The Qtum Foundation, developer of a blockchain platform for smart contracts, is pleased to announce that co-founder Patrick Dai has been named to the Chinese edition of Forbes magazine’s “30-under-30” list of young innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders.

Dai, also known as Xuguang Dai, is among 300 people in Greater China under the age of 30 “who are challenging conventions and making an impact on the world,” the business publication said last week. Forbes China recognized Dai for his accomplishments in the category of consumer technology.

“I feel very honored to be selected by Forbes 30 under 30,” said Dai, who previously worked for Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant. “The Qtum team will do our best to deliver one of the best blockchain platforms in the world.”

Active in the blockchain industry since 2012, Dai became so fascinated with the encryption software technology that underlays Bitcoin and other digital currencies that he abandoned his studies at the China Academy of Sciences before completing his Ph.D. in Communications and Information Systems.

Patrick Dai, co-founder of the Qtum Project

“The whole blockchain industry is booming around the world, especially in China,” Dai said.

In addition to co-founding Qtum, Dai has served as a co-founder and chief technology officer of Bitse, a blockchain-as-a-service platform. He is best known for his work associated with founding Qtum.

Creation of the Qtum blockchain model was inspired by the divide between developers in the world’s most-active blockchain communities, Dai said.

Qtum’s backers and supporters include Matthew Roszak, co-founder of Bloq, Roger Ver, a pioneer investor in blockchain-related startups, Anthony Di Iorio, a founder of the Ethereum project, and Star Xu, CEO of Okcoin.

The Qtum team is proud of Patrick’s accomplishments and the honor to work alongside him. We know we have a lot of outstanding talent on the team and in time we are sure many of them will be recognized for their efforts and innovations within the industry.

(Patrick is addressed under his Chinese nickname 帅初 — Shuai Chu — in the Chinese edition Forbes 30 under 30 list)