This article features an interview with George Goshanov, CEO of MyNearWallet, a project of venture studio Kikimora Labs. To date, Kikimora has rolled out six successful projects built on NEAR Protocol, a decentralized, DPoS, and community-driven platform for creating DApps.
With almost 5 years of experience with blockchain technologies, including the NEAR ecosystem’s NearPay and Roketo, George is now at the helm of MyNearWallet, which takes over the codebase of the original NEAR Wallet and enhances its functionality. Essentially, the service aims to be a window into NEAR, offering a convenient and easy way for anyone, whether they are crypto novices or veterans, to navigate this relatively young but already huge Web3 space.
In fact, George and his team were trusted by the NEAR Foundation to design a better successor of the official wallet, which is about to be sunsetted.
“This is a big step towards decentralization of the whole ecosystem,” says George, adding that MyNearWallet will be one of many solutions based on NEAR, all having fruitful and friendly competition with each other.
Full Decentralization Is a Kind Of Pink Dream
This live example of how decentralization works for the NEAR network maintainers prompted us to dive deeper into the topic. In response to a suggestion that globally the world of crypto is moving towards centralization, George pointed out that full democratization and decentralization might cause the diffusion of responsibility and there is still a need for competent decision makers to have some control over real blockchains.
“Otherwise, we fall into anarchy. In that regard, I’m looking forward to seeing how the NEAR ecosystem will evolve. Today, the NEAR Foundation pays much attention to fragmenting authority across various levels so there is not a single entry point to exploit. Unlike other blockchains, the core team behind NEAR is very close to the community, allowing everyone to contribute to the health of the network. The forums surrounding the project are also buzzing amidst the recent announcement of Near Digital Collective, which is supposed to make the ecosystem’s governance on-chain in favor of further decentralization. It’s not immediately evident how the NEAR Digital Collective will work, but people can voice their opinions and they are truly listened to, as it should be in web3.”
When asked if they use this approach only because the project is in its early stages, George replied that it is possible, but he believes they would strike a balance.
“However, personally, I hope that we'll maintain the balance. Along with the growth to maturity of NEAR Protocol, more governance frameworks will be set up but it’s essential that the governance itself is not centralized. This is the fundamental principle that underpins any decentralized blockchain,” he said.
“When it comes to the projects forming the ecosystem, it’s important to understand that every new business strives for monopoly and we have to look more closely on how this ecosystem leads them to decentralization. For example, by issuing grants for two projects of one focus, NEAR Foundation immediately creates healthy competition for resources, users and opportunities, thus gaining a transparent and organically growing market,” George added.
To him, the future of decentralization outside NEAR is still a blur, given that web3 developers seek to further integrate blockchain with everyday routine, which is closely linked to centralization.
“In the real world, there are governments and big stakeholders, each having their own interests and goals. It’s hard to say how events will work out, but it seems to me that something like a war between two camps will eventually break out,” George suggested.
Crypto Wallets Are the Glue That Binds Web2 And Web3
We then tackled the topic of crypto wallets, and we posed the provocative question: Should a user use a custodial wallet or a noncustodial wallet?
“There is no single answer to this question, as we need to use both types of wallets for different purposes. The only secure way to maintain your vast savings is to use non-custodial hardware wallets, such as Ledger or Trezor. The issue is that they are not scalable, so for quick transfers or ordering coffee with crypto, you'd be better off using custodial solutions that are more user-friendly and straightforward.”
George made an analogy between custodial wallets and getting a breath of air after diving and breathing with equipment.
“It’s only convenient until you are not under the radar of regulatory authorities, so it feels like you can get a bullet in the back at any time. Non-custodial solutions are similar to being submerged into the water – it’s hard but yet safe.”
Commenting on the existing rivalry between custodial and non-custodial wallets, he emphasized the role of marketing that adds fuel to the fire, while people who know the basics of using crypto actually benefit from the combined experience.
“Imagine that you’re a longtime user of NEAR-based products, and you have, say, MyNearWallet, which is non-custodial, and NearPay, its custodial alternative supporting crypto-fiat transactions. It’s as simple as that: you store most of your assets with MyNearWallet, then transfer a portion to NearPay, top up your bank card with crypto or fiat and enjoy everyday purchases. Thus, instead of choosing the better service, you can kill two fowls with one stone: ensure that your capital funds are safe and connect with the real world exactly like you do with web2 technologies. In this context, custodial and non-custodial solutions even complement each other,” George concluded.
Decentralization, he says, is much easier to achieve with the prevalence of non-custodial solutions:
“Custodial services are heavily regulated, whereas non-custodial counterparts are merely interfaces operating within their own legal systems recorded on blockchains, which makes it harder for regulatory bodies to intervene. Broadly speaking, imposing penalties on a non-custodial wallet means imposing penalties on a blockchain itself.”
We then discussed the future of the crypto wallet market, wondering what it will look like in the next 5 years. George started with explaining the reason for changes.
“A few years ago the primary goal of any crypto wallet was to attract those who invest in cryptocurrency wisely. And now, as the pace of adoption is increasing, the main focus is shifted to people who are new to virtual money. Blockchain goes mainstream: Crypto wallets are now accessible in just two clicks, and you can exchange or swap your assets with ease. A huge market of web2 users is now open, and the boundary that separates it from web3 erodes, providing access to various relevant opportunities: from DeFi and lending to staking and play-to-earn games with implemented meta transactions – the latter are a real blast!
In that regard, I expect that interfaces of crypto wallets will also undergo changes to hide the technical complexities of interaction with blockchain. Think of the seed phrase as an example - now instead of keeping it in a single place, developers can use different key-splitting and MPC solutions to securely back it up on user's email, iCloud etc. Things like this were unimaginable four years ago. Now they're possible!” he exclaimed with contagious enthusiasm.
“I believe that crypto wallets will eventually become a kind of crypto-Facebook and will represent a window into blockchain, with balances, messages, and push notifications gathered together in a single interface. This superapp will be easily integrated with any of your devices, all being connected to each other so that losing access to one of them will not lead to losing money,” George added after a short pause.
We Have Users – Now We Need Developers
As we continued to discuss transition from web2 to web3, George noted that we are currently at the stage when cryptocurrency is turning from a candy into a pill.
“Initially used as a brand-new way of earning money, now crypto assets are a great means of storing value. Average people resort to the stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies to make cheap and fast cross-border transactions, with most of them buying USDT and not even knowing how it is different from USD.
Well, here they are, entering the web3 environment, investing their money into it and driving the development of blockchain by simply participating in the crypto economy. And this is the right way ahead for us – the adoption of web3 products is possible when people use them just because they are convenient and have value. Another crucial moment is the emergence of solutions like NEAR Protocol that enhance scalability – you will never be able to launch crypto-Facebook on Ethereum as it lacks capacity,” he said.
At the end of our conversation, we asked George what he would like to say to those who will read this interview, and he went on enthusiastically:
“I’m calling all developers to explore the web3 space – we really need talented minds to build infrastructure solutions for millions of users currently flocking to crypto. It doesn’t really matter if you have experience with blockchain or not. With NEAR Protocol, you’re enabled to write smart contracts in the most familiar web2 languages, including Rust and JavaScript. Besides, you can always check codebases of multiple projects on GitHub, fork them, and create your own products.
It’s an ideal time to start as a strong foundation is already built. All there is to do is join in and make it even better. That’s the beauty of blockchain – in the world of decentralization, this open-source technology gives you an advantage even if you come second.”
