“NEAR Gives You an Edge Even If You Come Second“: Exclusive Interview with MyNearWallet CEO George Goshanov
We met George Goshanov, a bright-eyed CEO of MyNearWallet, at the point in his life when he had already spent 5 years working with blockchain. MyNearWallet is not the first project in the NEAR family and George's track record – he had first-hand experience with NearPay and Roketo.
MyNearWallet is a venture studio Kikimora Labs project, who already released a series of successful projects built on NEAR Protocol, a decentralized, DPoS, and community-driven platform for creating DApps. All talent, expertise, and resources the studio has, will flow into the project at maximum capacity.
The future service claims an ambitious but necessary task of providing everyone – from seasoned crypto enthusiasts to newbies with the vision of a better future – a navigational map through the unbounded and constantly changing ocean of Web3 expanse. The intuitive design and accessibility will earn MyNearWallet points in the unofficial competition between all solutions based on NEAR.
Safe, but Not Sound – User-Friendliness vs. Anonymity
The first topic that arose in our conversation was a rather challenging one. We asked George a simple question: what is the better option for the user – a custodial wallet or a non-custodial one?
“There is no single answer to this question, as we need to use both types of wallets for different purposes,” George said after only a second of hesitation. “The only secure way to maintain your vast savings is to use non-custodial hardware or software wallets, such as Ledger, Trezor, metamask, and MyNearWallet. 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.”
The antagonism between custodial and non-custodial wallets, a common topic among the crypto community, in George's opinion, is fertile ground for marketing and media. It is similar to the streaming vs. cinema war that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two different structures providing the same content clashed together, seemingly dividing the audience and creators into two parts. But an advanced movie fan will most likely not choose one or another. When the moment is right, they will go to the cinema and, sometimes, stay home and watch Netflix or Disney+. They combine the experiences, not rob themselves of one.
To make his point, George added, “Imagine that you’re a longtime user of NEAR-based products, and you have 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 as you do with web2 technologies. In this context, custodial and non-custodial solutions even complement each other.”
Understanding which situation requires one or another solution can be tricky. George offered to think of it in terms of getting air in the process of deep sea diving when the option of unrestricted breathing from the atmosphere becomes not possible.
“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.”
Decentralization – in the Search for Balance
One of the declared aims of the web3 project is to defy the global trends toward the concentration of data and resources in very few hands. On paper, the whole point of crypto is the defiance of pooling, but the critical voices noted that the current crypto community’s structure is almost the same as the one they are supposed to be overcoming.
George’s opinion on the matter is closer to a centrist ideal. Responsibility is a thing that should not dissipate in an anonymous society. The Marvel Civil War movie and its success and continuing debate over who was right, Iron Man or Captain America, had given us a perfect example of the problem. You can not just let everyone in the barn and wait for the competence to appear magically. There should be someone with knowledge and expertise to overlook blockchain technology.
“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.”
George considered our suggestion that the early stages of the project demand such an attitude to be viable.
“However, personally, I hope that we'll maintain the balance. Along with the growth to maturity of the 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.
Returning to the beginning of our conversation, George noticed that decentralization is far more achievable with the existing predominance 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.”
Also, George noted, “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 at 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 thinks the decentralization in the blockchain outside NEAR is, for now, off the table. He proved his words by observation of the web3 developers' majority attitude. They view the blockchain as a tool for everyday life improvement, but this simple domestic life is shaped by centralized structures – the governments, the employers, the businesses, etc. Therefore, the products are bound to be rooted in these structures, which now do not need decentralization.
“In the fiat 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 predicted.
Perspectives of the Future – What to be Prepared?
Considering the impressive number of tasks standing in the face of the whole crypto wallet market, we tried to imagine what we would see if we somehow time-traveled 5 years forward. George thought this discussion should begin with the reason for the 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 is a real blast!”
By George’s words, we are now in the stage where the transition from web2 to web3 is inevitable. It has already started. The turn in the essence of the medium should lead to the cryptocurrency’s transformation from a hobby to a modus operandi.
“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.”
After talking of the things unimaginable in the past, we prompted George to collect his thoughts of what he wants and believes – not expects – web3 to become.
“I believe that crypto wallets will eventually become a kind of crypto-hub and will represent a window into the blockchain, with balances, messages, and push notifications gathered together in a single interface. This super-app 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,” he said.
The Road is Clear – but How to Get There?
The main route for cryptocurrencies to find their way into the hearts and everyday life of the user is, in George’s eyes, to bring them into the frame of already familiar technology used by everyone.
“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!”
To conclude our interview on the high point, we offered George the possibility to address those readers who, he believes, are the most crucial part of the future changes and evolution of blockchain technologies.
“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 the 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.”
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