionally, we offer EGLD payments for school taxes and have MultiversX courses incorporated into master’s programs. Our hackathons generate significant participation, with the latest event attracting approximately 1,000 developers who formed around 150 teams, competing for $1M in rewards and pioneering innovations within Web3 technology.”

He continues,

Our large-scale hackathons have vividly illustrated the significant enthusiasm for MultiversX, with hundreds of innovative projects showcased. These initiatives have utilized the platform’s distinctive features, ecosystem, and tools, covering a wide range of applications. From payments and decentralized finance (DeFi) to tokenization, Web3 gaming, Metaverse experiences, and developer tools, the scope of these projects is truly diverse. These events serve to invigorate our builder community and broaden the connections within the MultiversX ecosystem.

Moving forward, MultiversX intends to boost developer involvement by forming alliances with esteemed educational institutions. This includes the introduction of a blockchain course in collaboration with eCornell for a cohort of 100 students, as well as a partnership with Milton Friedman University in Hungary to organize a hackathon focused on Web3 projects. Additionally, Sovereign Chains funds are designated to foster new projects and make the technology more appealing to developers. MultiversX is also holding talks with potential cross-chain collaborators, eagerly anticipating their upcoming integration.

Read More

2024-07-25 23:54