Genfinity had the privilege of hosting a dynamic lineup of guests, each representing distinct facets of the thriving Hedera ecosystem. From discussions on blockchain technology and immersive experiences to innovative applications and social media platforms built on the Hedera network, our guests provided valuable insights into the diverse and evolving landscape of decentralized technologies.
If you didn’t catch the podcast, continue reading below for the key highlights from our interview with the President of the Hedera Council.
Our Panel
Charles Adkins – President of the Hedera Council
Charles Adkins’ journey before joining the Hedera Council began in the late 1990s with hard-coding banner ads on Yahoo, leading eventually to roles in finance and the US Department of Treasury, primarily focused on online funds transfer. Notably, he founded and sold startups, gaining experience in innovative marketing tactics used by major brands like Nike, Red Bull, and Disney. Later, through connections with Nike, he ventured into blockchain, eventually becoming the President of a project within the Hedera ecosystem after months of involvement and discussions with serious stakeholders who deeply believe in the technology.
HGraph
The Director of Communications at Hgraph, a mirror node service provider for Hedera, also joined Genfinity to discuss the Hedera ecosystem. Brandon Davenport helps enable various data applications on the Hedera network and hosts a weekly show on various platforms with a focus on hashgraph technology. Brandon also runs a Web3 design agency, Doerksen & Davenport Inc.
Other guests
We also spoke with Brandon Hargreaves, Editor and Host of the HBAR Bull show and Hedera Forum and Co-Founder of Twigital. Twigital is an innovative application designed to generate tokenized digital twins. These assets manifest as 3D objects and will serve as the fundamental components for populating spatial computing environments. Jake, the creator of GRELF, the Hedera ecosystem’s top meme coin, also joined us.
Marc Ugas, the Director of Operations at HashPack, weighed in on our podcast, followed by Brady, former Director of Marketing for Hedera and now Co-Founder & CEO of Bonzo Finance. Bonzo Finance is a lending & borrowing protocol for the Hedera network. We ended the hour speaking with Solo Ceesay CEO & Co-Founder, Calaxy, a social media platform built on the Hedera network.
Traditional industry adoption
We started off the podcast by inquiring about the current state of leadership within the Hedera council and the importance of forward-thinking individuals in driving meaningful change. We wanted to know Charles’ thoughts regarding the shift in mindset within traditional industries towards adopting and utilizing blockchain technology, particularly in the context of their experience in the crypto and Web3 space.
Charles highlighted the community-driven nature of large brands he has worked with, such as Nike and Red Bull, emphasizing the importance of long-term belief in technology for organizational change. He admitted that there is a challenge of aligning stakeholders within big organizations towards adopting blockchain technology, emphasizing the need for convincing leadership.
To bring the point home, he told a story about a large retailer, Macys. After the social media platform Instagram emerged, it took Macys three years to get an Instagram account. In the meantime, their competitor JCPenney was dominating Instagram, leading in social media advertising. He expressed, “It takes one or two people to believe in the technology, and then everyone else tends to follow on pretty quickly. “
The US versus other countries
Charles discussed his observations regarding regional differences in the adoption of Web3 technology, noting that Southeast Asia, particularly countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, have seen significant adoption rates with businesses openly embracing and utilizing digital wallets. He contrasts this with North America and Western countries, which he perceives as lagging behind in terms of adoption.
Drawing from his experience in the internet industry, he highlighted the importance of early adopters and pioneers in driving adoption, citing examples like Pizza Hut’s early website launch. He told the story about Pizza Hut making a website during the time when the internet wasn’t advanced enough to let the company do anything but collect email addresses. As soon as Bank of America added payment rails on the internet, Pizza Hut was 3 million email addresses strong, launching their online ordering service and leading the industry.
However, he noted that the current landscape is characterized by higher levels of noise, information velocity, and impatience within the industry. He mentioned studies indicating conservative timelines for the full adoption of major innovations like tokenization and zero-knowledge proofs, with the studies estimating that adoption is anywhere from one to three years away. These studies highlight that enterprises are being cautious in their adoption strategies. Overall, while some regions are embracing these technologies more readily, others, like the US, are proceeding more conservatively.
The Hedera ecosystem
We explored the relationship between enterprises and individuals within the Hedera ecosystem. Insights from our panel shed light on the potential impact of big enterprises versus retail. Discussions touched upon the evolution of platforms from enterprise to consumer use, as well as the challenges and strategies for marketing within the Web3 space.
Enterprises versus individuals
Brandon Hargreaves, the HBar Bull, opined that there are several Hedera ecosystem projects with potential for significant growth, such as Calaxy, HashPack, Earthlings, Karate Combat, and Neuron. Additionally, he highlighted the potential impact of major projects running on Hedera like Shinhan Bank and EDF, one of the world’s largest electricity producers, who are already past the proof-of-concept stage and implementing use cases on the network.
Hargreaves posed a question to Charles about whether he believes big enterprise use cases or innovative smaller startups will have a more substantial impact on the Hedera network.
Charles emphasized the potential for individual users and small builders to have a larger impact on the network through consumer-facing and B2C products — due to the network effects and velocity they can generate. While acknowledging the significance of enterprises, he mentioned their constraints and closed ecosystems that may limit their reach compared to individual users.
Referencing Gmail as an example, he elaborated on how Gmail was initially built by invitation only, first being utilized by enterprises before being opened up to individual users. Individuals got the benefit of having an enterprise-grade email system because it was already a solid product on the enterprise level. He opined that Gmail’s enterprises and users met in the middle, a similar sentiment to the Hedera ecosystem’s use cases. While enterprises are building quickly within the space, they do have more constraints versus individuals who have the ability to get more creative and take more risks in terms of marketing. He believes, “The capability of individuals is probably going to outpace enterprises.”
Branding to individuals
Jake, the creator of GRELF, posed a question around the growing misconception, particularly on Twitter, that Hedera is solely an enterprise-focused blockchain. Jake attributed this misconception to branding or communication issues from the past and sought opinions on how Hedera should present itself in the future to address this perception and clarify its positioning.
Adkins acknowledged a prevailing misconception about Hedera being perceived as solely an enterprise-focused blockchain due to past branding and communication. The marketing in the past was enterprise heavy and was also targeted toward filling the council. Furthermore, he stated that there is a need for a balanced marketing approach that also highlights the accessibility and potential of individual users and builders within the Hedera ecosystem.
Brady, former Director of Marketing for Hedera, highlighted the network effects generated by retail Web3 innovation apps, which operate in a permissionless manner and attract more users. This differs compared to enterprises that currently engage with the network in a one-to-one transactional manner. He expressed curiosity about clarifying Hedera’s stance through potential blog posts or campaigns on its strategic direction — amidst differing narratives within the community regarding whether it is primarily an enterprise or retail network.
Charles gave a personal perspective — comparing Hedera to electricity, emphasizing its universal usability for both enterprises and individuals. He expressed difficulty in categorizing Hedera’s technology as it is open-source and accessible to everyone. “It really is for everyone,” was his mantra regarding the Hedera ecosystem.
He mentioned observing debates within the community about the network’s direction, with some advocating for enterprise use and others for broader accessibility. Despite this, Adkins stressed the importance of unity within the community and the need to focus on the network’s potential for various applications rather than divisive arguments.
“Hedera is an infrastructure that can be used for an infinite number of things. We hope everyone uses it.”
Solo Ceesay, CEO & Co-Founder of Calaxy app, pointed out that the ethos of Web3 is centered around freedom, collaboration, and inclusivity. This ethos centers on both enterprises and retail alike, with the Hedera ecosystem as a solution for multiple parts of a product’s lifecycle. As with any technology, he stresses the importance of user experience tools to cater to a diverse demographic.
Marketing constraints
When it comes to marketing in Web3, Charles highlighted its nuanced nature, influenced by product region and specific features. For instance, he mentioned being unable to retweet a smaller project due to the presence of a rocket emoji. Additionally, he emphasized the necessity to refrain from endorsing forward-looking statements on social media platforms. Overall, Charles emphasized the multitude of regulations governing marketing practices within the Web3 space.
Marc Ugas, Director of Operations at HashPack, confirmed Charles’ sentiments in relation to marketing constraints, stating that he has seen investigations occur just based on the wrong emojis being used in a tweet. He elaborated that enterprises and individual projects may have different levels of conscientiousness within their marketing.
The challenge enterprises face regarding making forward-looking statements, and more, are similar to the constraints experienced by individuals affiliated with Hedera. Due to being publicly traded, council members and enterprises must adhere to regulations that sometimes restrict them from freely discussing their projects and future plans, limiting their ability to share information openly. With that stated, he affirmed that HashPack is optimistic with their marketing program.
Council member involvement
Charles spoke to ongoing efforts to improve the showcasing of the project builders’ work during council meetings within the Hedera network. He mentioned the active role of the corporate communications committee, led by governing council member Rob Allen, in promoting corporate utilization among council members and beyond. Rob Allen monitors developments closely and fosters discussions on corporate utilization, bridging connections between council and non-council members building on the Hedera ecosystem.
Moreover, he spoke to the significant advantages of Hedera’s structure, particularly the trusted council, in facilitating discussions with enterprises. Unlike other blockchains Charles has worked with, Hedera does not have a lot of difficulty engaging with enterprises. He notes the importance of having proof points and trusted entities like the Hedera council in business development discussions, describing it as a superpower unique to Hedera. This structure alleviates stress and builds trust in conversations with potential partners, which they believe is unmatched by other networks.
Brandon Davenport, Director of Communications at Hgraph, wanted Charles to elaborate on the surprising level of knowledge and integration of individuals on the Hedera Governing Council. He mentioned that communities can sometimes perceive council members as distant and was curious as to how Hedera articulates and demonstrates this integration into the community. What actionable steps has Hedera taken to make the community aware of the council’s involvement?
Charles responded to the awareness of Hedera Governing Council members regarding the Twitter community and feedback from various sources, noting that direct recommendations brought to meetings by council members are clearly influenced by community discussions. Marc at HashPack also chimed in, noting that he has seen Hedera council members using community-built applications, such as wallets, in their daily activities.
These interactions break down perceived barriers and showcase the council members’ awareness and engagement with community projects. Marc further noted that council members not only use these applications but also actively keep up with updates and features, demonstrating their genuine interest and involvement in the community ecosystem.
Looking ahead
Concluding our podcast, we inquired about Charles’ insights regarding the expanding real-world use cases on the Hedera network, with a focus on recent developments such as BitGo’s addition to the Hedera Council. We also inquired about expectations for future developments and the possibility of new council members being announced, considering the current limit of 32 out of a maximum 39 council members.
Charles stated it is a personal goal of his to fill the Council this year. Furthermore, he acknowledges the importance of technologies like tokenization, AI, and data provenance, noting their convergence with blockchain, AI, 5G, and quantum computing. He knows the Hedera ecosystem will play a crucial role in providing data and resources as these technologies advance rapidly.
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