Exclusive interview with Emin Gün Sirer from Avalanche

During the second edition of the Avalanche Summit in Barcelona from May 3rd to 5th, the Cointribune team had the opportunity to meet and exclusively interview Emin Gün Sirer. He is a former professor at the prestigious Cornell University in the United States and CEO founder of Ava Labs.

Introduction

At the Avalanche Summit, Emin Gün Sirer and Avalanche announced many partnerships. Alibaba, Fireblocks, Vodafone, Chainlink, and many more. The list is long and shows the direction in which Avalanche is evolving. After the group photo with the Ava Labs team, Emin Gün Sirer granted us about thirty minutes on the last day to wrap up this Avalanche summit and talk about his vision for the future of the ecosystem.

Interview

Q: After three days of intense discussions, across more than four stages, with hundreds of speakers, we had the opportunity to hear and discuss a wide range of topics. In your opinion, what are the most important points that were addressed?

Firstly, I would like to mention one of the revolutions we will bring to the ecosystem, COA or “Coin-Operated Agents.” These are AI-operated agents on a blockchain that can process transactions written in natural human language, whether it’s English, French, Turkish, or any other language. With COAs, there’s no need for Solidity, Rust, or any other programming language. It will now be possible to interact directly with AI in a natural way, trusting it as a reference executor.

This is a fair reaction to my talk this afternoon :-). https://t.co/41LAsUprGY

— Emin Gün Sirer🔺 (@el33th4xor) May 5, 2023

This is one of my personal ideas, and I wanted to present it at the Avalanche Summit to show the range of possibilities. It’s a particularly bold idea that will certainly provoke many reactions in the Web3 ecosystem and beyond.

COAs will allow for non-developers to start developing, although developers will always have an advantage. Because they better understand the mechanism and how to communicate with AI.

The second point is the applications that emerged from discussions about subnets. Whether it’s gaming, DeFi, MNBC, or even government use cases, subnets are the ideal solution for many reasons. For example, in video games, being able to control fees, loading, and being the master in your own kingdom is a small revolution in itself. Public blockchains cannot cater to everyone’s needs.

Finally, I notice the tremendous success of certain assets launched on the Avalanche blockchain, particularly the explosion of BTC.b. It’s interesting to note that currently, there is more BTC.b in circulation than BTC on the Lightning Network. This phenomenon is partly explained by all the advantages that the Avalanche network offers to BTC.b holders, such as access to DeFi.

Q: The number of active subnets is around 40 on Avascan, and it goes up to 58 registered on the Avalanche explorer. What do you think of these numbers?

I believe the future of subnets will be in the hundreds of thousands. Currently, we are seeing a steady growth in the number of subnets being developed, and the interest is clearly exponential. We have a very good architecture to attract projects and assist them during development.

Q: How do we go from 50 to 100,000 subnets?

First and foremost, at the launch, we lacked a comprehensive wallet architecture. The wallet was designed to interact with a single chain at that time. With the Core Wallet, everything changes. We have the ability to interact with all chains, and it happens natively. Moreover, Wrapped Messaging now connects the subnets to each other, creating even more interaction.

Q: Do you think price is a hindrance to development?

We would like to see even more decentralization, and that is why, the cost of decentralization should not rest only on one entity. The architecture surrounding subnets puts pressure on projects to create incentives for joining a specific subnet. It’s a decentralized competition.

Q: How do you envision the future of interconnection? With offerings like Avalanche’s Wrapped Messaging, IBC, or Axelar’s messaging?

I believe that in the end, we will see a proliferation of communication offerings between blockchains to create a truly interconnected Web3. At some point, we will be connected to all these other products and services.

Q: How do you attract developers and talent to Avalanche instead of another blockchain?

First and foremost, we have partnered with companies like Amazon to offer $100,000 to the most interesting projects that want to build on Avalanche. Our technology is superior, and developers are the first ones to realize that. Additionally, we always strive to listen and do our best to ensure that developers have what they need with us.

End of the Avalanche Summit

On these words, we conclude our exclusive interview with Emin Gün Sirer. Much has been said during the Avalanche Summit, and subnets are clearly in a phase of growth in terms of interest, possibilities, and developments. Avalanche is positioning itself to become the go-to blockchain for gaming, DeFi, and companies seeking full control over their blockchains. Furthermore, Ava Labs continues to surprise us with powerful tools like COA, Wrapped Messaging, and the Core Wallet.

In the months and years to come, it will be exciting to follow the evolution of Avalanche and its subnets. The blockchain and cryptocurrency sector is constantly evolving. Innovative projects like Avalanche have the potential to transform the digital landscape.

The success of projects launched on the Avalanche platform will largely depend on the team’s ability to attract and retain developers and partners. If innovations like COAs, Wrapped Messaging, and the Core Wallet continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, Avalanche could establish itself as a significant player in the blockchain space.

However, it is important to remember that Avalanche’s success will also depend on developments in the broader blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. Regulators, governments, and other industry stakeholders will influence the success of Avalanche and its competitors. Therefore, it will be essential for the Avalanche team to stay informed and adaptable facing these changes.

Find the articles on the Avalanche Summit here: day-1, day-2, day-3.

Conclusion

Overall, the Avalanche Summit highlighted the progress made by Avalanche. It also shed light on the innovations and challenges ahead for the platform. By continuing to attract talent and partners, meeting developers’ needs, and maintaining a clear vision of the future, Avalanche has all the chances to continue growing and thriving in the blockchain and cryptocurrency field.