Meet Jeff McDonald, Council Member of the NEM.io Foundation
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I am a former Peace Corps volunteer where I spent two years serving in Lesotho, Africa helping with HIV/AIDS education. Later I was an assistant professor teaching first year communication classes in Korea for 10 years. Now I am the co-founder of the NEM Foundation and LuxTag.
In 2013, when I was teaching in South Korea, I heard about Bitcoin and started to study it. Back then, I used Bitcoin instead of my bank for remittance. It was cheaper and faster than using a wire, and sometimes I even made money on arbitrage. I joined the NEM community in Jan 2014 by making a Facebook page. The rest is as they say “history”.
Why do you like NEM?
I love the willingness to do things the right way at NEM and to act with integrity.
I think long term sustainable projects need to be built on good tech and no false promises, pumps, or lies.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I spend most of my time on the computer, discussing the future, or reviewing work already done. I try to go to the gym a few times a week and do light exercise. That is when I’m at home. When I’m on the road, I wake up each day and go to meeting after meeting trying to get NEM awareness and adoption furthered.
What are you currently working on?
Lately, I have been working on wallets/SDKs with Greg, speaking at conferences, working on strategy with Alex, helping the Council and working with LuxTag.
Which part of Catapult are you most excited about?
I am a big fan of the MongoDB in Catapult. It solves a problem that most people in the blockchain industry have completely ignored or refused to acknowledge. Now a true decentralized API exists for both writing and reading data at scale whereas before most projects only focused on writing.
Fun Facts:
- Favourite app: LastPass and Google Authenticator
- Favourite movie: Cloud Atlas
- Favourite hobbie: Swimming/snorkling
