Quai Network is crypto for the global and computing economies. And Quai is the only fully scalable and smart contract enabled Proof-of-Work Layer-1. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Quai Network co-founder Alan Orwick to learn more about the company.
Alan Orwick’s Background
What is Alan Orwick’s background? Orwick said:
“My background began with a deep fascination for Bitcoin during high school, which led me to co-found the Texas Blockchain Club at the University of Texas Austin. This experience evolved into a collaboration with my future Quai Network co-founders to conduct extensive research on scalability and cryptography. After graduating, I joined Apple as a software engineer, where I focused on enhancing business intelligence for supply chains across North and South America. This role provided me with critical hands-on experience in data management and operational efficiency. These experiences have been instrumental in shaping Quai Network, allowing us to tackle scalability challenges and integrate advanced business intelligence into our blockchain solutions.”
Formation Of Quai Network
How did the idea for the company come together? Orwick shared:
“The idea for Quai Network emerged from a combination of academic research and industry collaboration. My founding role for the Texas Blockchain Club at the University of Texas Austin allowed me to get connected to professionals developing cutting edge blockchain technology. Through the club, I met my future Quai Network co-founders, and our shared interests led us to work closely together. Our rigorous research and discussions during this period highlighted the importance of integrating advanced business intelligence and addressing scalability challenges. This collective insight and expertise were instrumental in shaping Quai Network into a robust and scalable platform for decentralized applications.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Orwick reflected:
“One of my favorite memories has been working with the team and community to launch our last big testnet. The testnet included over 2,000 nodes across the globe and 5,500 GPUs. Seeing many participants from diverse backgrounds come together to support Quai Network as we tested the protocol was truly inspiring. Although only a testnet, it proved that with the right protocol design, Quai Network can achieve great levels of worldwide adoption.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Orwick explained:
“Quai Network’s core product is its scalable multichain blockchain infrastructure, which directly addresses scalability challenges at the foundational protocol level using Proof-of-Work consensus. Unlike many networks that rely on Layer 2 solutions, Quai’s approach leverages Proof-of-Work as an oracle for real-world demand and energy costs, enabling the creation of a decentralized ‘stablecoin’ tied to energy. This token, driven by market incentives rather than asset backing, helps stabilize its price around the cost of energy. The platform’s multichain architecture supports seamless interoperability and high transaction throughput, while the advanced consensus mechanism ensures both security and decentralization. Additionally, Quai Network provides developer-friendly tools to facilitate the creation and deployment of decentralized applications, positioning itself as a robust solution for the next generation of blockchain technology.”
Challenges Faced
Have there been any industry challenges in your line of work recently? Orwick acknowledged:
“Recently, Quai Network has navigated significant industry challenges related to scalability and transaction throughput. We addressed these issues by focusing on enhancing scalability directly at the foundational protocol level through our unique multichain architecture and Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism, which avoids reliance on Layer 2 solutions. Our testnet has achieved impressive performance metrics, such as a peak of 2,167 transactions per second, and maintained over 170 days of uptime while processing over 1 billion transactions. Additionally, our collaborative publication on the Proof of Entropy Minima (PoEM) consensus mechanism has contributed to addressing blockchain consensus and security concerns. As we move forward, our upcoming fourth testnet and Mainnet rollout will further refine our technology and solidify our position in the industry.”
Evolution Of Quai Network’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Orwick noted:
“Since its founding in 2020, Quai Network has evolved significantly, building on its origins as a research study at the University of Texas in 2019. The company, founded by Yanni Georghiades, Alan Orwick, Jonathan Downing, Karl Kreder, and Sriram Vishwanath, has progressed through multiple ‘ages,’ such as the Stone Age and Bronze Age, reflecting its development stages. Quai Network has refined its technology by improving scalability through a multi-layered blockchain architecture and enhancing anti-censorship mechanisms with advanced cryptographic techniques. The network has also optimized its consensus mechanisms to boost security and efficiency and worked on integration and interoperability with other blockchain and financial systems.”
“Additionally, Quai Network has introduced robust governance mechanisms to enhance community participation and support developers with better tools and resources for creating decentralized applications. These advancements demonstrate Quai Network’s commitment to addressing the evolving needs of the blockchain ecosystem and solidifying its position in the industry.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Orwick cited:
“Quai Network has achieved several significant milestones that underscore its progress and innovation. Notably, our testnet has demonstrated impressive performance, with a peak of 2,167 transactions per second (TPS)—35 times faster than Ethereum. The network has maintained over 170 days of uptime, processed over 1 billion transactions, and engaged more than 200 developers who have deployed 1,864 contracts. Additionally, the testnet supports 2,200 community nodes and has attracted over 61 community projects.”
“A major achievement includes the publication of our paper on the Proof of Entropy Minima (PoEM) consensus mechanism, co-authored with Dionysis Zindros, a Stanford researcher and CEO of Common Prefix. This paper, available on the IACR Cryptology ePrint Archive, represents a significant contribution to the field of blockchain consensus mechanisms and highlights Quai Network’s innovative approach.”
Customer Success Stories
Can you share any specific customer success stories? Orwick highlighted:
“One of the many specific customer success stories involved an ecosystem project called QuaiMark. QuaiMark was able to deploy on our prior testnet and reach over 4,000 users. We’re looking forward to the continued development of QuaiMark alongside the other 60+ community projects.”
Funding
Are you able to discuss funding and/or revenue metrics? Orwick revealed:
“Since Quai’s inception, we’ve had two funding rounds totalling $10 million. Our investors include Polychain Capital, Alumni Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, Giga Chad Ventures, and more.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Orwick assessed:
“The TAM for Quai Network is not limited to payments or cloud infrastructure. A more accurate comparison would be for that of stablecoins and/or greater adoption for that of Bitcoin. With both Quai and Bitcoin being Proof of Work assets, both resemble the properties of a store of value.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Orwick affirmed:
“What differentiates Quai Network from its competition is our focus on enhancing scalability directly at the foundational protocol level using Proof-of-Work consensus, rather than relying on Layer 2 solutions. Our unique approach uses Proof-of-Work as an oracle for real-world demand and energy costs, enabling the creation of a decentralized ‘stablecoin’ that is tied to energy. This token, driven by market incentives rather than traditional asset backing, helps maintain its price around the cost of energy. This innovative model allows Quai Network to handle a larger volume of transactions while preserving the security and decentralization benefits inherent in Proof-of-Work consensus. This sets us apart by combining high scalability with the robust security of a proven consensus mechanism.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Orwick pointed out:
“Quai Network has several key goals for the future. In the short term, we are focused on launching our fourth testnet and preparing for the Mainnet rollout later this year. These milestones are crucial for advancing our sharding technology and refining the overall design of our platform. Looking further ahead, we aim to establish Quai Network as a major player in the blockchain space by significantly enhancing scalability and fostering innovation. We plan to support this vision through our incentivized grants program, which will encourage developers to build and deploy projects using our fourth testnet. These initiatives are designed to drive progress and contribute to the growth of the blockchain ecosystem.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Orwick concluded:
“The evolving blockchain landscape presents both opportunities and challenges for Quai Network. The expansion of the U.S. energy sector supports Quai’s energy-based consensus model, enhancing security and decentralization. As cryptocurrencies gain use for everyday transactions, there is a growing need for scalable and efficient solutions. Quai Network’s focus on high throughput and low transaction costs positions it well to meet this demand.”
“The industry is exploring scalability through parallelization and sharding, which Quai Network employs with its horizontally sharded architecture and parallel processing. Balancing security, decentralization, and scalability is a challenge that Quai Network addresses with its multi-chain design and innovative consensus mechanism.”
