MinerGate, a well-established mining pool, has recently decided to extend its product portfolio. The company set sight on EOS blockchain, aiming at contributing to its ecosystem, and help EOS-based DApps to pick up their steam.
A short while ago the platform has announced their partnership with Lumi Wallet, noticing, that the union has emerged to add value to the EOS ecosystem.
We tried to gain insight on why did MinerGate choose Lumi as their partner wallet and what plans both projects have on each other after speaking with Claude Lecomte, CEO of MinerGate, and Diana Furman, CEO of Lumi.
So, two DApps-oriented services have come together to form this partnership. How did it start? Who came up with the idea behind it?
Claude: When we came up with the idea of an EOS ecosystem, I immediately realized that we would have to face the problem that the whole EOS community was facing – mass adoption. And if we are talking about a digital asset, the most important place for interaction with a user is its place of storage. So it became clear that we needed to develop a wallet. It was supposed to be private, productive, well-designed, visually attractive and easy to use, besides being secure. Developing such a product from scratch is difficult. So we turned our attention to Lumi. Having outlined our plans for an EOS ecosystem and the development of the MinerGate project, we were interested in adding Lumi to the EOS platform. From that point, it was just a matter of technology.
Diana: Right. Initially, as Claude said, MinerGate wanted to build their own wallet and asked Lumi for a white-label solution. So, we started working in that direction when we realized that we could actually help each other out in various ways that exceeded just a wallet project.
How in fact will this partnership work?
Claude: Lumi will be our partner for the mass adoption of EOS. We will provide the project with all of the resources that MinerGate has – access to our information partners and the MinerGate community.
Diana: Lumi has already made a name for itself on the crypto market with wallets and DApps. And since MinerGate’s initial interest was focused around EOS, it was pretty obvious what we should do next. We agreed to go forward as MinerGate’s official wallet so users could easily take part in EOS’ block producer voting system.
Our next step is adding EOS support, then EOS tokens and DApps, and, finally, the voting system. If we’re talking about Lumi’s interface it won’t change much, except one little yet extremely important thing. We are working on adding an in-app browser to Lumi Wallet, just like the one we already have in Lumi Collect, so the users can actually interact with EOS DApps and games.
So, it will probably affect both of your products, right?
Diana: A big step for Lumi Wallet, that’s for sure. Apart from opening the world of EOS tokens to our users, we are already thinking of adding EOS-powered games and much-much-needed EOS non-fungible token support. That’s the beauty of the crypto space: when you get involved with a project that you are passionate about, things often have a way of falling into place.
Claude: As for MinerGate, today, our main concern is our mining pool, which is a high-load service that requires constant attention and development. Our main product will be associated with Lumi to a lesser extent. But we also have a Block Producer. We are very interested in its development as we believe in the concept of EOS, and in this product, Lumi will play a key role, actually shaping the interactive experience of our users.
Diana: Thank you, Claude.
You seem to have concrete plans regarding the development of this partnership. Can you reveal them? What happens next?
Diana: One thing is certain – we want to engage with the EOS community and to become an integral part of it. Lumi has always been into DApps, so we’re more than excited to play our part in EOS DApp development. We are ready to listen and act. We want to become experts in terms of what the community needs and providing it with what is necessary.
Claude: We have recently been seeking to avoid announcing new solutions before they have been tested and launched, but in this case, we will make an exception. As a Block Producer, we are interested in voices. Thus, we plan on building in the voting function directly into the Lumi wallet. We also expect from our partners a solution that really facilitates the creation of accounts on the EOS network.
What plans do MinerGate and Lumi have now beyond this partnership?
Claude: We are looking at a wide range of options that would be of mutual interest to our projects.
In your opinion, how will this partnership affect the part of Lumi’s audience that isn’t interested in mining or EOS?
Diana: Well, as I’ve already mentioned, we will be adding an in-app browser to Lumi, and, who knows, it might inspire some of our users to give EOS games or DApps a try. We’ll also use it to share news, updates, articles, and other interesting materials with our users.
By the way, Diana, why Lumi isn’t open source yet?
Diana: Good question! That’s another big and essential step for Lumi to take. We are well on our way. To tell you the truth, we’ve been preparing to go open-source for a while now. We had to come up with a whole new approach and rebuild our base almost from scratch. But, finally, I think the team is ready, and we plan to finalize it in the summer.
Claude, after several years without adding new coins, why, of all the coins you could have added, did you choose GRIN?
Claude: The PoW algorithm has long needed an update. The Mimblewimble protocol on which GRIN is built is an interesting option. In addition, GRIN values user privacy. This is one of our core values.
Please tell me a bit more about EOS BP. How do you see the whole new EOS BP ecosystem?
Claude: We see Block Producers as representatives of various groups within the community. For some, certain things are important, for others – other things. The more Block Producers with different ideologies, the more developmental options for the EOS network. We think it stands to reason that people who believe that EOS needs specialists in high-load services, DApps support, and organic community growth should vote for us. You simply aren’t going to find a better option.
OK, thank you for the interview, and good luck with this endeavor.
Claude, Diana: Thank you
