What is your name, function and role at Stratis?

My name is Pieterjan Vanhoof and as a developer at Stratis I’m responsible for the front-end part of the wallets (Stratis Core and Breeze), as well as testing the release packages of those wallets.

How did you first learn about Bitcoin and the crypto space?

I learned about Bitcoin when I was at university. One of my classmates told me that I could make money just by running my computer 24/7. Being a student, that was like music to my ears. I dived in and found so much more than just a way to make money. As I was studying software development, I started scrolling through the source code and was hooked immediately.

Which aspects of Bitcoin and the crypto space made you choose to explore it more?

First of all, the ideology behind the whole crypto space really excited me: be in control of your own assets, instead of third parties deciding what you can and can’t do. Watching various documentaries about the banking and political system only deepened my interest in Bitcoin and its potential. I’m not a guy who’s big on conspiracy theories, but it’s clear that the current systems in place are insufficient and unfair.

Apart from the ideology, there’s also the technical part that made me explore the crypto space even more. Basically, Bitcoin is a combination of rather simple concepts combined into one marvelous system. While scrolling through the source code at first, I remember I would think: if this works like that, then surely it can get hacked that way. Each and every time, there was a mechanism blocking what I had just thought of. Beautiful.

Did you work at anything crypto related before you joined Stratis?

I did several small projects back in the day, from block explorers to adding functionality to wallets. All of these projects were built during my free time, I was not into crypto full time before I started working for Stratis.

How did you learn about the Stratis Platform?

I was always and will always be looking for innovative technology throughout the crypto space. Being a C# developer by trade, I was naturally attracted when I saw Stratis was developing a Bitcoin node in C# and building a blockchain platform from there. It did not take long for me to decide to buy some Stratis and start digging into the code.

When did you join Stratis and why?

After buying some Stratis in 2016, I joined their Slack and became part of the community they were actively building. It did not take long for me to realize that I could contribute to this community in my own way. I decided to port the Electrum wallet for Stratis. After delivering this, I was contacted by the Stratis team to work for them. At that time I was ready for a new opportunity and I had no interest in a company with a 9–5 job mentality. I immediately said yes.

How does a typical work day look like for you?

Stratis is based in London. However, I’m based in Belgium so most of the time I work from home. Working from home has, like most things, its advantages and disadvantages. I can work without being disturbed, but I do miss some of the camaraderie that you get in a work environment.

I start the day by going through new issues that were raised or going through some of the comments made on already opened issues. After that, I start or continue to work on the task that was assigned to me, this can vary from bug fixing, to adding features and testing the code. Every day we have a stand-up call with the developers. This is a chance to check in on what everyone is doing and see if it might interfere with a task that another developer is working on.

What would you consider as the greatest joys in the things you do for Stratis?

Throughout the years at Stratis there have been many joys and satisfying feelings, but nothing beats seeing the software being used, getting feedback or seeing other people contribute to the code that you have helped develop.

Another great thing to see is how many people decide to contribute some of their free time to help Stratis in their own way. We have seen a lot of community projects/initiatives that really motivated us to keep going.

What’s the moment that made you most proud so far at Stratis?

This must have been the moment were we launched the full node in production at the end of 2018. The entire team has worked very hard on that being where it is now and it has become a very powerful piece of software. The software is already way beyond what most people think it is and we’re working on improving it every single day.

In your own words what is Stratis?

To put it in a very few words: Stratis aims to make it as easy as possible for companies or individuals to get started with blockchain technology and applications. I’ve had the pleasure of being at most of the conferences and I’m always intrigued by the amount of interest in such a platform.

Do you see any room for improvements in Bitcoin and crypto?

Absolutely. Crypto is a very exciting and rapidly developing space. Simply keeping pace with all the new technology in this space is more than a full time job. In my opinion we’re still building the foundation. There’s currently no perfect solution, but I know there are a lot of teams out there working round the clock to make it happen. Man do I look forward to what the future might bring, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Do you see any room for improvements in Stratis?

Yes, there is always room for improvement. As I stated earlier, the crypto space is rapidly developing and companies need to adapt to new and improved technology. Stratis grew and continues to grow at a very rapid pace. This comes with its own difficulties. Thankfully, we have a team in place that is keen to tackle those difficulties head on.

What is the thing that drives and motivates you to build a better platform every single day?

There is not one thing that drives and motivates me, but a combination of several things, some of them being:

I want to be able to tell my (grand)children that I’ve accomplished something in life, that I have contributed to the world in a positive way. Stratis being open source and useable by anyone that wants to use it plays a big part in this.

I made a lot of new friends throughout the journey in both the Stratis team and the community. We’ve been through good and bad days together. A lot of us helped Stratis in every way we could. Us delivering on what we promised seems like the ultimate token of appreciation for all that hard work.

I owe a lot to Stratis being the success it is now, keeping that in mind I always want to give back.

What’s your future vision for Stratis and what is the thing you hope to achieve in the long-term for Stratis?

My vision for Stratis remains the same as it has been from the start. When most of the initial development is complete, there will be a platform (SDK) which developers with little blockchain experience can use to build their own applications. Once they gain the experience, they can contribute to our open source ecosystem in their own way.

When will Stratis have succeeded in your opinion?

This is a very good question and this interview is the first time I have really thought about it.

For me, personally, Stratis has succeeded when it has a perfect combination of a consultancy branch where businesses can get their blockchain application developed by Stratis and a core development branch where Stratis team members and community contributors work on the core software that makes those blockchain applications possible. The consultancy branch would serve as a permanent income in order to keep developing going on the platform.

I am a huge supporter of open source software and when I see the Stratis team members working together with contributors all around the world to create and enhance this revolutionary software, that is the point where, in my eyes, we will have succeeded.

And I would like to end with giving an opportunity to say anything you still want to say to the community or in general

In general I would like everyone to keep educating him/herself. A lot of the Bitcoin Core developers have been saying it quite succinctly, and it works for me: don’t trust, verify.

To our community I would like to say that I’m very proud of where we are now, even though there’s still a long way to go. In order to make Stratis a success, we will all have to do our fair share. Each and every one of you has a skillset that can drive the adoption of Stratis or blockchain technology in general. I would advise everyone to identify what their specific skill is and start using it!

Thanks a lot, Pieterjan for taking the time to answer all of the questions and sharing all of this information. Follow Pieterjan on Twitter here.

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