6 questions for Ming Duan from Umee – 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 Ming Duan, co-founder and chief operating officer of Umee, a cross-chain DeFi hub that enables decentralized interactions between different blockchains.

Ming Duan’s knowledge of the crypto and blockchain world dates back to 2014, when she first learned about the burgeoning industry through the first-ever blockchain course in a business school. Since then, she has acquired a vast knowledge of crypto investing through hands-on practice. Duan brings unique insights to Umee as he has experience both as a crypto investor and as a builder in the ecosystem. Her goal for Umee is to build a platform where individuals can interact with different tokens and chains in one place. While driving Umee, Duan leads crypto investments at Argonautic Ventures and Fenbushi Capital. She graduated from Duke University and received her Masters of Business Administration in 2016.

1 – What is the biggest hurdle to mass adoption of blockchain technology?

Simply put, blockchain technology is too difficult to use.

When it comes to mass adoption, it’s really about comparing what blockchain technology can bring to users through existing solutions. The challenge is that our existing solutions mostly work. When I put on my investor hat on a new project, I always like to ask if blockchain is really necessary to achieve the goal for the product. From a user perspective, blockchain is often not needed if the target audience isn’t already on the Web3, since a centralized solution is already faster, cheaper, and easier to use.

So why are we here? Well, it’s because of the potential that blockchain-based applications can be as fast, cheap, and easy to use as existing solutions, while creating new solutions: new ways of looking at economic coordination, new ways of looking at finance, both from an open source and and open access perspective. There’s also that little extra element of decentralization. We’re getting there.

2 – From smart contracts to DApps to NFTs to DeFi, we’ve seen so many of the next crypto “killer apps” but none have really caught on yet. What sticks?

The idea of ​​a decentralized digital world will remain. It is still too early to say what will develop in crypto experimentation or what has already happened. Crypto follows market cycles and it takes time for people to understand this new industry. We will see new ideas and new experiments, and many of them will fail, but some of them will leave an impression on people that will push them to develop into something new. This process is entirely expected and healthy. Crypto is both a technological and a social paradigm shift. We can’t get it right in one try, and we have the luxury of a bright future to do trial and error. The promise of such an uncoordinated and distributed mechanism for running a digital world will stick in the minds of individuals. It will inspire questions designed to challenge the status quo and attract more talent to join the space and build this decentralized digital future.

3 – What are the top 5 crypto Twitter feeds you can’t live without and why?

Umee_CrossChain needs no explanation – it’s our bread and butter! I find such joy and excitement when I see Umee’s latest updates via our Twitter feed. Also, seeing Adora the octopus with his smiley face every now and then makes everyone happy, doesn’t it?

Zhu Su is your cheat sheet to being a crypto insider. He helps you zoom out and understand how crypto fits into the broader social and economic picture while paying attention to the macro trends. Often we get too deep in the weeds in the crypto space and forget the big picture, but grasping the big picture is what lays the foundation for solid long-term success.

Samczsun is why everyone should have a healthy sense of paranoia when it comes to software security in crypto. His habit of generously sharing security vulnerabilities and hack reviews is extremely beneficial even for non-technical readers.

If you are looking for an alpha or trying to land on the right side of the crypto crowd bell curve, I would recommend following ASvanevik. He is both a founder and a talented data scientist who has shed much-needed light on the dark forest of blockchain data. Alex has made a lasting impression on me since our first conversation.

Bond_dog_51 is my crypto partner, so his twitter feed is an important follow for me. As Umee’s Chief Executive Office, we work side by side to make this platform what it can be. I enjoy following his unique insight into the industry through his feed and I love reading his retweets.

And a sixth, just for fun! Weird_AnimaIs is one of the few non-crypto related Twitter accounts I follow. It makes me smile and I take a moment to appreciate the power of Mother Nature and how things are all connected. I’m a big fan of how nature follows the same patterns in interesting and transcendent ways.

4 – Which two superpowers would you most like to have and how would you combine them for good…or evil?

I wish I had the power to freeze time like Hermione in Harry Potter! We crypto folks always joke that it already feels like a month equals years in crypto time, with exciting new things happening every day and so much information to absorb. I’m a very slow reader and I like to spend time understanding the ins and outs of a topic before moving on to the next. Having 200 tabs open in my browser is inevitable because I don’t have enough time to process it all! How about a little one-hour time stop every day? I will be able to keep my Chrome from burning too fast.

Alternatively, I’d also like to have the superpower to clone myself – not just once, but twice! One of me would attend all crypto conferences and meetups while the other would follow the latest news and trends in the space. The third Ming would focus solely on shipping and buildings!

5 – What is the thing on your bucket list that is least likely to happen?

I’m afraid it will be the one where I do a part-time program at a culinary school. I’m a big foodie. I tried stove top cooking when I was six and almost applied to college cooking school, but I gave in to my mom and went to finance instead. Reading and practicing different recipes has been one of the most relaxing activities when taking a break from living in the limitless crypto world. Do you remember Monica from Friends? I imagine I would be just like them if I actually made my dream of becoming a chef come true. Although crypto never disappoints – in 2020 I’ve happily settled into all the grocery coins out there. Food was actually a big inspiration for Umee as the word means ‘delicious’ in Japanese! Team Umee can’t get enough of the Grocery Coin culture.

6 – How do you feel about extraterrestrial intelligence and the existence of life elsewhere in the universe?

Aliens absolutely exist! What we currently know about the universe is very limited, almost as far as we are in crypto adoption. The idea that life or any form of intelligence exists out there somewhere is really exciting. Although I’m a fan of The three body problemI would like to think that we should be careful when looking for aliens.

A wish to the young, up-and-coming blockchain community:

I wish and hope that more women in the crypto world use their voice. There is a diversity issue, but it’s important to highlight that women are already in the space, using their intelligence to drive the crypto industry forward. Let her shine!