Yes, it could, but that side is not up to us.
The Nxt Foundation very specifically has chosen NOT to have devs in its board, nor do we interfere with the devs. From a governance point of view, that introduces levels of conflicting interests that should be avoided. We have seen what happened when Gaven Adresen was on the board of the Bitcoin Foundation and how every proposal by him was subsequently questioned.
We have a group of very talented and dedicated developers. They also have a stubborn streak a mile wide. I consider this a good thing. They are stubborn because they take a very long view of the platform and will not introduce things they consider to be harmful. I often wish them to be more tactful, but sometimes a no is just a no and no amount of sugarcoating will change that.
People should leave if they want to do things their own way and cannot get that in a project. That is normal and healthy. Sasha now has a brand new platform to develop his own vision with, and the people who are looking for that will be attracted. Crypto is not a zero sum game, not for a long time yet. So I consider all this as a healthy growing pain.
In the end, and this is true for any crypto project: it’s the devs who make the final calls. They will listen carefully to all parties involved and then make their decision. It would be unrealistic to think this will always please everyone.
What are some potential real life uses for Ardor?
As Foundation, we are actively talking to banks for trade clearance, document and license management, trading opportunities with pegged currencies and ticketing possibilities.
One of the things on my personal radar are loyalty systems, secure messaging systems combined with a piece of hardware and governance possibilities.
There have been slight hints there maybe some big news in the background that cannot be revealed, could we get an hints?
I can say we are talking to banks, both local and national government in the Netherlands, and larger IT businesses. We have a new member on our board who works at Sopra Steria in France to give an idea what level we are working at.
We are also very active in creating collaborations like we have with the Linux Foundation and with Civic Tech Amsterdam.
Some of the things we are working are already taking a year. This is normal. It’s also sometimes frustrating to us as we understand people would like to see real solid results. I can only say we are doing our utmost and will communicate anything we can when we can.
You have been doing a lot of public talks about NXT over the past year. How has the audiences been responding to NXT technology?
Surprise mostly!
Nxt has always worked under the radar, so most people are amazed this is all already working. Our Asset Exchange is more than two years old, yet often people seem under the impression we I am describing a proof of concept.
The industry has changed a lot! People are open and interested and the maximalism we saw last year seems to have subsided. So every speaking engagement is generally a joy to do. I am looking forward to doing a lot more this year and I hope that I will gain a lot of new acquaintances and friends in our growing community!
ARDOR INTERVIEW