How did you first get involved with web3 and what drew you to the Cosmos ecosystem specifically?
So once covid happened. It was the first time I actually had free time as I was laid off for a few months. I have always been fascinated with tech/ can build computers but never had the time to fundamentally research crypto. I spent endless hours watching youtube videos, reading mediums etc. I started off as most typically do, I went into Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, crypto seemed so fragmented and did not make much sense of being futuristic or at least not any time in the foreseeable future. In late June of 21, I found out about Osmosis and this is when my life literally changed. I became a fanboy of the tech and how great the UI/UX was so I took the deep dive and studied everything and anything on Cosmos/ IBC and was sold. It would be an integral part of how most if not all blockchains will communicate in the future. Shortly afterwards, I started to help out on telegram just for the fun of it and a few months later Osmosis started a support lab in which I was offered a position to help as a moderator full time. I was ecstatic and accepted the offer. I spent nearly a year with Osmosis and was deeply honored/grateful for that opportunity. Without Osmosis, I would not be doing any of this as my long and determination grew by the moment. So long answer but it was Osmosis that drew me to Cosmos
In your opinion, what are some of the most exciting projects currently being developed within the Cosmos ecosystem and why?
This is an impossible question to answer as there are so many amazing teams and app chains that have a specific use case in the crypto realm of things; however, if I had to only give you 5 of my top projects in Cosmos ‘IBC’ it would be: Osmosis (Financial Hub of Cosmos), Juno for the permissionless smart contracts/ Cosm Wasm and the amazing DAO tooling DAO DAO has built out which will and is going to change the game for DAO’s in this space. Obviously, Cosmos Hub or what I like to call it the ATOM Hub as outside people are so confused with the branding and names within the ‘IBC Network’. ATOM has a lot of upside with ICS, Inter Chain Security and incubating hundreds of ‘consumer chains’ where they utilize the hub for security instead of them being required to have their own validator sets or building on top of a preexisting app chain. Secret Network for Programmable Privacy. This space never gets mass adopted without some sort of privacy by default optionality. (SCRT) could play a vital role in that. 5th ( Can’t answer, way too many to list and would feel awful for not mentioning them) Full disclosure, I have a position in most chains throughout Cosmos.
What role do you see Cosmos playing in the broader web3 landscape, and how do you see it evolving in the coming years?
Cosmos was built from day 1 with this multi chain/ innerchain interoperable world. Where other ecosystems outside of IBC want to add that as an addition Cosmos was and is the pioneer of this movement. I see most if not all blockchains in the future utilizing Cosmos/ IBC in one way or another.
For those who are new to web3 and Cosmos, what resources would you recommend to help them get up to speed and start building on the platform?
Mintscan.io is a great visual on how Cosmos works fundamentally. Can join my TG group, DM me any question ever. Terraspaces.org/hoss for the majority of my twitterspaces/ podcast that I have interviewed nearly every team/ dev in Cosmos. There are a bunch of people in Cosmos that provide wonderful content but Twitter is alpha in this space.
How do you see the relationship between web3 and traditional institutions evolving in the future, and what role do you see Cosmos playing in that evolution?
The most under-appreciated/useful trait to have is programmable privacy. Big money, governments, institutions will not enter this space without privacy and security at the forefront. I believe Cosmos offers both. Along with the fact Cosmos SDK is the best blueprint to spin up your own blockchain which can be altered to fit whatever modification that one would desire. In fact you can spin up your own chain and not even be IBC enabled so there is that option as well.