So Eamon, what’s your official title at Dether, and what does that entail on a daily basis?

I’m a full stack developer, which entails a lot of COFFEE! … well, also working on coding new features to be production-ready for use in the app. There is a lot of research and testing, as many blockchain features don’t have a lot of previous examples to go by.

Right now I am working on the chat component for our app. An encrypted, decentralized, real-time chat feature using IPFS. I’m really excited about this feature — I think it further pushes Dether’s already user-friendly, practical focus by connecting users in-app.

What makes full stack development different from other types of development when building something like Dether?

I think it’s important to keep in mind the user interface and simplicity focus when building — especially with potentially complex features in crypto. A lot of back-end driven dApps forget this, and they end up being too technical for regular users. Having knowledge of both front-end and back-end is especially important here. Having said that, I think the line between front-end and back-end is less distinct than before when using modern stacks with the same platform and languages like node and react.

Interesting! How did you first become interested in development and later in blockchain technology?

I’ve always been interested in logic and problem solving growing up. I first took to online poker while building some basic programming side projects before eventually deciding to go to university for a four-year computer science degree.

I first got into blockchain through online poker. In 2015, some pure bitcoin poker sites emerged — all the hurdles of fiat currency removed, like large in-game fees and for exchange and transfer, over regulation and speed. I had always been interested in encryption and p2p technologies, so blockchain was immediately appealing to me.

You even had a unique experience during your studies building your final project related to cryptography and poker, can you talk a little bit about that?

Yes, we had a few months to work on a solely on one project. There is an old (pre-internet!) cryptography problem called “The mental poker problem”: is it possible to have a poker game without a trusted third party ensuring the fairness of the deal and the distribution of the winnings?

Only now with the advent of crypto for money and smart contracts for the trustless logic has this really become possible. I had seen the frustrations of the current online poker world with fiat, and I thought it would be a great project. I was lucky to find a professor who agreed and learned a lot working under Donal O’Mahony. I built a working POC version to demonstrate the fair dealing of cards and distribution of funds using smart contracts which gained notice even in the media!

That’s quite the blockchain journey, and a natural fit with your current projects. What’s your favorite aspect of building Dether?

Dether is an amazing opportunity for me — getting to work in the field that interests me most makes it much easier to be creative and enjoy work.

Working with new emerging technology is probably my favorite aspect, as there is no blueprint to follow and a lot of interesting challenges.

Many things that are trivial using a centralized trust system need to be re-thought when your core is decentralization and blockchain.

What do you hope to bring to the Dether team?

As cliché as it sounds, I like to think I can think outside the box, which is essential in blockchain. Too often, we see old models being overused with new technology. Blockchain won’t be the same as the internet with centralized database systems. It loses its advantages if it’s used this way.

I remember being at a blockchain hackathon and the key question the judges focused on asking each group was “Why use blockchain for your project?” and surprisingly, many teams struggled to answer.

Where’s a geographical area that you think Dether could have a lot of impact?

In the developing world, where the unbanked population is highest. I’m currently in Thailand, which is an overwhelmingly cash-based society. Although a great deal of the population are unbanked, most people still have a smartphone and are very up-to-date with latest apps and technology. Thailand currently has strict regulation on blockchain companies but is opening its doors increasingly fast — recently licensing four blockchain companies and an increasing government focus on exploring the tech.

A lot of blockchain companies see southeast Asia as a likely early adopter, with a strong focus on the Philippines lately, where many citizens have already adopted new, (non-blockchain) online forex and money sending sites to avoid fees sending money home from overseas.

Speaking of, what do you think is the biggest hurdles to mass adoption today? How long do you think it will take before blockchain technology and cryptocurrency goes mainstream?

I think the biggest hurdle right now is the barrier to entry — over tech heavy interfaces. The end user needs more simplicity and abstraction from 40 character hex addresses or hour long waits for bitcoin confirmations!

I believe mainstream adoption is much closer than people think. I think just one catalyst can be enough to push it mainstream. Gaming collectables/ in-game money, decentralized exchanges and lending, tokenization of real world assets all come to mind. Ethereum 2.0 can make blockchain a practical solution for many large scale public facing projects that are currently dismissed due to network speeds. I agree with the belief that blockchain now is similar to the internet in 1999 — that the hype that was traded on Dec 2017 will be delivered on in the coming years.

What is another positive impact that you think Dether could have in an outside field?

I think that Dether is extremely well positioned as practical use case and single click interface lends itself extremely well to regular user adoption. Since the 2018 bear market many dApps are trying to pivot in to simplicity focus, and I think Dether could serve as a market leader

You’ve had the opportunity to get to know the industry really well. What other blockchain and cryptocurrency projects have you worked on?

I actually worked with a fintech blockchain R&D team (far away from the crypto-anarchists!) at EdgeVerve Labs. We were mostly working on POC banking platforms using Ethereum smart contracts. This was early days for blockchain sector and was great to learn along with the team as there were no experts. We were sort of learning as we went. I remember when tools like MetaMask first came out and seemed like a godsend as they made life so much easier for development!

I more recently jumped on the opportunity to work with at ConsenSys with Virtue Poker who are building their solution to decentralized poker. This was really awesome, as I had experience from my final year project in exactly the same field and got to learn a lot from some top Ethereum devs at ConsenSys.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not building Dether or working on other projects?

I try to offset the time at the desk with some sports like skating, swimming and gym.

Bangkok is an extremely diverse, busy city so there is always a lot to do with time off like go to the street markets and tourist areas. There is also a very active nomad developer and blockchain community here to meet with like-minded people.

Is there a project you’ve come across recently that changed your mind about how you see the blockchain space? Anything you’re particularly interested in at the moment?

As mentioned before, I learned a lot from my professor Donal O’Mahony while working on my final year project. He directed me to some books by cryptography experts like Bruce Schneier.

Right now, I’m very interested in the decentralized exchanges space — it’s early days here, but I’m already really impressed with some of the Ethereum based exchanges and solutions, like MakerDao and stablecoin DAI. I think this is really powerful, and that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg here as these services improve and more people migrate to them from centralized services.

Thanks to Eamon for sitting down to share his blockchain journey and his time at Dether with us! You can find more of Eamon on LinkedIn.