Wish Wu
Wish Wu is the co-founder and CEO of Pharos Network, an innovative financial Layer 1 platform. He has significantly contributed to advancing tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and blockchain technology. Wu, who has a robust background in network security and distributed systems, channels his expertise into shaping Pharos Network as a leader in blockchain infrastructure. [1]
Education
Wish Wu received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Electric Power Engineering and Automation from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, completing the program between 2008 and 2012.
From 2014 to 2019, he was enrolled in the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. Between December 2016 and June 2019, he was also a Visiting Ph.D. Student in Computer Science at the University of Southern California. [2] [7]
Career
Research and Early Career
Wish Wu worked as a Research Assistant at Virginia Tech from August 2014 to May 2019 in Blacksburg, Virginia. During this period, she also completed a summer internship at Microsoft Research Asia in Beijing, China, between May and August 2016, which served as a basis for later work with blockchain.
Ant Group
In July 2019, Wu joined Ant Group as a Security Expert, a position she held until May 2022. She subsequently served as Senior Security Expert from May 2022 to July 2024. From June 2023 to July 2024, she concurrently held the position of Chief Security Officer of ZAN, a Web3 technology company operated by Ant Group Digital Technologies.
As Chief Security Officer of ZAN, Wu worked with institutional clients implementing blockchain-based financial applications. Her responsibilities included security, privacy, and regulatory compliance related to on-chain financial systems. The role also involved addressing technical and compliance considerations associated with institutional use of public blockchain infrastructure.
Pharos Network
In July 2024, Wu co-founded Pharos Network and has served as its Co-Founder. Her work includes blockchain architecture and smart contract development.
At Pharos Network, Wu has been involved in the development of blockchain infrastructure intended to support real-world asset (RWA) applications while incorporating compliance and privacy features. Her work has also included topics related to token distribution, institutional compliance requirements, and blockchain interoperability.
During her time at the company, Pharos Network announced a $44 million Series A funding round. According to the company, the funding is intended to support the expansion of its on-chain infrastructure for real-world asset applications in Asia. [2] [3] [7]
Interviews
Financial Infrastructure and RWA Applications #01
On March 30, 2026, Wish Wu, co-founder and CEO of Pharos Network, gave a presentation during the livestream "Wish Wu (Pharos Network) – Building the Financial Layer 1 for Trillions Onchain", broadcast on the EthCC Livestream 4 YouTube channel.
During the presentation, Wu outlined the technical design and intended use cases of Pharos Network. He described the project as a Layer 1 blockchain developed for financial applications, with an emphasis on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and onchain infrastructure for institutions. According to Wu, the network includes a dual virtual machine architecture, a proprietary database, configurable subnetworks, sub-second transaction finality, and protocol-level support for compliance processes such as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML).
Wu also discussed the network's integration plans with Circle for native USDC support, its infrastructure for AI-related financial applications, and its ecosystem development initiatives, including partnerships and an incubator program for projects built on the network. He stated that Pharos Network is intended to support regulated financial applications and that its initial development strategy focuses on the Asia-Pacific region before expanding to additional markets. [8]
Interview on RWA Infrastructure #02
In an interview published on the Crypto Coin Show YouTube channel on March 26, 2026, Wish Wu discussed topics related to Pharos Network, including its architecture, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, cross-chain interoperability, and blockchain infrastructure for financial applications.
During the interview, Wu stated that the development of Pharos Network was based on his team's previous experience building blockchain infrastructure for financial and enterprise use cases. He explained that the network was designed as an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, arguing that this architecture can provide transaction finality and performance characteristics that, in his view, are required for certain institutional financial applications.
Wu also discussed the role of tokenized real-world assets within blockchain ecosystems. He identified treasury bills, money market funds, and renewable energy infrastructure as examples of asset classes that could be represented on-chain. According to Wu, the integration of these assets involves considerations related to regulatory compliance, interoperability between blockchain networks, custody, and the availability of external data sources for asset verification.
The interview also covered security and network development. Wu stated that blockchain security should include not only smart contract auditing but also operational procedures, backend infrastructure, key management, and incident response planning. He further noted that Pharos Network's testnet had processed billions of transactions and that the project was preparing for a mainnet launch, which, according to him, would include support for tokenized assets and licensed stablecoins. [9]
