Ivan Kachkovski is a Russian-born computer scientist, entrepreneur and investor who has become one of the most influential figures in the cryptocurrency industry. He is best known for his contributions to cryptography and blockchain technology as well as being an early supporter of Bitcoin.
Kachkovski studied at Moscow State University and received a degree in Computer Science before moving to Berlin in 2011. Soon after arriving in Germany, he founded KryptoKit, an online wallet provider designed to make it easier for users to store their cryptocurrencies securely. In 2013, he joined Blockchain.info as CTO where he helped develop some of the first major applications built on top of Bitcoin’s blockchain technology such as multisig wallets, paper wallets & hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets.
In 2014 Ivan co-founded Colu Technologies Ltd., which developed tools that enabled banks and other financial institutions to issue digital assets backed by physical currencies or commodities on top of Ethereum’s blockchain network. Later that same year, he was featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for his work with cryptocurrency technologies.
In 2015 Ivan left Colu Technologies Ltd., citing differences with management over how the company should be run going forward. Since then he has remained active within the crypto space both through investments and advising roles with various companies including ShapeShift AG – a Swiss-based firm offering global trading services between different cryptos – , Helperbit – an Italian non profit organization providing relief aid using cryptocurrency donations –and Bancor Network – a protocol allowing users convert tokens directly without needing any counterparty exchange.-
He also serves as Technical Advisor for multiple projects like Dappros Foundation aiming at creating decentralized apps (dapps) running on distributed ledger systems; Mycelium Gear –a payment processing service enabling merchants accept bitcoin payments; Bitrated –a trust mediated platform connecting buyers & sellers guaranteeing secure transactions–; Thesis Protocol–building infrastructure components like data storage layer or identity verification layer needed by dapps.; Storj Labs–developing open source cloud storage platform powered by blockchain technology..etc
Currently Ivan is working on a project called Aleph Zero which seeks to create “an infinitely scalable public sidechain based off Ethereum” but capable of handling larger transaction volumes than existing blockchains can manage through its unique consensus algorithm called Proof Of Activity (POA). With this project Ivan hopes to help bridge mainstream finance with innovative crypto applications while overcoming scalability issues currently hindering mass adoption among consumers worldwide .
