A Conversation With Lisk Cryptographer Iker Alustiza

When Iker joined Lisk as a Cryptographer in December, he became the first member of the soon-to-expand Science Team. He contributes to Lisk everyday by analyzing every issue and scenario from a theoretical point of view. We had a chance to sit down and chat about what he does at Lisk and learn a bit more about his background.

Jennifer: Tell me a bit about yourself.

Iker: I spent most of my life around my hometown in the Basque region of Spain. I grew up in Vitoria-Gasteiz, studied and started my career in San Sebastián. I studied Telecommunications Engineering and received my PhD in Coding Theory in late 2014. The main topic of my thesis was about low complexity/low delay coding schemes for communications, where instead of digital schemes, we used analog mappings to encode the information. It was over the last few months of my doctorate when I got involved with blockchain. After finishing my PhD, I decided it was time to move away; I applied for different tech positions in Europe while continuing to research cryptocurrencies as a hobby. I had an interesting offer from the UK to work for the MATLAB and Simulink maker MathWorks. During my time at that company, my interest for blockchain technology never ceased. Eventually, I got totally caught up by the idea of being a part of Lisk to help make it a successful decentralized and accessible blockchain project.

Jennifer: When did you begin your journey that led you to cryptography?

Iker: Ever since I was small, I have always been more interested in observing and the whys behind things rather than practical tasks. At school, I was in love with Mathematics and Physics, and did not enjoy experimental labs. I was going to study Mathematics at university, but at the last moment I decided to go for Telecommunications Engineering; within this field, I always chose to take the most theoretical courses. That is why I ended up getting a PhD in Information and Coding Theory, which is focused on the mathematical study of Communications, Information and their foundations. In fact, Information Theory provides the fundamental tools to approach the cryptography field.

Jennifer: Why should people care about decentralization and blockchain?

Iker: I believe that decentralization and blockchain are different concepts in nature, but thanks to the cryptocurrency surge in the last several years, they’ve become inevitably tied together. First, we have the concept of decentralization, which is beneficial, and sometimes necessary in many segments of society. Specifically when it comes to money and power, centralization can be very dangerous leading to the potential for corruption and fallibility with a single point of failure. Fortunately, with the development of blockchain technology, this situation can be avoided while the centralization of power and finances can be reverted. The concept of blockchain removes the central power of the equation and distributes it among its network.

Jennifer: How would you describe Lisk?

Iker: I will divide the answer into two parts: On one hand, we have the Lisk consensus protocol which gives the project a specific “personality”. Its Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) system creates a decentralized democracy where delegates secure the network and thus get rewards depending on the contributions or added value to the community. On the other hand, Lisk will allow for the development of all sort of Dapps for developers in a simple way by using JavaScript.

Jennifer: What makes Lisk different from other blockchain projects?

Iker: I think the main attractive feature of the Lisk project is its accessibility. There are other DPoS blockchain projects being developed around the idea of sidechains (or childchains), but Lisk is the only project focused on making it easy to access the power of blockchain for any developer in the world. With a basic knowledge of JavaScript, developers will only need to use the different functionalities of the SDK and Lisk Commander to be able to create and run their Dapp on a sidechain connected to Lisk mainchain.

Jennifer: Tell me about a day in the life of a cryptographer.

Iker: One thing I love about my role on the Science Team is the varying nature of the tasks and challenges I face on a daily basis. I cover the whole spectrum of blockchain technology from a theoretical point of view. This normally implies that I first study the theory behind an issue, I come with a theoretical solution and then my colleagues in Backend Development, Fullstack Development or Frontend Development implement it. Normally, I work on a long-term task/issue/project for several weeks or months, but I always keep an eye on our GitHub repository to check if there are any new issues coming up regarding security or issues with theoretical implications.

Jennifer: What are you currently working on?

Iker: At the moment, I am working on the new fee system, which will be implemented for the future Core 2.0 release. This implies the design and modeling of appropriate algorithms and mathematical models for Lisk Core and Lisk Elements to implement the dynamic fees.

Jennifer: What skills and technologies are you the most interested in learning or improving upon?

Iker: My PhD and working experience focused on theoretical approaches of different mathematical problems. Therefore, two primary things I would like to improve are my coding skills and my knowledge of databases. Moreover, I think it would be beneficial to me to improve my public speaking skills and other related soft skills. This way, I will be better able to explain to others, whether it be my team members or individuals at a meetup or conference, the technical details of the project.

Jennifer: What industry sites and blogs do you read regularly?

Iker: Back when I first got involved with blockchain and Bitcoin in particular, I used to visit the site Bitcointalk to read about new ideas, and projects, and partake in vibrant technical discussions. This is how I discovered Lisk and other successful blockchain projects. However, nowadays, I believe this forum is full of noise and trolling; it has become very difficult to find really promising discussions. For this reason, I just read different blogs and publications on Medium. I also follow a couple of experts on different social networks.

Jennifer: What do you like to do in your free time?

Iker: One activity that I never get bored by is traveling. I love seeing new places, landscapes, cities, getting to know new cultures, traditions and ways of living. I even just get excited by the preparation for a new trip — reading all the Wikipedia articles and blogs about the place, researching and planning in advance. Apart from that, I enjoy playing squash and football whenever I can. I also like to go out with my friends, discover enriching films, series or books in my free time.

Jennifer: What is your favorite book and why?

Iker: It is very difficult to pick just one book to answer this question. I’ve had the opportunity to read many interesting books; from science to philosophy, I could list many favorite books, such as A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre, or Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. However, if I have to choose only one, it’ll have to be The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. This book taught and made me feel a vast range of things about life and its meaning.

Visit the team section of our website to learn a bit more about all the incredibly talented individuals behind Lisk.

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