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10 Things You Didn't Know about Da Hongfei

Da Hongfei

Da Hongfei is a notable individual in the Chinese part of the cryptocurrency industry. In particular, it is worth mentioning that he is a co-founder of NEO with the result that he is now the Chair of NEO Foundation as well as the CEO of NEO Global Development. However, Da has been involved in other projects as well.

1. His Is a Chinese Name

Da Hongfei is a Chinese name. Due to this, Da is his family name while Hongfei is his personal name. For those who are curious, if they see a Chinese name with more than one syllable, chances are good that it is a personal name rather than a family name. There have been numerous Chinese family names consisting of two syllables rather than the one. However, they have become less and less common over the course of centuries, with the result that even those that remain tend to be rather rare.

2. Went to the South China University of Technology

Education-wise, Da went to the South China University of Technology, which tends to be much better-known to Chinese people under the shortened name Huagong. Based on its name, it should come as no surprise to learn that the school focuses on engineering combined with the sciences, though it takes a strong interest in other subjects such as economics and business management as well. As for Da, he studied both English and technology.

3. Based Out of Shanghai

Nowadays, Da is based out of Shanghai. For those who are unfamiliar, it is one of the four Chinese cities that are classified as municipalities under the direct administration of the Chinese central government, meaning that it possesses the same kind of power as the provinces. Regardless, economic reforms resulted in Shanghai becoming a center of trade as well as finance, which in turn, has resulted in it becoming a center of culture as well as of invention and innovation. As such, it is a sensible base for the companies that make up the cutting edge of things.

4. Co-Founded NEO

In 2014, Da and Erik Zhang co-founded AntShares, which is a blockchain-based platform for building decentralized apps. However, said platform has since been renamed NEO as a nod to the notion of combining the past with the future. Something that can be considered one component in a comprehensive re-branding that has put much emphasis on building what is being called a "smart economy" through the use of smart contracts as well as blockchain technologies. Besides this, Da and Zhang also co-founded Onchain at around the same time, which is a company that specializes in providing consulting services as well as development services to clients interested in blockchain technologies.

5. Pioneer of the Chinese Cryptocurrency Industry

Timing-wise, Da and Zhang can be considered real pioneers of the Chinese part of the cryptocurrency industry. As such, they have paved the way for other interested parties. Furthermore, one can make the argument that their platform has made matters much more manageable for a wide range of such individuals.

6. Welcomes the Regulation of Cryptocurrency

There is a real anti-establishment sentiment to much of the cryptocurrency industry. After all, one of the reasons that the first cryptocurrency came into existence was the interest in a currency that couldn't be controlled by a single entity. As such, this kind of attitude is still very widespread. However, Da can't be considered one of the industry figures who believe this because of his opinion on the regulation of cryptocurrency.

7. Believes that the Lack of Regulation Is Holding Back Blockchain's Potential

Regulation was always going to happen sooner or later once the law caught up with the fast-moving footsteps of advancing technology. However, Da's attitude isn't one of resignation. Instead, he outright welcomes the regulation of cryptocurrency because he sees it as something that will enable blockchain technologies to reach their full potential. Essentially, a lack of regulation has resulted in a lot of people falling for one kind of cryptocurrency scam or another. This is a huge problem because it causes interested individuals to stay away from cryptocurrencies as well as other examples of blockchain technologies in use, thus slowing down the rate of their development. Theoretically, if the law can boost public confidence, the result will be more use of blockchain technologies sooner than otherwise possible.

8. Influenced By ICO Bubble

It seems safe to say that Da was influenced to a considerable extent by an ICO bubble that happened in China. For those who are unfamiliar, ICO stands for initial coin offering, which is a kind of event in which sums of a new cryptocurrency are sold for something much more reliable. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of these cryptocurrencies fail, which when combined with a very high scam rate, means that fewer than half of them can survive for even four months. Excessive enthusiasm meant that there was an ICO bubble, which hit Chinese investors as well as their counterparts in other countries.

9. Created a Line of Communication with the Chinese Government

In the wake of the ICO bubble, the Chinese government came down hard on cryptocurrencies. However, it didn't institute a total ban because that would have meant missing out on the potential of blockchain technologies. Something that China is actually in a good position to capitalize upon thanks to its resources as well as its interest in such topics. To a considerable extent, this can be credited to the efforts of Da as well as other likeminded individuals who had lines of communication with the Chinese government both before and after the ICO bubbles making sure that their perspectives were heard.

10. Has a Different Attitude from the Beijing Cryptocurrency Industry

Nowadays, cryptocurrencies continue to be a subject of much interest in China. However, it is interesting to note that different Chinese cities can have very different attitudes on the matter. For example, the part of the Chinese cryptocurrency industry based in Beijing is apparently very focused on Bitcoin because it doesn't think that any up-and-comer will be able to shake it from its position of dominance. In contrast, Da and the rest of the part of the Chinese cryptocurrency industry based in Shanghai are much more willing to look into new possibilities. Of course, other Chinese cities have their own thoughts on the matter, though time will tell which perspective will win out in the long run.

Allen Lee

Written by Allen Lee

Allen Lee is a Toronto-based freelance writer who studied business in school but has since turned to other pursuits. He spends more time than is perhaps wise with his eyes fixed on a screen either reading history books, keeping up with international news, or playing the latest releases on the Steam platform, which serve as the subject matter for much of his writing output. Currently, Lee is practicing the smidgen of Chinese that he picked up while visiting the Chinese mainland in hopes of someday being able to read certain historical texts in their original language.

Read more posts by Allen Lee

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