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Few individuals in Web3 have contributed as much to the space as 0xfoobar<\/a> has. The machine-learning specialist turned software developer, auditor, and founder is a prolific voice in the NFT scene, highlighting security flaws<\/a> in project contracts and advising the community on the space\u2019s most popular trends<\/a>. He\u2019s also one of its more steady-handed pragmatists, viewing Web3\u2019s evolution on a long-term scale.<\/p>\n While foobar has had a hand in several Web3 endeavors<\/a> over the years, his most well-known accomplishment may be the creation of Delegate Cash<\/a>, a service that allows users to create and assign hot wallets as a delegate for wallets that actually store their NFTs. While that might not sound sexy on its face, the value of such a service is hard to overstate, as it lets users interact with the Web3 ecosystem without exposing their tokens to security risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an industry infamous for its scams <\/a>and risks, Delegate Cash has brought a crucial measure of confidence to the decentralized world. Web3\u2019s biggest names recognize this; Yuga Labs, Art Blocks, and Manifold rank among the organizations that trust the service<\/a>, and for good reason. Delegate Cash is on the move again, with foobar having announced Liquid Delegates<\/a> in January, a promising new addition that will allow users to wrap delegation rights into tradable tokens.\u00a0<\/p>\n We sat down with foobar for an interview covering the future of Delegate Cash, his thoughts on what Web3 is lacking, and the potential of AI tools like ChatGPT to upend existing power structures.\u00a0<\/p>\n nft now: What was it like making the jump to Web3 from machine learning? Your first NFT was a CryptoPunk, wasn\u2019t it?<\/strong><\/p>\n foobar: <\/strong>Yep, that\u2019s right. Back when they were single-digit ETH. They were the community I first looked up to when I entered the space, and so I felt like I\u2019d finally made it when I could scrounge up enough to get one. The biggest contrast in Web3 [from the machine learning world] was probably the openness. In the machine learning world, I saw how smaller, scrappier open-source competitors were eating the big boys\u2019 lunch in a way but were completely hamstrung when it came to computing. <\/p>\n Whereas crypto was almost the opposite. A single, sharp, competent dev could put together an entire app and have it run until the end of time, mostly autonomously. That felt greatly empowering to me. And it also seemed clear that if this is the space where the smartest, sharpest individuals can prove themselves, then the space itself is going to flourish.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this is the space where the smartest, sharpest individuals can prove themselves, then the space itself is going to flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n foobar<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n nft now: What parts of the space aren\u2019t flourishing?<\/strong><\/p>\n foobar: <\/strong>So far, the Defi ecosystem is this waving mass of complexity. People are building trustless options protocols on top of Uniswap v3 LP positions. You have a lot of this theoretical power and theoretical composability that\u2019s come to light in terms of apps, but none of it has really trickled down to the median user experience yet. And so the crypto app ecosystem as a whole remains very elevated above or below what people need. <\/p>\n If you\u2019re extremely self-driven, self-motivated, and have a strong background, you can figure out what\u2019s going on; that\u2019s the best place to be. But in terms of the median person who\u2019s trying to send some USDC from one place to another, there are still a ton of UX improvements that need to be made on that front. There probably need to be more boots on the ground for actually linking these to the practical realities.<\/p>\n nft now: Is that a failure of Web3 devs or just the natural pace of evolution for blockchain-based tech, in your view?<\/strong><\/p>\n foobar: <\/strong>It\u2019s a combination of factors. There aren\u2019t that many competent devs in crypto at the moment. So, people have to choose where to put their time and energy. And there are many competing arenas on that front that take months, not years, to play out. So, it\u2019s entirely rational to focus on those. There are also other barriers, for example, where it\u2019s very difficult to create real-world assets that would have immediate utility. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not a lack of technical skill. It\u2019s a lack of regulatory willingness to say, put houses or put commodities on the blockchain. The barriers to that are not technical; they\u2019re largely political, regulatory, and so on. Many people just don\u2019t have the proper skill sets to be fighting both those battles at the same time.<\/p>\n \u201cThere aren\u2019t that many competent devs in crypto at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Foobar<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n nft now: You\u2019re well-known in Web3 for calling out security issues and trends. How do you view your role in the NFT conversation?<\/strong><\/p>\n foobar: <\/strong>I appreciate being able to speak my actual mind on a variety of issues to a larger audience and be able to hopefully shape thinking on those fronts. I don\u2019t have a strong agenda on breaking hack news, for example. It\u2019s just that I can count on one hand the number of people who have both the technical depth to understand an emerging hack story and also the eloquence to be able to convey that in an understandable way. I\u2019m not the only one in the world that\u2019s capable of that, but I seem to be one of the very few who are interested in doing it. <\/p>\n
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