Founded by a team of software engineers, Luxor Technologies was established to bridge the infrastructure gap in the blockchain industry.
Since then, Luxor has built a range of solutions for scaling blockchain infrastructure including a globally distributed mining pool, a hashrate network-switching engine, and a wide variety of blockchain software.
Luxor is therefore dedicated to building infrastructure to support the next generation of digital assets.
In this interview, Nick Hansen, CEO & Co-Founder of Luxor Technologies talks about his “crypto-land” experience and explains the significance of blockchain across industries.
Let’s find out what he has to say!
1. How did you start Luxor Technologies? What was the inspiration behind this business?
As with many early enthusiasts, I got started by mining Bitcoin early in 2013 with GPUs.
It’s funny to look back on that time because we were wondering whether mining Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies would ever be “worth it”. As it turns out, the answer was a resounding YES!
Luxor is the result of that curiosity. By trade, I’m a software engineer which led me to take a deeper look at the software systems underlying this emerging global infrastructure.
2. How has blockchain technology evolved over the years?
Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has evolved incredibly fast. We’re seeing Fortune 500 companies considering holding Bitcoin as part of their treasury management strategy. 5 years ago, that seemed like a fantasy.
As for the evolution of blockchain technology, Bitcoin is the King and will remain so. There are interesting technologies that fit a niche (Siacoin, ZCash, or Decred) and provide value for their respective use cases but as a store of value and medium of exchange, Bitcoin will continue to hold that crown.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is the white-hot emerging intersection between blockchain and fintech. Some of the applications of DeFi are incredibly interesting and powerful. Lending, margin, derivatives, and yields are made possible by DeFi.
3. Which industries are already using blockchain technology?
Every bank on earth is currently considering its blockchain strategy. Banking/finance is the most natural fit for blockchain; “blockchain” is quite literally an unchangeable ledger, similar to your checkbook.
This is why Bitcoin is such an elegant application of blockchain.
There are other industries that can benefit from this immutability. Voting systems, healthcare, supply chain management, and insurance are all thriving with blockchain innovation.
4. What are the digital assets that can potentially be supported by blockchain?
Blockchain technology really shines anywhere there is a centralized authority that must be relied on for the system to work. Banking is the easiest to understand; when someone buys a car, the seller of the car relies on the bank to determine if the buyer has the required funds.
In Bitcoin, that assurance is provided by the network.
All assets will eventually become supported by blockchain. Tokenized equity is becoming common and “non-fungible tokens” (NFTs) are emerging as a way to tokenize digital art.
Real estate, online identity, and voting are also being disrupted by blockchain technology.
5. What are some myths that you’d like to bust about blockchain?
Riskiness. At this point, I think it’s riskier *not* to own Bitcoin than it is to own it.
6. What made you choose .TECH for Luxor Technologies?
It can definitely be frustrating finding a .com that makes sense for your business. Luxor.Tech was the perfect solution for us and I imagine that many technology-focused companies will see that value as well.
