"Blockchain Technology Should Be Abstracted Into The Background” : Gateway.fm CTO Igor Mandrigin

The race to the billion-dollar crypto market is still viewed by some people as a wild goose chase due to the complexity surrounding blockchain technology.

In other words, there are those who argue that abstracting blockchain into the background is the first step to mass adoption.

In this interview, CTO and Co-founder of Gateway.fm Igor Mandrigin delved into blockchain abstraction and Gateway.fm, his pet project.

Hi Igor, thanks for joining us today. How do you assess the evolution of the blockchain regulatory environment?

During the relatively nascent history of blockchain technology, there has been a significant risk of both under-regulation and over-regulation, adding complexity to companies trying to fast-track innovation while staying within regulatory parameters.

Following a year blighted by numerous Black Swan events, heightened regulatory scrutiny can be expected.

Looking ahead, Web3 projects will likely face more stringent regulations, and while this may slow down the pace of innovation, it will help the industry become more secure and trustworthy in the eyes of mainstream users, who may have been averse to exploring the space to date.

Can you tell us a bit about Gateway.fm and what inspired you?

Gateway.fm is a truly decentralized blockchain infrastructure node provider, delivering reliable node infrastructure, best-in-class validators and robust dev tooling to help Web3 projects scale at pace.

We are firmly committed to democratizing access to scalable Web3 infrastructure, while empowering developers to do their best work in a supportive and purpose-built environment.

By spreading RPC infrastructure across multiple independent data centers, the network becomes less reliant on any one data center, reducing the risk of a single point of failure.

My co-founder Cuautemoc Weber and I launched Gateway.fm to build decentralized RPC solutions that don’t rely on centralized services like Amazon Web Services. We ultimately wanted to disrupt the status quo node infrastructure landscape and to provide diversity and decentralized access in line with the spirit of Web3.

We could see there was massive pent-up market demand for infrastructure services supporting multiple blockchains. At Gateway, our focus since day one has been to simplify the complexities of crypto while accelerating deployment capabilities, enhancing security, and making blockchain more fun and accessible to a wider audience.

This is what we’re aiming to achieve with the recent launch of Presto, a Zero-knowledge based Web3 platform as-a-service.

Speaking of Presto. What is it all about?

Presto is designed to greatly simplify deploying and operating Zero-knowledge rollups, allowing any non-crypto user to deploy a state-of-the-art full E2E zk-validium or zk-rollup within a couple of clicks and minutes.

We already pre-integrate a lot of necessary tooling from the start, such as explorers, faucets, developer tools, data availability, and many more ancillary services, which will simplify the life of many developers and projects, allowing them to focus further on the actual use cases than on the underlying tech.

With Presto, we alleviate the significant challenges associated with deploying the infrastructure, smart contracts, and tools required to establish a fully operational zk-rollup in production, which normally is an onerous and time-consuming process.

Currently, we manage about 30 microservices, with more features and functionalities being added on an ongoing basis. These intricate systems consist of numerous interconnected microservices operating synchronously to facilitate the seamless user experience.”

Can you share a practical example?

Let’s start with a throwback example. The process of building a website during the 90s was extremely complex and pretty much only reserved for web developers.

Fast forward to today, anyone can create fully functional websites without even thinking of the underlying architecture.

With Presto, this is exactly the type of paradigm shift we want to enable for blockchain technology – making it accessible and simple to use and build on top of.

Is Presto chain-agnostic?

Yes, which means Presto can work with a range of Layer 1 (L1) chains. Right now, we leverage the security of Ethereum or other L1 chains, such as Gnosis Chain, which allows Presto to build a higher-level chain with purpose-built prerequisites – creating a Layer 2 (L2) or Layer 3 (L3) solution.

As our platform evolves, we’ll be extending support to additional chains, enhancing Presto’s multi-chain capabilities while offering users greater choice and flexibility.”

Do you support the call for the abstraction of blockchain?

Absolutely, yes! Blockchain should be abstracted away into the background. Through the abstraction of intricate technical details, developers and enterprises can effortlessly use the most advanced technology that blockchain can offer, all without the need for extensive knowledge in cryptography or blockchain protocols.

Presto further simplifies the establishment and upkeep of blockchain networks, lowering entry barriers for businesses seeking to tap into the potential of blockchain – fostering faster adoption and implementation of blockchain technology.

Looking ahead, what plans are in the pipeline at Gateway.fm?

We’ll continue to expedite product development, explore value-driven partnerships with like-minded ecosystem players, and develop more solutions that can help traditional financial institutions and enterprises segway into the blockchain space.

Ultimately, we want to put our deep-level infrastructure knowledge and core development experience to work in serving the top DeFi solutions in the decentralized space.

How can Web3 projects demonstrate a commitment to security?

Web3 projects should always aim to maintain the highest standards of security to maintain and build trust with their consumer base. Steps that can be taken include implementing multi-factor authentication, cold storage for digital assets, and regular security audits.

By clearly communicating the rationale behind these measures, Web3 projects can demonstrate a commitment to user security. It’s also important to provide robust customer support to address queries and concerns seamlessly, helping particularly new users to navigate the complexity of engaging with Web3 services for the first time.