Decentralized Thinking

Elena Sinelnikova is a software engineer by education and 20 years of experience architecting and developing software for the Canadian Government and Law Enforcement.

She also founded CryptoChicks non-profit organization that became a hub for educating women and youth in blockchain entrepreneurship and technology in 56 countries.

Elena also co-founded MetisDAO Foundation project that grew to be a prominent Ethereum Layer 2 with a large community of people and projects that now turned into Web 3 Economy of Koris, Nuvo, and L2 EcoNodes working together in a decentralized environment.

Eve #wealthwednesday Highlight 85: Elena Sinelnikova, Founder and CEO - CryptoChicks

What was your first-ever investment?

In terms of financial investments, my first major investment was in Ethereum, which I made because I personally knew and trusted the creator, and I believed in what he was building. As we now know, this turned out to be a good investment. Please note that this is not financial advice. Do your own research as the risks are super high.?

In terms of my most valuable investment, which is my own time, I am passionate about supporting women and women's organizations. This is where the idea for CryptoChicks came from, and it's something that I've also translated into my business at Metis. At least half of our Metis team is made up of women, and we offer paid maternity leave and other benefits that are important to women. I strongly believe that a lot of women have unique responsibilities, such as giving birth and caring for children, unlike the other genders, which makes women more vulnerable at times and requires more support. That's why I dedicate my time to supporting women.?

How and why did you get into the space?

It all started with CryptoChicks , a nonprofit organization. I and my co-founder Natalia Ameline organized a meetup group for women that turned into a nonprofit organization. Then it grew and we needed a platform to further our vision of being the base for the Web3 economy, onboarding builders, users, and businesses to build the entire economy. My Metis co-founders, Kevin Liu , and Yuan Su came on board and helped solidify our mission through Metis . We started with the Layer2 infrastructure, which was only the foundation for the economy we envisioned. The infrastructure had to be fast, affordable, secure, and decentralized. Decentralization was particularly crucial in our mission. We are grateful for Optimism open-source codebase that we used as a starting point. We have modernized it, added new features, and improved it according to our vision. As a result, Metis Layer2 is at the top of the leaderboard in terms of speed and the lowest transaction fees, which makes it attractive for Enterprise level projects. We are currently working on shortening the withdrawal time by developing a Hybrid Rollup to reduce the transaction approval time to just minutes while tightening the security even more.

What is Zk Proof and what is its purpose?

Zk Proof stands for Zero Knowledge Proof, which can mean different things depending on the level of application. At the level of Layer2, which is built on top of Layer1, for instance, Optimistic Rollup, all transactions are combined into batches and committed into Layer1. This reduces the cost of transactions, with the fee split between all transactions in the batch. To maintain security, batches must be verified through fraud proofing by the community within seven days. The community has this period to submit proof of fraudulent activity, and if successful, the transactions will be rolled back. This mechanism is a security mechanism that is still under development in all Optimistic Rollups as of now.?

Currently, when withdrawing money from Layer2, a seven-day waiting period is necessary while the transactions are verified. However, Hybrid Rollup that includes a Zk Proof generator will provide the algorithmic proof that the transactions are true without having to save them on Layer 1. It is a mathematical equation that proves the validity of transactions without revealing any additional information. This confirms transactions and allows for immediate withdrawal once the Zk Proof is executed. At the same time, it will allow extending the fraud-proof window to make Layer 2 more secure.?

What role do you play in the wealth space now, and why is it important??

As we develop Metis, we are essentially creating a Web3 economy. Wealth plays a significant role in a decentralized ecosystem as it provides the necessary capital markets for the ecosystem. Currently, this manifests in DeFi ecosystem projects, where the Total Value Locked (TVL) represents all the funds that people have contributed to these DeFi ecosystem projects running in permissionless on Layer2.? These TVL resources can be used by other ecosystem participants, such as decentralized autonomous companies (DACs) on Koris.io , Koris is a Metis Econode (core Metis incubated project), which enables the creation of such entities that can use and exchange wealth within Layer2 ecosystem. There is another Metis Econode, Nuvo , which offers various services, including a user identity, user account abstraction, and non-custodial wallets. For instance, where it is impractical for users to pay transaction fees for each transaction (for example gaming), this technology enables the projects to pay these fees on behalf of a user, making the user experience seamless and lowering the adoption barrier for Web2 users. Also, Nuvo makes noncustodial wallet recovery even when users lose their private keys.?

As for DeFi players in the ecosystem, if you visit https://metis.io/ecosystem , you can see different DeFi players that use this TVL (wealth layer).

What is CryptoChicks and the story behind it?

When I first entered the cryptocurrency space back in 2014, the lack of education was apparent, which resulted in a lack of diversity in the field. This led me to start CryptoChicks, with education being our primary focus. We strive to educate women and children, and we have even started teaching blockchain and other technologies to Canadian schools . While there is now a wealth of educational resources available on the web and on YouTube, there are still significant knowledge gaps that need to be filled. Even large enterprises, such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon acknowledge that they need to learn more about blockchain but are hesitant to trust the technology. This is why education is crucial for future adoption and trust in blockchain technology.

What is the most exciting thing you’ve learned that you would want others to know?

The concept of decentralized thinking challenges the idea that someone else will always take care of us. Growing up, many of us were taught to rely on our parents or the government, without much critical thinking. However, in a decentralized space, we quickly learn that we are responsible for our own actions. If we lose our private key, for example, it is our own fault for not taking better precautions. This shift towards decentralized thinking forces us to become more responsible and mature. It also teaches us to stop blaming others for our mistakes. Overall, this shift in mindset has been the biggest takeaway for me from my involvement in the decentralized space.

How do you think the emergence of technologies like Open AI and quantum will impact your business? Is there anything interesting and exciting that you are currently learning in that space or do you not see it as a priority?

I believe that AI can greatly benefit the blockchain space. One project that has recently emerged is aimed at people who fear being replaced by AI. These individuals can contribute their knowledge to open-source AI and receive a salary based on their contributions in the future. This offers a way for those who worry that their careers will be overtaken by AI to benefit from the knowledge they possess.

Currently, people may not realize that their data is being collected without their knowledge and fed into AI. This is akin to data theft, which adds to the unfairness of people being replaced by AI. The mentioned project brings fairness back to the table by offering individuals the opportunity to educate AI and benefit from it knowingly.

DEI stands for Decentralized Economy Initiative, which is the current working name of our project. Currently, we are exploring various sources of data and AI to find ways to effectively train and capture contributions from individuals. This project is still in its early stages, but we are committed to continuing our research and development. You can expect to hear more about DEI in the future.

Another perspective is that AI can superpower everything, such as the complex ZK technology that requires significant human effort to develop. However, AI can speed up the process of development. Instead of competing against each other to develop technology, we could unite our efforts and work on creating one technology that uses AI to make development faster. This is an essential aspect that institutions need to consider.

Is there a person or a company that’s really inspired you? And why?

Vitalik Buterin has been a great inspiration to me and has actually changed my life. It's probably because of him that I got into this space, so I am really grateful to him. Also, I find the story of Satoshi Nakamoto completely fascinating, even though I don't know if this is a real person or just a pseudonym.? The idea of these two people who have contributed so much to the blockchain space is truly inspiring to me.?

What advice do you have for someone getting started?

Figure out what you want to do in this space. Educate yourself. There are plenty of educational resources available, such as videos and websites like CryptoChicks . It's never too late to start learning and getting involved in this industry, as we are still in the very early stages. There's a lot of work to be done, and we can use all the help we can get.

You can also join Telegram groups to stay up-to-date on projects in the space. Attending conferences is another great way to connect with people and learn more about specific projects. For example, the ETHDenver had an extensive in-person education program for beginners during its Builder Week back in February 2023, and you can find all the information on their website. You can check out crypto courses at CryptoChicks Academy as well.?

Another event to consider is the ETHToronto , which includes a hackathon. Even if you don't have any previous experience, you can still enter the hackathon and compete in both the business and technology categories. They're also opening up ETHWomen this year, so it's a great opportunity to get involved and make connections.

Entering a hackathon is actually how I got started, and it was amazing to make connections right there on the spot. So make sure to check CryptoChicks Academy , ETHToronto , and ETHWomen , you'll find everything you need to start your journey in the blockchain space. Remember, it's never too late to join, and we could use all the help we can get!

How can we stay in touch?

To stay up-to-date with all the latest news and information, you can join our Telegram channel, MetisDAO. You can also visit our website at metis.io . We are active on Twitter (@MetisDAO ). If you have any questions or want to reach out to me directly, feel free to contact me on Twitter too (@ElenaCryptoChic ).

We are always happy to hear from our community, and we strive to be as responsive as possible on social media. So, if you want to stay informed about what's happening in our ecosystem, social media is the best way to do it.

Have thoughts on this week’s topic or question for me or Elena? Post your thoughts in the comment section. Until next week.??

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DISCLAIMER: The thoughts and views expressed in this video do not constitute financial or investment advice.

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