Q: What is your background? How did you get into crypto and development?
A: I’ve always been a big dreamer full of imagination. When I was little, I had my first construction sets, I never stopped wanting to innovate, design and create by myself. For me, the logical next step as I grew up was development. The practice naturally imposed itself as an extension of this passion, which allowed me unlimited creative possibilities. I started in high school with programming oriented towards hardware home automation before continuing in engineering school in Computer Science, with a specialization in BlockchainBlockchain A public and immutable ledger of cryptographic transactions, organized in blocks..
My discovery of crypto happened by chance when I was around 13 or 14 years old. My little brother and I bought crypto on Coinbase and tried to mine Bitcoin, mainly to buy games. But it was really in 2021, when it came time to choose my engineering school major, that everything accelerated. Initially attracted by data analysis and ML (Machine Learning), I was intrigued by the Blockchain option. After some research, I instantly embraced the technology, finding echoes of my personality in its principles.
Q: What were the positive and negative points of your journey?
A: My experience at IBM was particularly enriching, and allowed me to gain rigor in my projects and to professionalize myself in a structured corporate environment. On the other hand, I was disappointed by my training at engineering school, particularly the Blockchain sector, which lacked maturity. Traditional employment proved restrictive, particularly in terms of geographical and creative freedom. The need to constantly report and the lack of autonomy made me realize that I perhaps had some difficulties with authority!
Q: Can you explain to us what Starknet is?
A: Starknet is a layerLayer Refers to different levels of protocols or platforms in the blockchain ecosystem, such as Layer 1 (base blockchains like Ethereum) or Layer 2 (scaling solutions built on top of Layer 1). 2 of Ethereum, developed by Starkware. Its unique feature lies in its use of ZKP (Zero-Knowledge ProofZero-Knowledge Proof A cryptographic method that allows one party to prove to another that they know a value without revealing the value itself.) technology. What sets it apart is its native Account Abstraction, which significantly improves the user experience and facilitates the transition from Web2 to Web3. Its proprietary language, Cairo, is particularly interesting because it is Turing-complete and allows the creation of both provable programs and smart contracts.
Q: How does Bountive fit into this ecosystem?
A: Bountive is deeply rooted in the Starknet ecosystem on several levels. Our code base is entirely developed in Cairo, and we use all the development tools specific to this ecosystem. There are also features that we want to integrate, such as Account Abstraction, which allows us to onboard the mass of users who have never used the blockchain. Benefit from the securitySecurity The measures and technologies used to protect blockchain networks and assets from theft, fraud, and attacks. of L1 while having lower fees and higher TPS (transactions per second).
Q: What solutions does your protocol provide?
A: Our protocol democratizes access to DeFiDeFi DeFi services use smart contracts, decentralized protocols, and tokens to offer a range of financial services that can sometimes replace those offered by banks, such as lending/borrowing, asset management, insurance, or asset exchange. yields via a Raffle system. The goal is to allow any user, whether from Web3 or Web2, to significantly multiply their yields without requiring any particular DeFi expertise. We offer an intuitive user interface allowing you to invest in just a few clicks, with a wide choice of integrated DeFi protocols. Our unique feature is that we offer capital protection: if a user does not win the Raffle, their funds are instantly returned.
Q: What are the next major developments planned?
A: Several major developments are planned in the coming months. We will introduce Recurring Raffles, allowing long-term investment without manual handling of funds. We are also developing a contribution system for liquidityLiquidity The ease with which an asset can be bought or sold without affecting its price. providers, allowing them to increase the returns generated for users. A fee-sharing mechanism will be implemented between the protocol and liquidity providers.
Q: Cairo or SoliditySolidity The programming language used to write smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain.?
A: I’m leaning toward Cairo. It’s a more technical and less accessible language, which makes it more rewarding to learn. Its Turing-complete nature offers total freedom in development, which is particularly exciting for a developer.
Q: What is your perspective on audits in the Web3 ecosystem?
A: I have a nuanced view on audits. Honestly, for me it’s a bit overrated in certain aspects, whether you’re audited or not, a lot of users don’t care and the majority won’t even take the time to read the audit or even find out if the auditor has expertise in their field or not. Audits have become a kind of obligatory passage to access certain financing or privileges, with sometimes exorbitant costs. In addition, the audit doesn’t specifically guarantee that the funds are safe, and I think a majority of users don’t really realize that.
Q: What has been your biggest challenge since joining Bountive?
A: The biggest challenge has been the lack of recognition for our work within the ecosystem. Despite our full-time commitment and ongoing collaborations with various projects, we’ve received very little supportSupport A price level where buying pressure is expected to be strong enough to prevent further price declines. from major ecosystem bodies, including the Starknet Foundation. The limited funding compared to the time and effort invested has been particularly frustrating. We develop everything in-house and continue to add features, but expectations are always higher.
