Four developers – Jiyun Kim, Jeongho Jeon, Jongkwang Kim, and Hyung-Kyu Choi – from Seoul-based blockchain developer community Nonce shared a common passion for blockchain. Having worked for leading conglomerates like Samsung Electronics, Naver, and Kakao, the quartet came together in 2019 to launch DSRV as a non-profit laboratory in the Nonce community. Subsequently living through a bearish period of falling coin prices and reduced investing known as a “crypto winter,” they persisted with the confidence that blockchain would survive regardless. Of course, there might not have been profit during that period, but the founders greatly valued the time it gave them to study new codes incorporating various technologies.
Foraying into their research journey, the founders realised that security was the key to blockchain technology. Thus, upon successfully developing a novel security solution that invalidated faulty transactions and recovered funds, they were able to seize the market opportunity for blockchain node operation and pivot into validating.
Disrupting blockchain infrastructure
Renowned for outstanding technical excellence and expertise in operating nodes 24/7, DSRV is now a leading Proof-of-Stake (PoS) validator for over 20 global blockchain networks like Ethereum 2.0, Terra, Solana, Polygon, Celo, and NEAR Protocol. For those unfamiliar with the term, a PoS validator is an individual or organisation tasked with verifying the validity of transactions in a block, thereby securing the blockchain. If need be, these validators can also add the block to the blockchain, and thereby, receive crypto rewards for their contribution.The startup was also awarded the ‘Master Validator’ certificate by Celo for its technological achievements, and appointed by NEAR Protocol to its Validator Advisory Board (NVAB).
Driven by a mission to power the next internet through building Web 3.0 essentials, DSRV is building a range of tools needed by developers to build the multi-chain future.
Simply put, DSRV provides the building blocks that are essential for the growth of the crypto ecosystem. “Our platform targets not just developers but also users, and we focus on building tools that everyone can easily use. As Web 3.0 becomes increasingly accessible to more communities, the tools enabling them to onboard smoothly should be in place. And we strive to achieve that,” says Emma Park, Head of Communications at DSRV.
DSRV recognises blockchain as a platform based on trust, banking on a stable and secured network, for which it requires several development tools as well as excellent node operators. “The infrastructure sector we work in is possibly the least profitable area of the crypto scene. Nevertheless, DSRV is committed to this sector because it provides the trust needed for developers to have faith in this platform, and how they can change the world by building upon it. This is why we focus on providing stable infrastructure over gaining short-term revenue,” adds Emma.
DSRV believes in blockchain as the new internet and therefore exists to provide the appropriate tools and foundation required to stabilise it. “Big infrastructure providers like Bison Trails, Blockdaemon, and Figment are not our competitors, but rather our partners. This is characteristic of the Web 3.0 ecosystem. A single provider cannot support all blockchain networks, so we have selected a portfolio of our choice. We can all ‘win’ in Web 3.0, and therefore we greatly respect our colleagues that are helping us grow the industry,” says Jiyun Kim, CEO and Co-founder.
Teams at work: an overview
As a tech-driven company, DSRV’s developer teams make up more than two-third of its strength, with the rest consisting of Marketing, Research, and Operations teams. In addition to the Validator team, there are three teams specialising in building products for Web 3.0 developers.
The first team is working on a multi-chain development platform called All That Node, which provides RPC nodes for blockchain developers to build products on multiple networks, and also supports up to 10,000 free API calls a day. The second has been building a multi-chain wallet and staking platform, known as WELLDONE Stake & Wallet. Set to be released by Q2 this year, the beta version would enable users to stake tokens on a multi-chain platform. Lastly, the Sonar team is responsible for developing tools related to on-chain data, and this includes an explorer and dashboard, optimised for multiple networks.
Leveraging DigitalOcean's cloud solutions
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of cloud technology. “COVID-19 has changed the way we work, with remote work as the new normal. As a result, cloud companies have started to recognise the necessity of providing both reliable infrastructure and a stable internet network. DigitalOcean critically supports not just our validator operations, but all our services,” shares Hyung-Kyu Choi, CTO and Co-founder.
Starting as a validator, DSRV reviewed various cloud solution providers and data centers based in Eastern Asia because of its requirement of HA (High Availability) configurations to maintain the stability of the validation data and prepare for worst-case scenarios. “Our basic strategy was to keep server hardware dispersed in several locations using multiple clouds and data centers, and if possible multiple internet networks too. As we began our validator operations at the end of 2019, we found out that DigitalOcean offered services in the Singapore region. Offering stability on par with major cloud companies, and also the droplets (servers) at a relatively low price, DigitalOcean was a great option for us. The intuitive UI/UX was also attractive to us as a validator, as we did not require anything too complex,” explains Hyung-Kyu.
Compared to other cloud providers, each Droplet of DigitalOcean contains a certain amount of data traffic, minus the extra cost. “The biggest advantage we gained from this was being able to predict the cost of operating nodes, which use a lot of data traffic. Traffic optimisation is not easy to solve for startups like DSRV that are just taking off, and DigitalOcean presented tangible solutions for us,” he adds.
Growth roadmap
“Over the past year, our TUM (Tokens Under Management) has grown 3,000 percent to reach a value of $1 billion. We look for blockchains that are actively trying to solve problems facing the community, whether they use technically sound methods, and how their solutions can change the world,” adds Jiyun, paving the roadmap for growth.
He explains that DSRV’s ultimate goal is to create a Web 3.0 version of Visual Studio so that developers can experience the same multi-chain development everywhere. “We believe this will enable engineers to create the best development apps, thereby enriching the blockchain ecosystem,” he says.
“As crypto OGs and newcomers have different entry points into blockchain, we are witnessing a phenomenon where previously disregarded chains position themselves in markets according to the preferences of new generations,” says Jiyun.
DSRV strives to equip the community with the required infrastructure for sustainable growth. “To meet the demands of newer communities, we believe that new blockchains will continue to emerge. This would positively impact our business in two ways as new chains will always need validators like us, and emerging ecosystems are maintained by developers, and these developers need the right tools (which we supply),” he adds.
As a trust-based platform with the properties of programmable money, blockchain holds endless possibilities. “Could we have predicted what the industry looks like today? At this point, we think it’s truly up to the imagination of engineers. DSRV will continue both leaning into this imagination, and supporting it by providing a solid environment for multi-chain development,” concludes Jiyun.