Brendan Blumer: The $4bn Dollar Dream

The Forbes profile of Block.one head Brendan Blumer suggests EOS is really making its bow on the mainstream.


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It’s already been a busy year for Block.one with the continuing growth of EOS and the long-awaited arrival of Voice.com and this activity has not gone unnoticed. This week, Forbes decided to profile its founder and CEO Brendan Blumer. It he talked all things EOS and the future of the blockchain. Here are some of the highlights. 

On Google’s vote of confidence

Google’s announcement that it was applying to become a block producer on the EOS network was seen as a major step forward for Block.one. It comes after Google also joined the governing council of Hedera Hashgraph and could, he believes, signal greater involvement of the Silicon Valley heavyweights. 

“I think all of them are exploring it in their own ways,” he says. “Some of them have different risk appetites. Google is pretty far along in that process. It’s just a matter of time before others continue to enter.”

Blockchain in China   

Blumer is based in Hong Kong and is perfectly positioned to see the evolving landscape for Blockchain. The country has been investing heavily in its own cryptocurrency DCEP and its blockchain network BSN.

“We see very aggressive adoption specific to blockchain technology happening in Asia and how you can create interoperability between public and private blockchain components. China is absolutely building a large private infrastructure,” he says adding that China has made the blockchain a ‘cornerstone of revolutionising their currency.’ 

“One of most incredible things about China, in terms of their economic growth, is how aggressively they pave the way for organizations to innovate with these new technologies, as opposed to America which impedes organizations with regulation,” he adds. 

On politics in the workplace 

Politics and tech have always made uneasy bedfellows. Coinbase has stated it will not allow political discussions in the workplace. It’s an acknowledgement of the political tensions which can flow between blockchain companies, which have always seen themselves as sitting outside of the mainstream. 

“When you want to make change, you can take two routes: cooperation and confrontation,” he says. “A lot of people in the space tend to be more anarchist… but I’m a big believer that the way you bring societal change is to first show that you can comply with the existing framework.”

For Blumer societal change can come by working with the system rather than tearing it down. “We can’t let perfect be the enemy of good,” he adds stating that if organisations such as Coinbase and Block.one get together, they can foster the change they want to see now. 

“Coinbase understand[s] what they are bringing to the world…through making digital assets accessible... but there is a lot of compliance that they are going to have to follow to safely operate for their employees,” he said. 

“Block.one is committed to compliance as well...We are focused on bringing as much of the advantage of the space to the public as possible. We want to earn the trust of the community and abide by legal frameworks…Then we want to engage in intelligent conversation on how we can make change.”

On stimulating the economy 

With COVID 19 governments around the world, including the US, have been pumping money into the economy. However, he says the way in which money has been added to the economy has been uneven.

“I think stimulus is the right way for governments to be addressing this problem… the problem is money gets allocated in the wrong way,” he explains. “One of the most frustrating aspects of this pandemic is that it really has made the wealthy wealthier…. Policies are being implemented in such a way that they are driving asset prices up for the wealthy and not properly redistributing the subsequent value back to the people that need it the most.

On the future of Block.one 

Whether launching Voice.com as the alternative to Facebook or moving into the enterprise space with EOS for business it has indeed been a busy 2020 for Blumer. However, there is more to come. 

“Block.one is a holding company, and see different business emerging but technology projects take a long time. One of the hardest demands to meet in this space is the expectation of speed by the community. And it’s great, it keeps you alive and keeps you focused,” he says. “I hope in 5 or 10 years I’m still doing this. I do love what I do.” 

(Written by Tom Cropper, Edited by Klaudia Fior)

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