Zoho Founder Does Not Believe In Crypto & Metaverse, But Claims Decentralisation Is The Future

Speaking during the inaugural session of The Makers’ Summit 2022, Zoho founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu took potshots at the crypto economy.

During the fireside conversation between Vembu and Inc42 cofounder and CEO Vaibhav Vardhan, the Zoho founder said that the company uses blockchain for some of the products like digital signature, contracts and contract management, claiming that blockchain is very useful in that sense [for decentralisation and trust].

“I’m personally not interested in cryptocurrency. That’s a bit high, so I won’t talk about that,” he said adding that the company may look at Lightning Network for enabling digital payments for customers.

For the uninitiated, the Lightning Network is a second layer added to Bitcoin’s blockchain that allows off-chain transactions, i.e. transactions between parties not on the blockchain network. While the first layer enables on-chain transactions, it is very energy-consuming and restricting.

The Lightning Network charges low fees by transacting and settling off-chain, allowing for new use cases like instant micropayments that can solve the traditional “can you buy coffee with crypto?” conundrum, speeding up the processing times and reducing the energy costs associated with Bitcoin’s blockchain.

Sridhar Vembu declined to state his views on the blockchain phenomenon metaverse. He said, “I really have nothing to say.”

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Sridhar Vembu On Decentralisation

Talking about the massive shift to the tech ecosystem globally, Vembu added that India has not invested massively in the infrastructure, which means it is an opportunity for Indians to decentralise their workforce.

“That is something India can capitalise on, and that [decentralisation] will help us more effectively compete with the nations that have centralised their workforce,” he quoted the example of many countries including China.

He added that besides decentralisation, India needs to invest in its software capabilities in sectors such as autonomous vehicles, EVs, and work in the semiconductor industry and the drone industry.

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