Steve Bumbera of Many Worlds On The 5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The Cryptocurrency Industry
An Interview With Tyler Gallagher
Appropriate celebrity engagement. We have entered a dangerous world of meme culture, while it is certainly fun, it is leading to extremely unqualified individuals endorsing projects which use technologies they simply don’t understand. There is excellent opportunity for celebrities to participate in crypto, but there are far more profitable and less dangerous ways to involve them.
As part of my series about the “5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The Cryptocurrency Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Steve Bumbera.
Many Worlds ($MANY) token, led by COO Steven Bumbera, is the world’s first dynamic tokenomics system in cryptocurrency. Tokens held in the same wallet have different intrinsic values based on how long they have existed in that wallet. This has never been done before in the blockchain space. This intricate and novel tokenomics structure solves the scalability issues facing competitors and creates utility that will change the shape and direction of the cryptocurrency space forever.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”?
My name is Steve Bumbera. I grew up in Hazleton, PA which isn’t the brightest of places for an upbringing, but it made me who I am today. At 17, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in Radio Reconnaissance as a Signals Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Operator. After re-joining the civilian world, I started going to school for business and began a career in sales. That went really well! Except for school, undergrad business coursework felt quite boring so I made the decision to pivot to Computer Science since I knew that would be a skillset that would be valuable in any business venture I wanted to pursue. I started to get to know the markets and began actively participating in them and that journey led me to Wall Street as a private investment banker. I love the markets and I love computers, naturally it was only a matter of time before crypto became my focus.
Can you tell us the story of how you got first involved in blockchain and the cryptocurrency industry?
I’m one of the many stories that was involved in crypto very early but didn’t see the true potential, so I left the space. I just saw so many problems with some of the technology, the implementation, the intrinsic value, and regulatory concerns. It took me a while to make one very profound realization: a lot of problems means a lot of opportunity. Instead of complaining about how an incredible technology isn’t being used to its full potential, I could participate in the solutions. I jumped in both feet first and have never looked back.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’ve had mentors and many people in my life who have helped drive success, it’s very difficult to narrow down which was the most impactful. Strangely enough, at one point I was streaming and trying to learn how to live trade on Twitch and the community there convinced me to bet on myself and leave my career behind to actually pursue the world of building my own business rather than someone else’s. That was a pivotal moment in my life that led me down a path of learning and success that never would have been possible if I wasn’t nudged off the edge.
Can you share a story of a time when things went south for you? What kept you going and helped you to overcome those times?
Well, I’ve got a lot of those too! Failure is one of the purest forms of education so long as you could weather the pain. One time during the RRIP (Radio Reconnaissance Indoctrination Program) I was on a 15-mile hike with around 120lbs on my back and I felt my body just shutting down. I kept telling myself that one step backwards is guaranteed failure, not stepping at all is guaranteed failure, one step forward is the only possible solution that could result in success, so I must at least take one more step. This mentality was born from the Marine Corps but became a thought process I applied to all situations. The acknowledgement, acceptance, and lack of fear of failure is what helps me overcome those times.
In your experience, what are the top strategies that blockchain companies should consider to have a stronger competitive edge?
Foresight. Identifying and solving problems is the way forward as this technology begins to reach a broader audience. If you are incapable of seeing the shift in winds regarding regulation, underlying technologies, partnerships and so on, then you will only be able to play in popularity contests, which is a highly competitive space in crypto. As we approach mass adoption, positioning is key; knowing what technologies to work on and when is paramount to the competitive edge of any blockchain company. At Many Worlds, we are positioned to deliver not only the right products at the right time but are also taking the right steps to ensure regulatory compliance.
What are the 3 things that most excite you about the blockchain industry in general? Why?
The technology itself is just absolutely amazing. Faster, transparent, less expensive, and completely customizable to fit the needs of any business, product, bank, fundraising, philanthropy, etc. The use of this technology on a large scale will be a massive revolution to the financial industry. After a properly planned transition, the world of finance will change forever in a drastic way that will benefit everyone. I’d like to dive more into the implications, but that would take up pages in this interview.
DAOs and Metaverse. DAO’s will be the future of corporate and legal infrastructure, you can quote me on that. The Metaverse, often referred to as a single space, is a great misconception. The underlying technology to connect all the metaverses together could very well be a singular piece of technology, but the Metaverse is really a multiverse of infinitely creatable ecosystems. Society will naturally decide the most popular ones which will lead to many failed metaverse projects, but nonetheless there will always be thousands (if not more) in existence and new ones being created to try to take on the titans. There will also be many smaller metaverse projects that are intentionally small to just appeal to their specific consumer base while having a storefront or something of the like in the main metaverses. What the metaverse brings aside from being super cool and a huge evolution for the entertainment industry, is that it will free up the real-world real estate. You can try on outfits digitally rendered in an AR/VR capacity and then order that straight to your door. You could take lessons that heighten the education system allowing multiple schools to attend singular lectures with hands-on application unrestricted by the physics of the real world. Training scenarios for pilots, firefighters, military, etc. Again, the list is as limitless as the imagination and provides endless benefits while helping solve problems like employment, real estate, environmental concerns in a manner that is faster, more secure, and more profitable.
Regulation and Globalization. I know, crazy right? Mass adoption is coming and that will happen with easier access and regulation. Countries like the US and China have been either banning or regulating crypto as they tried to understand the implications. Now that they have caught up, they have begun discussions on a coin to create a digital representation of their currency unlike El Salvador, who elected to adopt Bitcoin as the main currency for their nation with Tonga right behind them. The blockchain companies that work with regulators are set to be some of the highest valued companies in the world.
What are the 3 things that worry you about the blockchain industry? Why?
Well, let’s jump right back into it: Regulation. There are regulators that are applying far too much pressure on the space, and I am concerned that as they slowly lose control over the situation they will emotionally react with drastic and problematic regulations. From the crypto side as well, there is a cry to keep it the Wild West forever and that simply isn’t a scalable solution either. A middle ground must and will be met, as it’s only a matter of time. I think that middle ground is CeDeFi, which is why we are built upon Binance. One doesn’t need to replace the other, centralized finance and decentralized finance could absolutely co-exist with CeDeFi to act as the bridge between the two.
Blackmarket. One thing that is great is the blockchain is public facing, you can track money moving across the globe. But knowing the identity behind each transfer, knowing what the money was used for, and finding the participants of that system proves to be difficult. But that’s already a problem with the current banking system. The solution is simple, the governments, regulators, and feds just need to do their job the same way they are doing it with FIAT money. The real reason this is a broader concern isn’t because it’s a new or larger problem, it’s because regulation hasn’t occurred to create a solution yet.
Cybersecurity. Wallet hacks, dusting attacks, DDos attacks, etc. Just as banks could be hacked, so could crypto. At least banks are centralized and have responsibility to protect their customers. Again, most of the problems and concerns with crypto are problems and concerns that exist with the current financial system, as mass adoption creeps in all of these concerns will have well-known and agreed upon solutions as well.
Ok, thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Can you please share “5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The Cryptocurrency Industry”? If you can please share a story or example for each.
Governments, regulators, and blockchain companies cooperating. I think at this stage everyone agrees this technology is the way forward, but that way forward is blurry. Instead, we are stunting societal growth like the SEC/XRP lawsuit. A prime example of something that could have been a partnership but turned dark.
Marketing. All marketing is currently targeting the 3.5% of the world that uses crypto when it should be about getting the other 96.5% of the world involved. The story for this is our own project, Many Worlds Token, where we want to help clear up that path towards mass adoption. What people hear about crypto is how exciting, dangerous, or interesting it is. They don’t understand why, and some will miss out on incredible, life changing opportunities while others might lose a significant sum of money acting without researching. So you have a lot of people too afraid to get involved and other people getting involved in dangerous ways simply because they want to be involved and are unclear on how to be.
DAO’s becoming more relevant. Late last year the ConstitutionDAO raised $47m to bid on a rare first-edition of the US Constitution. They lost the bid, but the ability to organize, raise capital, and solve modern problems has become incredibly simplified. DAO’s will solve global crises that governments are simply incapable of or unwilling to solve. Philanthropic efforts, corporations, capital raises, joint ventures; there is no limit to what a DAO can do and the speed, security, autonomy, and low-cost will prove to be a far more efficient process than the current means.
Chains really leaning into the start-up process. There are so many tokens being created everyday and it becomes more and more difficult to sift through the nonsense projects to find the real ones. Binance Labs is a great way to help change that, where Binance bootstraps projects build on the Binance Smart Chain. Many Worlds would love to develop this kind of relationship with Binance.
Appropriate celebrity engagement. We have entered a dangerous world of meme culture, while it is certainly fun, it is leading to extremely unqualified individuals endorsing projects which use technologies they simply don’t understand. There is excellent opportunity for celebrities to participate in crypto, but there are far more profitable and less dangerous ways to involve them.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share a story?
I mentioned that I served in the Marine Corps for 5 years, but also as a Sigma Chi brother, a lot of time and money has been dedicated to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Philanthropy and giving back are part of who I am. Built into Many Worlds token is a budget for philanthropy that is distributed to a voted upon recipient each quarter. One of our End Game missions is: Save the World. Naturally, it wouldn’t just be the dev team here, but enough participants in a token that gives back could make incredible changes at a global scale.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean” — Sir Isaac Newton. I constantly remind myself that there is always more to learn, always moments where I am wrong, and always preconceived notions and doubt about what could be based on what I have experienced already. The constant reminder to pursue education, develop new skill sets, and question current structures has played a key role in my life, not only as a person, but as a professional.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
They can visit our website to learn more about the token and get links to our social media/communities:
Joining the Discord is a way to directly engage with community members and the Dev Team behind Many Worlds Token.
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
Steve Bumbera of Many Worlds On The 5 Things That Can Be Done To Improve and Reform The… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.