“Ask Me Anything” with Danny Rowshandel — Managing Director at High Performance Blockchain
This dutch-english translated AMA with Danny Rowshandel from HPB took place on December 14th, 2018 and was organized by members of “De Nederlandstalige Crypto Chat” at Telegram.
Q: Would you (for the people who do not know HPB) tell us exactly what HPB does and what makes it so special compared to other blockchains?
Thank you for the invitation. It is nice to have direct contact with everyone here. HPB is a public blockchain protocol that acts as a platform for developers to build decentralized applications. In this respect, we have a similar objective with other projects such as NEO and Ethereum.
What makes us especially unique is that our project was the first to create a hardware board to speed up the function of traditional blockchain and make it more secure. Our hardware board (the blockchain offload engine — BOE) makes it possible to implement applications on a large scale.
Q: How will 2019 look like for HPB? What are your goals? How do you want to achieve these goals?
In 2019 we will mainly focus on expanding our ecosystem. That means collaborating with developers to build new dApps. We want the utility of our platform to be expanded. We will also work on the development of BaaS (Blockchain as a Service). We want to build targeted applications for companies.
In addition, we will constantly want to innovate. That can be through improving our core product — the BOE. So for example the optimization of the current BOE board, or the release of BOE 2.0
Q: A Dapp has to hold HPB to use the blockchain. How much HPB should a dApp hold and will this number change if the price per coin goes up?
Theoretically, a dApp does not have to hold HPB coins to operate our platform. But practically, because it will of course make use of transactions. Gas is needed for each transaction to compensate our node holders who keep the network secure and operational. When an application has many transactions, it will also need more HPB to keep the system operational.
Q: What else does HPB do to Marketing? Do you think you will be found easier in 2019?
With regard to marketing, we have a lot of things on the agenda. We want to release a series of videos that help with mapping HPB. We are working on a number of these: advertisements, BOE video, corporate introduction video, dApp introduction video etc.
Furthermore, we want to organize meetups, hackathons, and participate more often in different tech conferences.
We are also working on setting up collaboration with media parties, KoLs (known YouTubers).
Finally, we intend to work even more actively with our current community, so that we can reach even more people through a large network.
Q: There is still nothing known about the number of tps. When will we hear more about this?
Current TPS disclosure + further planning for improvement of our network is scheduled for December-January.
Q: As far as I know, people who purchase BOE can run a Node if they have been chosen by the community or have a certain number of tokens running, making them among the top holders? I also understand that HPB sells the hardware without making a profit and a loss. Can you confirm that?
We are not currently selling the BOE. Everyone who satisfies the minimum requirements regarding internet connection and server receives a BOE for free from us.
Q: I also wonder how it is with upgrades. Like phones and laptops there is always a newer and faster type. How does this go with HPB? Think that after a while the current hardware is also outdated. Do people have to purchase a new BOE or are they exchanged or something?
Currently our BOE does not yet function at 100%. We have not set the configuration to 100% capacity. So we can improve with our current hardware. In addition, we will have to constantly innovate in order to continue to play a role in the industry.
Q: What about the financial situation of the team?
We have sufficient finances to be operational for the next two years. If the current market remains so and we have no revenues, we will have to scale back our operations a little. We do expect that adoption and our customer base will grow significantly within two years.
Q: I was curious about the focus on the financial sector. We hear a lot about gaming and other interesting developments, but there seems to be a shift from UP, Alibaba etc … to other domains. This means that UP and other large parties are on the shelves?
Many large parties are not entirely convinced about the implementation of blockchain. It is a new technology, so they like to watch the cat from the tree. In that respect, SMEs (*small and medium enterprises) will implement blockchain in order to get a bit ahead of the big conglomerates.
Q: Has HPB already sold much of the collected eth through private sale when ETH was worth much more? Think that there are many projects that have gone wrong because of this. And that they even have to sell eth for the current price of today to get around.
We have sold part of our proceeds in ETH, another part has been converted into other currencies, and we still have a part in ETH.
Q: How is the state of affairs regarding the partnership with CPChain? And why did HPB choose to enter into a partnership with CPChain?
One of the co-founders of CPChain has also been involved with HPB. Although he is no longer part of HPB, we still have a good mental attitude and work well together.
Q: How many Dapps are currently running on HPB?
Currently we have about 10 dApps who have pledged / are working to build on HPB. One of them will soon be on the market and that is the computer game Ace Chariot!
Q: Will NEO play any significant role for HPB?
Our CEO and NEO’s CEO Da HongFei have a good relationship together. We are planning to build a NEO EVM. Furthermore, we could possibly organize meetups together. We do want to underline that we want to develop on our own foot and that we are not part of NEO. NEO is a good partner and one of our first investors. Where there are synergies we will build together. Elsewhere we will get started ourselves.
Q: How does the HPB team look at the current crypto market?
We expected the market to have a dip, because there are currently many projects that have not delivered any products. Furthermore, there is a great uncertainty regarding regulations in different countries.
I think that next year blockchain projects will possibly merge. Many will also disappear because they have no finances / revenues. The level of projects will only go up. Use cases will become increasingly important.
Q:Can there be a follow-up to the interview you did with Crypto Zombie? Maybe every six months?
I plan to do more interviews with other YouTubers.
Q: Other blockchains can use the hardware of HPB to boost their tps. Are there already blockchains that want to do this?
We are in discussion with a number of parties that are interested in this, which also concerns companies that we are possibly going to supply BaaS.
Q: Can you say something about AI developments and cooperation with Bottos?
I myself do not manage the relationship with Bottos. I will have to ask colleagues about specific progress regarding this cooperation. I will make a note of this and we can give an update in the future.
Q: HPB has 70 employees, how is the division between tasks, marketing, development etc ...? How big is the team that supports external dapps?
We currently have about 60 employees. About half of them focus on development, hardware and software. The team that supports external dapps from a business perspective is about 10 people. We also have others working on marketing / operational matters.
Q: Can we expect a new large Exchange soon?
We always aim to increase liquidity channels for our users / investors. We will continue to work on that. Regarding specific listings, keep an eye on our news channel.
Q: Can you tell us more about how BBN and HPB are connected and what future plans look like?
BBN is a dApp that will be built on our network. With regard to specific claims, especially their media channels keep an eye on. Recently our CEO visited us and we have the impression that it is heading in the right direction.
Q: Is it perhaps an idea that HPB makes some PR material, such as the acquaintances t-shirts, pens, stickers (and sells) or do not see anything in it?
We are working on that. We will take that to events / meetups!
Q: Is there active work on translations and familiarity in non-English speaking countries?
Yes, we are currently working with the community to offer translations in different languages: French, Russian, German etc.
Q: How important is the (*node) voting for the operation of the network?
Voting determines who will become the next node holders. The node holders manage our network. So it is extremely important that everyone actively participates.
Q: What role does HPB play in developing and supporting Gaming on block chain?
That can be different roles. For example, a game can pay players bonuses in HPB, which you can then buy in-game items. Another possibility is, for example, that a game developer connects all of its games through blockchain, allowing you as a user to redeem points between different platforms.We can also make a complete blockchain game together.
In other words there are many different ideas with which we can play.
Q: Is a dApp for UnionPay something that we can expect soon?
We want to give an update for the new year regarding the Union Pay cooperation, in which we make clear how far we are, what the next steps are, etc.
Q: How do you think how HPB looks in 5 years?
That is difficult to estimate. Blockchain technology is really in its infancy. I am convinced that our philosophy is the right one, optimizing the foundation to build a blockchain system.
I expect that in 5 years industry and HPB will have to offer specific applications. The product is no longer we have a blockchain platform / infrastructure, but specific products that solve a specific problem within different industries.
Q: Without giving financial advice, what makes it interesting for investors to purchase your tokens? What causes the value to rise?
This is a complex question that I can give an extensive answer to. But most importantly, the value of our platform will increase through adoption. Every dApp or new partner we have will lead to our platform increasing in value. That will have to transfer into the market.
In addition, we will constantly increase the utility of our token by dApps that will build on our platform. This in turn ensures that liquidity is increased.
Q: Does a coin in a game get its own name or become the HPB? HPB does not sound like a coin ...
It will simply be called HPB.
Q: What about logistics, supply chain and tagging, you really become a competitor of something like VeChain, Walton. Is that still up?
Our platform also has that kind of functionality, because we also support digital ids and complex smart contracts. But our focus is not on that. We are a protocol and our focus is different than for example a VeChain.
We could develop such a type of solution with a partner. That option is possible, because the basic foundation for it is there.
I also want to print again that everything is really in its infancy. Products that are on the market today are not the undisputed winners. It is too early for that.
Q: What are the biggest challenges for HPB in the near future?
HPB has two major challenges:
1) creating brand recognition and adoption in the west. Our project is still mainly Chinese and in order to join the Western market, we still have to take a number of steps as a platform.
2) In addition to building a platform, we have to build specific applications that can be directly implemented by companies and organizations. For that, many puzzle pieces have to be brought together: industry knowledge, resources, marketing, timing etc.
I would like to thank you all for all the good questions and your enthusiasm. I and my entire team appreciate your support and trust in HPB!
We can schedule another AMA round at a later time where I will answer your questions.
Thank you all and I wish you a great weekend!
Danny Rowshandel
Managing Director of Overseas Business Development
Danny has joined the HPB International Team as Business Development Director. He helps to drive HPB’s growth in overseas markets by seeking new strategic partnerships and investments. Prior to joining HPB, Danny primarily worked for major Chinese financial institutions. At HNA Technology, a Fortune 500 investment conglomerate with a focus on IT services, he worked as a Senior Finance Manager, successfully closing multiple large-scale cross border M&A and fundraising projects. Earlier he also worked for ICBC, China’s largest state-owned bank to support the development of its financial leasing business in different geographic regions.
