PermaDAO 1 on 1 Interview: Fabian Riewe, Co-founder of KYVE - The Transformation and Evolution of KYVE in 2024
Through interviews with outstanding ecosystem developers and PermaDAO contributors, we can understand the stories behind the discovery of Arweave contributors; from the perspective of entrepreneurs, developers, and contributors, we can show the current status and future direction of Arweave/AO European and American teams to the contributors in the Chinese community. At the same time, we will increase the influence of PermaDAO in European and American teams, enrich the source of PermaDAO contributors, and promote PermaDAO from the Chinese community to the international community.
Author's statement: This article is only an interview with the project party or contributor by the author, and does not serve as any investment advice for any project mentioned by the interviewer. Please abide by the laws of your country and conduct Web3 activities in compliance with regulations.
Author: Xiaosong HU
Translator: Xiaosong HU
Reviewer: Scarlett LI
Source: Content Guild Translation
Since I started to participate in the interviews for Arweave ecological projects, I have witnessed the vigorous vitality of Arweave. Some former star projects are also constantly iterating and upgrading, such as Arswap's gorgeous transformation into Perplex and the new version of Permaweb News. These all demonstrate the continuous evolution and self-innovation vitality of the Arweave ecosystem.
Among many projects, KYVE's development trajectory is particularly eye-catching. After about a year, KYVE has returned to the public eye with remarkable progress and changes. I interviewed KYVE's then head of ecosystem in early 2023, and he recently contacted me enthusiastically, eager to share KYVE's latest developments, and strongly suggested that I have another in-depth interview with KYVE's co-founder.
His enthusiasm and KYVE's changes made me curious: What kind of transformation has KYVE gone through? What kind of new look has it returned with? In a year of turbulent changes in Web3, how does KYVE cope with challenges and seize opportunities? What new products and features have they launched? What breakthroughs have they made in community building and ecological development? These questions will be revealed one by one in the following interviews.
Project Introduction KYVE
After the Terra and FTX incidents, the trend of new Layer 1 chains emerging seemed to wane. However, as on-chain activity picked up again and the scalability limits of Ethereum and rollups became evident, the market’s demand for “fast and independent blockchains” resurfaced. This led to significant attention being paid to new Layer 1 chains supporting transaction parallel processing, particularly EVM parallel processing. Blockchains like Sui and Solana, which identify transaction dependencies for parallel processing, and blockchains like Sei, Monad, and Aptos, which optimistically execute parallel processing before identifying dependencies, have gained considerable attention. Additionally, blockchains with a finality time of less than one second, such as Injective, Sui, Sei, and Aptos, have also garnered significant interest.
The ability of blockchains, once perceived as slow, to process transactions instantly and increase the number of transactions processed in a given time through parallel processing is a significant improvement in user experience. This can be seen as an effort to make blockchains genuinely ‘usable.’ However, these blockchains are not without their issues. Even disregarding the much-discussed ‘decentralization’ concerns, the rapid processing of numerous transactions leads to an increase in the blockchain’s state size, making it challenging for validators to sync the state. The faster the blockchain, the more transactions it must handle in a short time, necessitating the rapid processing of a large volume of blocks. Consequently, this results in
1) increased node operation costs: High-speed blockchains have higher requirements for hardware performance and bandwidth, resulting in a significant increase in node operating costs, which may exclude small node operators and is not conducive to the decentralized development of the network.
2) a general decline in blockchain performance: The huge data processing pressure may cause network congestion, extend transaction confirmation time, and ultimately affect overall performance.
3) difficulties in syncing nodes: Newly added nodes need to synchronize a large amount of historical data. A long synchronization time will affect the node's rapid startup and participation in network consensus.
Of course, the foundations developing these “fast blockchains” are aware of these problems and are trying to address them in their own ways. However, it is also true that it is costly and time-consuming for each chain to devise its solutions. Therefore, today I want to introduce a project that aims to solve the data issues faced by other blockchains as an independent blockchain: the KYVE Network. So, what kind of problems can KYVE solve in blockchain?
Problem 1: Resource Intensity
The first issue is cost. To access and manage historical blockchain data, archival nodes are essential. However, operating these nodes incurs significant expenses for developers. For developers to seamlessly access data, they need to store the entire blockchain data, and storage costs increase over time. Moreover, without specific incentives provided by the blockchain itself, there is little motivation for participants to operate archival nodes voluntarily. Consequently, the number of archival nodes decreases as the blockchain ages.
Problem 2: Centralization
A reduction in the number of archival nodes inevitably leads to centralization issues. Accessing historical data becomes dependent on a few archival nodes. Most existing data management solutions are centralized, which contradicts the fundamental reasons for using blockchain. A logically consistent decentralized network requires decentralized data management solutions to ensure the purpose of using blockchain is not diluted. This is one of the reasons KYVE is also built on blockchain.
Problem 3: Difficulty in Data Access and Validation
With resource issues leading to fewer archival nodes and resulting centralization problems, accessing and validating blockchain data becomes increasingly challenging. This issue is inevitable for most blockchains, not just the so-called ‘high-performance blockchains,’ because blockchains are inherently expanding networks. What does this mean? From the genesis block to the most recent block, someone has to store and continuously add new blocks in real-time. This means that as time passes, the size of the blockchain inevitably grows, making it more challenging to store and access the vast amount of data.
As the number of archival nodes decreases and reliance on centralized data solutions increases, accessing and validating data becomes more difficult. If nodes take longer to process transactions, this indicates a decline in blockchain performance. This could transform high-performance blockchains into low-performance ones and make already slow blockchains even slower. If blockchain performance deteriorates further, it will deter people from using blockchain. Therefore, KYVE, though a third-party blockchain, aims to resolve data access and validation issues by handling them separately, thus addressing the data access and validation challenges of other blockchains.
In short, KYVE not only improves the efficiency of data storage, access and verification but also helps other blockchains save costs. By introducing its own blockchain, KYVE ensures that the blockchains that rely on it will not be affected by centralization issues. In the future, we will elaborate on how KYVE Network solves the above 3 problems through technical and economic means through aspects such as KYVE's price and the economic model of tokens.
For more information you can click and ready here：https://4pillars.io/en/articles/kyve-network/public
Let's officially enter our interview session:
PART I: Regarding KYVE
Q: Hello, Fabian！Very nice to meet you! I am from PermaDAO, the largest Asian community incubated by Arweave. I am glad that you can accept our interview. Could you introduce yourself to us?
A: Hey! Of course, my name is Fabian, and I am one of the Co-Founders of KYVE Network, which aims to provide all data users and blockchains with the historical chain data support they need to succeed.
I’m a passionate software developer who got into the Crypto Space in 2019. Since then, I have been hooked on all the exciting things happening and am just aiming to help make a positive impact in the data space for all.
Q: Could you tell us about the KYVE project?
A: KYVE Network is a decentralized data management solution that provides tools for archiving, validating, and accessing blockchain data. KYVE's protocol ensures that only accurate data from a blockchain is made immutable and easily accessible for all.
As a result, KYVE allows other chains to offload their historical data and overall data accessibility management in a decentralized way, as well as provides essential tooling to access this data, enabling enhanced scalability of chains and ecosystem development.
Q: Could you share with us the reason why you founded KYVE in the first place?
A: The idea for KYVE came about when I participated in a bounty to bridge Polkadot data to Arweave, a permanent data storage solution. After building the necessary tool, John (KYVE’s other Co-Founder) and I realized that if it were more decentralized and built out, it could apply to other blockchains and, in turn, aid historical data validation and management for all in Web3.
This led to the creation of KYVE, a decentralized data hub solution that enables data providers to standardize, validate, and permanently store data streams. Overall ensuring the scalability, immutability, and availability of these resources over time, making Web3 data a trustless public good.
Q: Why did you choose the name KYVE?
A: KYVE was actually inspired by the word “archive.” Since originally built in the Arweave ecosystem, we separated “ar-chive” and then just adjusted the spelling. Overall, we felt that this name truly encompasses our mission to revolutionize how blockchain data is archived, ensuring it remains a trustless public good accessible to all.
Q: I interviewed Paul at the beginning of last year. What new changes and progress has the KYVE project made in the past year and a half?
A: There has been a lot of progress made so far this year! Following some major chain and protocol activity growth, KYVE has released the initial phase of its official Grants Program, as well as a new and impactful upgrade introducing multi-coin funding to its protocol as well as other features to best support KYVE’s growth.
There has also been the launch of KYVE’s official blog and a lot of work made to the KYVE Academy where users can freely learn about KYVE and blockchain as a whole.
There are also some new strategic partnerships to support ZetaChain, Noble, Warden Protocol, Andromeda, and SOURCE protocol chain data. KYVE also partnered with SubQuery and Lava Network to join forces in supporting the data space with the decentralized tooling needed, as well as adding more wallet support with XDeFi Wallet.
Q: What is the next step for KYVE?
A: Leveraging KYVE’s multi-coin funding feature, it’s been possible to build an even more enhanced collaboration with partners using KYVE technology, introducing the KYVE Public Goods Funding initiative. This enables the KYVE Foundation to run a public good validator on partner chains, using the rewards to directly fund the integration of their respective chain data support on KYVE in their own native token.
To bring all this together, we have been working hard on significantly improving the new user onboarding experience on the KYVE Protocol, opening up interaction with our ecosystem to all users, not just techies. We’re extremely excited to make this step with KYVE, and look forward to announcing all this and its details soon!
Q: KYVE launched its own token economic model very early. Can you tell us what was the original intention of issuing tokens? How do you think this token economic model works?
A: KYVE introduced its native token, $KYVE, as an integral part of its blockchain and protocol. The token has multiple utilities, including decentralization, chain and protocol security, network incentivization, and more.
Here's how the token economic model works:
Staking and Delegating: On the chain level, $KYVE is used for staking and delegating, securing the network through Proof of Stake. On the protocol level, $KYVE is used for funding, staking, and delegating, providing security for uploaded data.
Governance: $KYVE is used for submitting and voting on proposals, allowing stakeholders to have a say in the evolution and growth of KYVE1.
Funding Data Pools: A data pool requires funding in $KYVE to function. The funding gets paid out to the protocol validators active in the pool. If a pool runs out of funds, it stops. This is a crucial part of KYVE's tokenomics.
Incentivizing Validators and Delegators: Validators and their delegators earn KYVE as block provisions and transaction fees through the Tendermint consensus protocol3.
Security Measures: There are also further security measures put in place using $KYVE, such as a minimum amount needed to stake in order to participate, or a minimum amount total stake of $KYVE within each pool.
Find more news around KYVE via the community channel on CoinMarketCap or directly on CoinGecko.
Q: In addition to purchasing in the secondary market, is it mined through POW or POS?
A: KYVE has two layers, its consensus layer (the L1 blockchain) and protocol layer (where the process takes place to validate and archive blockchain data). Both layers each have their own validator set and run on a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) mechanism, ensuring that the validator sets are incentivized to behave correctly to avoid slashing, as well as those who delegate to them. This mechanism also ensures optimal security for both layers, with more $KYVE staked, more security for the layers and the data as a whole.
Q: How many full-time staff members are currently working at KYVE, and what are the ways for others to get involved? How do you incentivize participation?
A: KYVE as a network does not have any direct full-time staff members, but around 15 committed contributors, each specialized in their field and very committed to KYVE’s mission. We also have the KYVE Ambassador program which originated a few years ago and still has very committed members helping out the community and new KYVE users.
We hope to continue to grow this program, as well as further strengthen KYVE’s overall presence in local communities. This is definitely one of our next focuses once KYVE’s new user onboarding experience is fully enacted.
Q: Has KYVE ever raised funds? Can you tell us about it?
A: Yes, KYVE has had three successful funding rounds, raising ~$15M total, with an estimated valuation of $100M. KYVE is one of the most supported blockchains in the space, backed by Arweave, Ava Labs, Solana Foundation, Interchain Foundation, Moonbeam, TheGraph, Parity Technologies, Composable Finance, Zilliqa, Mina Foundation, Aurora, and NEAR Foundation. As well as VCs such as Hypersphere Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Distributed Global, Mechanism Capital, CMS Holdings, IOSG Ventures, and others.
Q: What are the most difficult moments that KYVE has experienced and how did it persevere? Can you give us an example?
A: I think we can all agree that navigating the previous bear market was difficult. KYVE was lucky to have the support needed from the community and funding rounds to keep building during this time and really focus on KYVE’s core mission.
Q: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge that KYVE and Arweave face?
A: The biggest challenge is that historical blockchain data storage and infrastructure are really overlooked niches. It takes time to educate people on the importance of decentralized and immutable data. Maybe for a broader audience, DeFi use cases are easier to understand and relate to, but over time, all types of chains will have to make this shift in order to continue on.
Q: Many people used to compare Arweave with Filcoin. After the launch of the AO protocol, many people liked to compare AO with ICP. There were also many very fierce opinions on Twitter. What do you think of this phenomenon?
A: I think it’s great that Arweave is opening up from only providing immutable storage to now providing storage and computing. It’s a great addition to the space and I’m excited to see all the unique use cases being built with this in the coming months.
Q: What do you think is the uniqueness of AO that other public chains do not have?
A: AO’s flexibility and ease of use is definitely what makes it so unique. Arweave truly rethinks the way blockchains are designed, making it super scalable and perfect for distributed systems.
PART II: Regarding Fabian Riewe
Q: Could you please share your educational background and professional experience?
A: I started my journey as a tech lead in a local ed-tech startup. A hackathon in 2019 was what initially kicked off my fascination for Web3, and six months later I founded my first successful project ArVerify, an on-chain KYC system that saw big adoption in the Arweave Ecosystem. Shortly after in 2021, I participated in yet another bounty which led to co-founding KYVE.
Q: The US SEC has approved spot EFTs for Bitcoin and Ethereum, Coinbase is also listed in the United States, and the settlement volume of USDT has surpassed that of Visa. How do German regulators view the Web3 industry, especially their attitude towards crypto currency assets (such as BTC, AR, and AO)?
A: With Germany being part of the EU, we have a new regulatory framework coming out called “MiCA”. We are happy with it as it gives European projects structure and clear regulatory rules to follow, making it a safer environment for projects and users**.**
Q: What advice do you have for those who want to enter web3?
A: My advice would be to always do things that you are passionate about, but be wary of the competitive environment. Meeting new people and collaborating is definitely key.
Q: Are you under a lot of pressure in life and work right now? Have you ever regretted it?
A: Life as a founder is generally stressful, but I am putting a lot of effort into maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I do not regret it and still look forward to every new day working on KYVE.
PART III: Regarding PermaDAO and everVision
Q: PermaDAO is the largest Arweave community in the entire Chinese ecosystem, Have you heard of PermaDAO or everVision before?
A: I have! Being an early supporter and dev in the Arweave ecosystem, it has been great seeing PermaDAO and everVision’s evolution over time pushing the ecosystem further.
Q: I noticed that KYVE has also established a WeChat community. How do you operate and expand the Chinese community?
A: KYVE does have a WeChat! This is actually managed by one of KYVE’s dedicated ambassadors GSandly. It is fully managed by him and the community.
Q: In your view, how should PermaDAO and KYVE collaborate in the future?
A: It would be great to support more collaboration between our communities and also further educate the world together, collaborating on impactful content.
Q: How do you perceive the team and business development of everVision?
A: What’s stood out to me is that everVision is a very active team at conferences and is always able to keep up to speed with the latest buzz and development around Arweave, super helpful for the ecosystem as a whole.
Q: Lastly, is there anything else you would like to say to the audience?
A: Thanks again to PermaDAO for the invitation. I am very happy to have the opportunity to share KYVE's story and some of my personal thoughts with you. Finally, I hope that all PermaDAO friends can pay attention to KYVE's next developments! You are welcome to join the KYVE community, support KYVE's mission, and ensure the true decentralized scalability of Web3!
Conclusion
The reason why we started this series of interviews is to break the seemingly "magical" barrier between the blockchain world and the outside world. For a long time, the blockchain industry, especially the cryptocurrency field, has been full of mystery to the outside world due to its technical barriers, wealth effects, and industry fluctuations. It has even been labeled as "speculation" and "bubble". Many people hold an attitude of "arrogance and prejudice" towards practitioners, believing that they are a group of "gamblers" who pursue profits and are out of touch with reality.
In the current bear market, we hope to show the booming development and huge potential of the Arweave ecosystem to the outside world through in-depth interviews with Arweave ecosystem project parties, with their real work experience and mental journey, and provide some reference and reference for those who are curious and yearning for Web3. At the same time, we also hope to take this opportunity to promote PermaDAO's collaborative model and excellent products to the Arweave ecosystem, such as Permaswap, the decentralized exchange with the largest traffic in the Arweave ecosystem. PermaDAO has long been committed to building an open, collaborative, and win-win community, and has developed a series of practical tools suitable for DAO organizations. We believe that these tools can not only help Arweave ecosystem projects develop better but also contribute to the progress of the entire Web3 industry.
As the interviews deepened, more and more project parties began to pay attention to PermaDAO and actively participated in our community. They not only tried to use the tools we provided, but more importantly, they were willing to share their ideas, experiences and suggestions with us to jointly explore the future development direction of the Arweave ecosystem. This open and collaborative atmosphere is exactly what PermaDAO has always advocated, and it is also the key to the booming development of the Arweave ecosystem. We believe that only through mutual communication and cooperation can we continuously promote the innovation and application of Arweave technology and ultimately achieve the goal of building a more decentralized, transparent, and trusted Web3 world. As an important part of the Arweave ecosystem, KYVE has been committed to providing developers with efficient and reliable decentralized data storage and verification services. We are full of confidence in the future of KYVE and believe that the KYVE team will continue to bring more surprises to the Arweave ecosystem with its outstanding technical strength and innovative spirit. We also look forward to more sparks between PermaDAO and KYVE, and deeper cooperation in technical cooperation, community building, ecological development, etc., to jointly contribute to the prosperity and development of the Arweave ecosystem, and work hand in hand to build a better Arweave ecosystem!
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