I was recently digging my paper archives and found out this extract from the major Greek Newpaper “Kathimerini”. Its from August 2022 when the big news about the $200 million capital raise were out and the excitement was huge! That’s also when Kostas announced that Mysten is establishing a Greek Office and is in the look for 15 new developers!
The English Translation follows:
New blockchain and digital currency with a Greek signature
By Despoina Konti
“We have built a brand-new blockchain that will enable transactions to be carried out within a few seconds. We are also developing our own digital currency, which will compete with existing ones, effectively reaching Ethereum, which is considered more advanced and more secure.”
This is how Kostas Chalkias, one of the founders of Mysten Labs, describes to Kathimerini the company’s blockchain technology, known as Sui (which in Greek means water), as well as the digital currency of the same name, which is included in the list of approximately 20,000 cryptocurrencies circulating worldwide.
The initiative operates in a market—that of blockchains and cryptocurrencies—that has at times caused problems for banks, businesses, and regulatory authorities. Nevertheless, it has attracted investor interest, such as that of the American firm Andreessen Horowitz (a venture capital fund with assets exceeding 20 billion dollars), as well as other investors who are expected—according to information—to invest more than 200 million dollars soon, potentially turning Mysten Labs into a “unicorn” within one year.
The founders, former heads of Facebook’s crypto and blockchain department (Novi), are joining forces to launch a new blockchain and to create a research and development center in Greece.
Amid concerns about the future of digital currencies, as well as the pressure they face due to their growing popularity and the shift of investors toward them as safe investment havens, Mysten Labs, headquartered in Silicon Valley, is setting the bar high and seeks to build “from scratch,” as Mr. Chalkias characteristically states, a new digital world based on blockchain technology.
This refers to a decentralized database, which will not be controlled by a single organization but by multiple entities. One will be able, for example, through one’s own account and personal digital signature, to carry out transactions, upload contracts that cannot be modified, and create one’s own applications, without needing to access the database with one’s own programmers.
Mr. Chalkias refers to the high level of trust in the transparency that blockchain can offer, despite objections that have been expressed in some countries. For example, those who send money from Australia to Europe need to wait several days for the funds to be credited to the account, as during the transaction there are intermediaries, such as banks. With blockchain technology, there is transparency regarding intermediaries, as one can see at that moment the path of the funds as well as their final destination.
The transaction is completed in just a few seconds, he notes, explaining that the Sui blockchain technology, like others, “resembles Google Drive.” “The data does not belong to Google, but to many entities. Additionally, the code of ‘smart contracts,’ meaning the commitments governing the creation of transactions, is open.”
“With the difference that they do not belong to Google, but to many entities. Also, the code of the ‘smart contracts,’ meaning the commitments governing the creation of transactions, is open.”
He himself points out that users can, for the time being, use Mysten Labs’ technology by building their own applications, while he estimates that the technology will continuously acquire new uses.
As blockchain is not yet sufficiently regulated, the issue of security is often a subject of discussion. “We have cryptographic algorithm models, and there are auditors who examine the blockchain for security gaps. Additionally, we have developed a new programming language, Move, which originated at Facebook and focuses on code security, reducing the likelihood of developers making mistakes.”
Mysten Labs was founded in 2021 by five individuals, all former Facebook executives and key architects of the digital currency Libra (renamed Diem), which, however, failed to move forward.
Today, the company is in discussions to raise more than 200 million dollars, while it has already raised 36 million dollars from major funds and angel investors.
Within this framework, the company currently employs 70 people and plans to bring operations to Greece and create a team that will work on its technology. Thus, it has leased space in Athens and is seeking 15 engineers and programmers.
Originally appeared on 17 Aug 2022 in Kathimerini.
