Meet Gregory Saive, Head Foundation Developer at NEM

Can you tell us a bit about your background?

I’m from Belgian and grew up bilingually speaking French/German due to my location (near the german border in Belgium). I’m very passionate about languages which also applies in the tech field with programming languages such as C++, PHP, Typescript, Python and Java which I have professional experience in. I started scripting when I was 9 when I got my first Commodore64, then moved to more robust programming skills with C and C++ basics when I was 12 and my dad offered me my first PC (Pentium 3). Programming was actually my dad’s hobby, I’m very proud that I have made it a professional career path for myself!

How did you get involved with NEM?

My NEM journey started with a research about distributed ledger technology in 2014. I then started developing the PacNEM project which really evolved to a showcase project for the NEM blockchain platform. The NEM community welcomed me warmly. I have been following and contributing to forum posts, Telegram and Slack discussions and many other communication channels of NEM for years now.

Which part of Catapult are you most excited about?

I’m most excited about being able to run my own private blockchain network with so much comfort. I have been working alongside the SDK teams to permit easier and better client implementations of the Catapult protocol and I’m looking forward to seeing it act in a public environment.

I’m also excited about being able to wrap transactions in atomic wrappers, aka. aggregate transactions. In fact, this opens the door for an infinite number of useful transaction schemes.

What are you currently working on?

I have been working on many feature descriptions and focusing on the Catapult technology with its upcoming Public Network Release. Catapult comes with many never-heard-of features that I am very excited to be able to use daily!

Where do you see the future of Blockchain/ Crypto in 5 years?

Adoption in Government agencies: Custodial services, tax returns

Financial Services: Adoption in several industry sectors in combination with IoT.

Fun Facts

Favorite movie: Into the Wild

Favorite book: Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Favorite hobby: Football, cycling

Top holiday spot: Mallorca (Spain), Lago di Garda (Italy)