6 Questions for Lili Zhao from Neo – Cointelegraph Magazine
We ask developers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space for their thoughts on the industry…and throw in some random zingers to keep them on their toes!
This week tackles our 6 questions Lili Zhao, Director of Ecosystem Growth at Neo – an open-source blockchain development platform.
The A to Z of Lili Zhao:
AAuthenticity – easier said than done
BLockchain Advocate
Community — Neo has the best!
DAO – fascinating!
EEconomics – I am much more interested today than when I was a student
fAlling – never afraid of it because I keep coming back
GAme – life is a game so let’s play
Hot – N3 is hot
Ideas – too many ideas, too little focus
Job – growth of the neo-blockchain ecosystem through profession and passion
Key – Keep your private key safe
Love – may all be blessed with it
MInimalist – a messy wannabe minimalist
Neo – an open network for the smart economy
OPen source – love it
Polaris – Neo-Hackathon, register now
Qi – breath, energy and flow
Raison d’etre – if you found it, tell me how?
SSpicy food – can’t live without for more than a week!
Ttwitter — @Lili_Zurich
unique – that’s all of us
vegetarian – 90% of the time I am
Wallet – Get a NEO wallet on our website
X — Do you have a word suggestion?
YField – a stable NEO/GAS yield
Zfrom urich, joie de vivre!
1 — Does it matter if we ever find out who Satoshi really is or was? Why or why not?
It doesn’t matter at all! The technology created by Satoshi and its legacy lived on and will live on. One of the main draws to the blockchain ecosystem is its community-driven spirit, rather than being about personal glorification. Imagine someone coming out and actually being confirmed as Satoshi Nakamoto. If this person differs greatly from the ideas of many in terms of values and ethics, it can destroy some dreams and beliefs!
Satoshi’s anonymity has allowed people to have their own version of who they could or should be. The identity, or lack thereof, of Satoshi has been elevated to a Holy Grail to be pursued.
We say curiosity kills the cat — and in this case, curiosity can kill bitcoin! Let Satoshi remain a legendary myth, and let’s honor their creation, Bitcoin, by evolving it towards mass adoption.
2 – Which countries are doing the most to support blockchain and which are being left behind?
There are a few countries that immediately spring to mind for those of us working in the blockchain space – namely Switzerland, Singapore, El Salvador, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates – especially Dubai – and more. However, in my opinion, China is the country that is doing the most to support the adoption of blockchain technology. It may surprise some people as China is known for banning bitcoin mining and crypto trading. Let me explain why.
China’s state-backed blockchain-based service network is working on an interoperable blockchain infrastructure at both domestic and international levels. As an open-source blockchain platform, Neo is part of the permissionless blockchains of the international version of the BSN. The organization plans to support several future central bank digital currencies – an initiative in which China is the undisputed champion.
At the national level, the BSN integrates Neo’s Jiuquan chain for large-scale issuance of NFTs, or distributed digital certificates – its alternative name as preferred by China. As He Yifan, CEO of Red Date Technology – BSN’s technology support provider – noted, “NFTs in China will see billions of dollars in annual production going forward.” The use of the term “digital certificate” indicates that the Technology could be used to digitize any asset and automate any paper-based process with smart contracts.
Mass adoption of blockchain technology can only happen if the underlying infrastructure is built with it from the ground up. That’s because it’s a replacement rather than an upgrade of the existing legacy technology.
China is leading this digital transformation in building blockchain infrastructure and adopting large-scale, mainstream use cases. This will greatly advance the entire industry worldwide and benefit everyone in the long term.
3 – Which is more stupid: $500,000 bitcoin or $0 bitcoin? Why?
Bitcoin at $500,000 is more silly because Bitcoin at $0 is impossible!
Ten years ago, Bitcoin would have been considered silly at $50,000. Today it has become the norm, even if some question its sustainability. Bitcoin will never go zero because it has intrinsic value beyond its technological and monetary merits. In addition, it has become a domain of economics, philosophy and politics.
Value has been redefined in the smart economy based on blockchain technology. The factors that make things valuable according to current economic theories, such as labor, production costs, utility or even scarcity, can no longer explain the rise of cryptocurrencies. Take the memecoin Dogecoin for example: it has an infinite supply and ranks 12th on CoinMarketCap at the time of writing. Or is it because there is a godlike father figure in Elon Musk?
Whatever the case, the point is that the value has been fundamentally challenged. Anyone imagining Bitcoin going to zero is too attached to traditional economic theories to recognize this paradigm shift. And stupidity can be the birthplace of innovation. So be kind to stupidity! (stupid emoticon here)
4 — What was the most interesting place you have ever visited and why?
I would say Canggu surf beach in Bali is the most interesting place I have ever been to. It’s high on my list, not because of the exotic nature, but because of the feelings it evoked in me while surfing there – a feeling of total freedom and flow! I’m a more spiritual person, so a place with only physical spectacles will please or impress me; but to move me it has to evoke something deep.
But despite my passion for surfing, I’m actually pretty bad at it. Haha! I want to get better, but for me it’s more about the experience than the competition. As someone who values experience above all else, this question is one I hope to get a different answer to every year.
5 — What talent do you lack but wish you had? How would you use it if you had it?
I wish I could sing so I could use that talent to make some cool songs that make people happy or have a positive impact on their lives. Our thoughts and emotions are often suppressed because words are not enough to capture them. When properly captured by the linguistically gifted, they are poetry.
However, when they are captured verbally and conveyed musically, they are like food and cocktails for the soul – both nourishing and tasty. A song with the right lyrics and melody can easily transport me into a state of bliss, calm or melancholy.
Of course, there’s also the possibility of becoming a commercial hit while doing what you love. Singing is one of the few talents that offers such an opportunity.
I would then tokenize all my songs on the Neo blockchain and receive and distribute royalties with full transparency. Here the use case appeals to me more than a commercial hit. I suppose I could be a hit just singing – people would pay me to shut up!
6 — Who makes sense to you and who doesn’t make sense at all?
When I was younger I was way more opinionated and binary so I could have given you a long list of who made sense and who didn’t! I’m smarter now. At least that’s my feeling. This may not make any sense at all to someone witnessing the stupid things I still say and do at my not so tender age.
I’m an existentialist. I believe that life has no inherent meaning apart from what each of us does that gives it meaning. There are three key qualities that I value and that guide me in life: freedom (to do what I love), authenticity (to be who I am), and growth (a dynamic process that evolves with new experiences).
I believe that everything that happens has meaning, even if it may seem meaningless at the time it happened. Navigating through nuance is the fundamental difference that separates us from artificial intelligence, which works best in binary.
A wish to the young, up-and-coming blockchain community:
Nobody would ask for the elusive killer DApp if it were already here – it would be everywhere!
https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/04/24/6-questions-for-lili-zhao-of-neo 6 Questions for Lili Zhao from Neo – Cointelegraph Magazine
