Web3 Leader Spotlight: Seun Lanlege
Seun is the founder of Polytope Labs. He previously worked as a core developer at Parity Technologies, where he contributed to projects such as Parity-Ethereum, Substrate, and Polkadot. After leaving Parity, he joined Composable Finance where he led the research & development efforts that successfully bridged Polkadot to Cosmos using the IBC framework.
Currently, Seun is leading R&D at Polytope Labs, focusing on interoperability, privacy and scalability. You’ll also find him on X where he frequently philosophizes on Web3's wonder (@seunlanlege)
How did you enter the Web3 space and decide to focus on blockchain research?
I was basically nerd-sniped by blockchain protocols after a co-worker had introduced me to them. I started researching blockchain protocols and contributing to open-source blockchain repos. Eventually I was hired by Parity Technologies GmbH in 2018. A blockchain research & development lab led by Gavin Wood, Ethereum's Co-Founder.
How do you see interoperability improving Web3 adoption?
I think fundamentally blockchains promise financial freedom, the freedom to do business with anyone, anywhere in the world. But blockchains have a scalability problem, it's now common knowledge that we will need a lot of blockchains if we want to serve a lot of users. This is what necessitates interoperability. If blockchains provide freedom, then bridges in-between these blockchains unlock a greater level of freedom for the individual. This is fundamental to our mission at Polytope Labs.
What are some of the current privacy challenges faced in the space, and how can they be mitigated?
Asset privacy is currently one of the largest issues, but I don't believe it will continue to be a problem for long. With the rapid pace of the development of zero-knowledge cryptographic schemes, privacy can be solved within the next 3 years.
What advice do you have for aspiring Web3 researchers aiming to contribute to the field?
I'd say that they need to have the right reasons for joining the web3 revolution. The reason I joined was specifically because of the financial freedom, as someone who lives in sub-saharan Africa where it's impossible to receive money even for legitimate purposes from western banks.
I've seen the damage that can be done by walling off people from the global financial systems and blockchains are critical to systematically dismantling these institutions. Greater financial freedom means prosperity for all, not just a few. This is my motivation, and I hope that aspiring web3 researchers and developers are able to find theirs.
