The Mind Behind Helium: Shawn Fanning

Born in November 1980, Shawn Fanning is an investor, entrepreneur, and computer programmer well known for co-founding Napster. Fanning also served as the lead software developer of the project. In 1999 he designed Napster, one of the first P2P (peer-to-peer) platforms for sharing files. Napster became so popular worldwide that he appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

In 2001, the initial free peer-to-peer version of the platform was shut down. The company appealed in court against various orders for encouraging illegally sharing copyrighted material. After these events, the site decided to install a paid subscription version. 

Following his participation in Napster, Shawn Fanning decided to invest and join a series of tech-oriented companies. Since then, he has been involved in the early stage of several startups such as Snocap, Path, and Helium.

The Beginnings of Shawn Fanning

He was born in November 1980 in Brockton, Massachusetts. In 1994 at the age of 14, Fanning met over the internet with Sean Parker,  his future partner. In the beginning, the pair bonded over topics such as physics and hacking, and then they met in real life. 

Shawn attended Northeastern University, and in 1998 he developed the code for what would be one of the most popular P2P sharing platforms. In this project, Parker was the one in charge of raising funds to build the platform. They called it Napster. 

Napster

In June 1999, a beta version of the program was released. Hundreds of students attending Northeastern University started using it to share music. Right after the project’s initial success, the founders moved the headquarters to California and hired employees to work on the development of the program. 

Napster became so popular beyond the university community that Shawn Fanning featured the cover of Time magazine. Soon after that, millions of users started downloading all kinds of files through the platform.

However, the company’s success was overshadowed by the numerous lawsuits. The Recording Industry Association of America was entirely against the project, as many bands and artists were. In the end, the resolution for all the feuds was Napster shutting down for good. 

Despite the company’s closing, Napster had a lingering impact on the music industry that we can still witness and enjoy to this day. The project served as inspiration for thriving services like Spotify and iTunes. Ultimately, the success with Napster earned Shawn Fanning a position on the list of top 100 innovators under 35.

Shawn Fanning’s Ventures

After the Napster project, Fanning invested and joined a few tech-related startups. Such ventures include Rapture, Path, and Snocap. Shawn co-founded Snocap alongside Jordan Mendelson, who had worked at Napster before. A few years later, in 2006, he jumped into developing Rapture and became the firm’s CEO in 2007. By 2009 he was starting yet another company named Path.com.

Another vital investment to mention is his participation in launching Uber in San Francisco in June 2010.

Helium

In 2013 Shawn Fanning started a company called Helium Systems with Sean Carey and Amir Haleem. The company announced that the team had obtained $16 million in funding from Khosla Ventures. Other funding participants were FirstMark Capital, Mar Benioff, Digital Garage, SV Angel, and Slow Ventures.

Helium is now selling software and hardware for companies that want to keep a closer eye on their processes. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that the company has been thriving since it was founded. In 2020 their 5G project expanded in the US and started colonizing Europe. 

Now, Helium partnered with Dish, and hotspots are expected to be set all across the US and expand to the rest of the world. Founders claim that most of the profits they make nowadays are mainly from services on top of the network, and a lot of the value of the project is in the ownership of the Helium crypto.

From an early age, Shawn Fanning showed a spark for tech. Later on, throughout his education years, he started surprising the world with his innovative ideas. Today, he’s an accomplished tech entrepreneur with his sights set on the future. We at CryptoDigest cannot wait to see what other innovations this tech visionary will bring us next.

The Co-Founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin

The programmer Vitalik Buterin who is best known for his Ethereum project has been involved in the crypto industry since 2011. He designed Ethereum to be a platform that works as a worldwide network for DeFi or DApps. Even though that’s his most famous project, Buterin is also famous for writing articles and co-founding Bitcoin magazine. 

In 2013 he traveled around the globe to speak with BTC developers. During his six month trip, he understood that he could build a new, improved version of it. BTC stands as the first crypto in the world, while Ether is a digital currency that is based on the blockchain network of Ethereum.

Vitalik Buterin co-founded the Ethereum project which supports multiple functions. Among those functions is the development of programs and apps with the power of crypto. Also, smart contracts are included in the list, and it’s actually how the platform functions. 

His Childhood

Vitalik was born in January 1994 in Russia, where he lived until the age of six. After that, his parents migrated to Canada in pursuit of a better future for the family. When he was in third grade, he was acknowledged as a gifted child and was placed in a program to develop his skills.

When he was in the program, he discovered his talents that made him stand out. His skills mainly focused on programming and mathematics, although he also had an interest in economics.

Even though he was considered a genius from a very young age, his social skills were not as developed. He went to a private school in Toronto, where he acquired a new perspective on education. While being there, he developed a hunger for knowledge, his education became his main goal at the time.

Vitalik Buterin’s Student Life

In 2011 when he searched for a new direction in his life, he came across Bitcoin. In the beginning, he was a bit skeptical about the value of BTC; he wasn’t able to see how it was possible without any backup. As time passed by, his fascination about the project kept growing; the more he learned, the more he wanted to know. 

Naturally, he wanted to be part of the team in charge of this new economy by getting some tokens. Unfortunately, at the time, he neither had the power to mine them nor the money to buy BTC. Eventually, he started writing articles for about five tokens each. Not only he went into the technological aspect of it but also the economic and political aspects. 

In late 2011, his articles got the attention of another Bitcoin enthusiast; eventually, together, they founded Bitcoin Magazine. He quit university since he was too busy traveling the world and developing various crypto-related projects.

The Lightbulb 

After spending a lot of time searching through different projects, he realized that they were too specific for certain uses. Because the protocols weren’t broad enough, he understood there was an opportunity to create a new one. He realized that it was possible to generalize massively what the protocols did. That was an option by changing the functionality with another language of programming. 

We’re talking about the Turing-complete programming language, which allows a computer to solve any problem, if there is the right algorithm, as well as enough memory and time. When his idea got rejected by people in charge of other already established projects, he made the decision to do it himself.

Ethereum is Born

Vitalik Buterin explained his idea in the white paper, which he sent to a few people. That resulted in over 30 people reaching out to him to talk the concept through. In the beginning, Ethereum was only a digital token. As time passed, the idea around it evolved, and by January 2014, the team in charge made core changes. A few months after this, Buterin presented Ethereum at the BTC conference. 

Later on, the team decided to hold an initial Ether offering. By doing this, the network would be able to fund its development. They raised over 31,000 Bitcoin from the sale of Ether, worth about $100,000 at the time.

After that, they established the Ethereum Foundation based in Switzerland. The foundation’s main task was to oversee Ethereum’s software development. Although they had some turbulence, the campaign was successful. After all, Ethereum’s principles, such as universality, simplicity, and agility make it an appealing option for investors.

Conclusions

Vitalik Buterin is, without a doubt, one of the biggest influencers these days. His ideas have proven to be successful, as they make progress not only in the tech field but in the economic one too. For sure, this won’t be the last time we hear about this tech genius and his innovations.

Mark Zuckerberg and His Crypto Plans

Before the Big Boom

Mark Zuckerberg, born in New York in 1984, developed an interest in technology and computers from an early age. At the age of 12, he created a program for messages called Zucknet, also computer games just for fun. Years later, he developed software that big companies such as Microsoft and AOL were interested in buying. He enrolled in Harvard University but dropped out to focus full-time on developing his new company, Facebook.

Facebook Conquering the World

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook, the most famous social networking site, announced that they plan to transform the company into a metaverse. The info was made public through a statement claiming that the firm is looking to invest 50 million. The budget should be spent in the next two years, bringing the Facebook Metaverse to life. Such ambitious projects aim to create a platform that has it all, social media, games, working space, DeFi, crypto, and more. 

Is Mark Zuckerberg Ready For This Move?

Many experts in the field have stated their disapproval of this particular project. Even though this is not the first metaverse in the crypto space, it is still the first of its kind. Other social media pioneers who have also mentioned having plans of a similar kind  are only focusing on providing DeFi services that use Bitcoin. On the other hand, crypto platforms are not aiming to dabble into social networks. The idea of Mark Zuckerberg is to use his already well-established media to boost his new project. Unlike Ethereum, the most famous metaverse for crypto, the Facebook Metaverse will implement the most extensive social networks into the mix. 

With this move, the social network pioneer is trying to get ahead of the next stage of the Internet. It seems to be that they are trying to create a new trend before the rest of the platforms out there go in a different direction and their tools become obsolete.

The Main Concerns

The skepticism comes from the fact that Facebook has been breached several times and compromised user information. Not only has the social network been the target of scrutiny, Mark Zuckerberg himself has also been called to court. He has attended court to clarify data breaches, electoral manipulation, and the sale of private user information. Realistically there is a significant amount of distrust about anything related to Facebook. Although not only that but to Zuckerberg as well. 

Experts have advised him not to build this platform but to use the blockchain that already exists instead. Blockchain technology is a significant threat to social networks. Eventually, if they’re not able to adapt, they’ll most likely disappear. Will Zuckerberg be able to deliver his very ambitious metaverse or not  still remains to be seen. For sure, this young entrepreneur from New York is not going anywhere and will give us more to talk about in the future.

Twitter, Jack Dorsey And Bitcoin Mining

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square and Twitter, recently published that he’s currently exploring new horizons by mining Bitcoin. He has been using the services of Compass Mining for the aforementioned task. Compass Mining is a service that hosts and sources significantly powerful mining rigs all over the globe in different facilities. Jack Dorsey has been known for years now for supporting big projects that are centered around Bitcoin. He expressed his BTC preference and even stated that he firmly believes that it can bring peace to the world. Now, his last contribution to the boost of this crypto is that he’s now mining it too.

The Story With Jack Dorsey

On August 15, he replied to a tweet from a user about getting into mining Bitcoin. The statement was simple but straightforward: “I’m trying to mine with Compass Mining too…”. He didn’t have to elaborate on it, Compass made sure to share it with its +25k followers. They just retweeted the comment.

The Background

As it’s well known, Bitcoin is minted through a process called proof of work; such a process is energy-intensive. Computers compete to perform a variety of compounded mathematical calculations in exchange for rewards in crypto. The task is pretty much unpredictable. Miners expand the power of computing. Due to the current price of Bitcoin, the potential reward can be pretty valuable.

Even though it is actually possible to do mining with just a computer at home, the chances of making a big profit out of it are low. The money that you could potentially get out of it would probably not be enough to cover the energy bill. The process of mining demands a vast supply of power. Mining Bitcoin in a profitable way nowadays typically requires computers with extra powerful or personalized ASIC mining rigs.

The Consequences 

The company that Jack Dorsey mentioned in his comment brings the option of finding an ideal location to host a mining rig. You pick the ASIC rig you’d like to buy through Compass Mining, and they set it up and join the pool of mining of your preference. You’ll pay for energy costs for the equipment, and you get the reward from Bitcoin straight into your wallet of crypto.

After Jack Dorsey’s comment, the company decided not to make any specific comment about his activities with the firm. In the end, it was made clear that the company’s primary goal is to encourage anyone who wants to do mining. That by providing access to similar power costs and the supply of hardware and rack space that the best miners in the world enjoy.