Peter Volnov (also known as Petr Volnov) is the founder of HERE Wallet and HOT Labs. He is a prominent advocate for the concept of "Chain Abstraction," a technological approach designed to simplify user interactions across multiple blockchains. Volnov's work is primarily focused on solving the Web3 mass adoption problem through user-friendly applications and gamified onboarding experiences, most notably with the creation of the HOT Protocol on the NEAR and TON ecosystems. ^{[1] [2]}​

Education

His professional history includes degrees in fields such as Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, and Physics from Moscow-based institutions, including the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and ITMO University. Various sources also list graduate-level studies in finance and management from institutions such as the Higher School of Economics (HSE University). ^{[3] [2]}​

Career

Volnov began his career in the fintech sector, holding a position as a software engineer at Revolut, where he worked on the company's crypto backend starting around June 2019. He later gained experience building decentralized applications (dApps) as a senior software engineer at Firstblood. This background in both traditional finance technology and decentralized systems led him to identify key user experience challenges in the crypto industry. ^[4]​

In 2022, Volnov founded HERE Wallet, Inc., launching a non-custodial mobile wallet on the NEAR Protocol. The wallet was designed to be one of the most user-friendly options in the ecosystem, featuring human-readable addresses (e.g., user.near) and simplified onboarding processes. ^{[1] [5]}​

The project gained significant momentum in early 2024 with the launch of the HOT Protocol and its integrated gamified "mining" experience. This initiative, built as a mini-app within the Telegram messaging platform, was a strategic move toward mass user acquisition. In January 2024, Volnov also became the CEO of HOT Labs, an entity created to oversee the development and expansion of the HOT ecosystem beyond its initial implementation on NEAR. ^{[6] [7]}​

Throughout 2024 and 2025, Volnov and his team announced a series of developments, including a NEAR-to-Base bridge, a Chrome extension with multi-chain NFT support, and zero-gas-fee NFT features on the TON blockchain. These activities solidified his reputation as a key builder focused on practical implementations of Web3 technology for mainstream users. ^{[8] [9]}​

Ventures and Philosophy

HERE Wallet and HOT Protocol

HERE Wallet was founded by Volnov with the explicit goal of lowering the barrier to entry for Web3. The wallet incorporated features aimed at simplifying the user experience, such as biometric security for transaction signing and seed phrase-less account creation. ^[10]​

The defining feature of the HERE Wallet ecosystem became the HOT Protocol, launched on January 31, 2024. HOT was introduced through a "mining" game inside Telegram, where users could create a wallet and claim HOT tokens at regular intervals. This gamified approach served as a powerful user acquisition engine, successfully onboarding millions of users into the NEAR ecosystem by abstracting away the initial complexities of Web3. The strategy was highly effective, attracting over 2 million users within two weeks of launch and growing to over 10 million participants by June 2024. The HOT token itself is designed to function as an on-chain asset used to pay for transaction fees via a meta-transaction system, creating a "gas-free" experience for end-users. ^{[5] [11]}​

Volnov has emphasized that the mining game is just the first use case for the underlying protocol. On April 9, 2024, he announced that all dApps on the NEAR Protocol could be accessed from within the HOT Wallet, transforming the application from a simple game into a comprehensive gateway to the ecosystem. ^[6]​

Chain Abstraction

Volnov is a leading advocate for "Chain Abstraction," a concept that represents the central thesis of his work. He defines it as a technology layer that hides the complexities of multi-chain interactions from the end-user, creating a seamless and unified experience. In his view, users should be able to interact with any application on any blockchain from a single account without needing to manually switch networks, manage different private keys, or acquire various gas tokens. Volnov positions this as the "endgame for wallets" and a critical step for achieving mass adoption. ^[2]​

His philosophy is that the underlying blockchain should be invisible, much like a user does not need to understand a car's engine to drive it. The technical implementation for this vision relies on a system of meta-transactions, relayers, and advanced cryptographic methods that handle cross-chain operations behind the scenes. The HOT Protocol and its integration with multiple chains like NEAR and TON are presented as practical implementations of this vision. ^[4]​

Technical Contributions

Volnov's commitment to Chain Abstraction is backed by formal technical research. On December 3, 2025, he and his collaborators published the whitepaper for the HOT Protocol on the academic preprint server arXiv. The paper, titled "Chain Abstraction: A Systematic Approach to a Unified Web3 Experience" (arXiv:2512.02287v1), was co-authored with Alexey Falt and Alexey Osin. This publication provided a formal definition and technical framework for the concept, moving it from a marketing term to a structured engineering goal. ^[12]​

The HOT Protocol is described as a decentralized Multi-Party Computation (MPC) network that enables smart contracts to own and manage private keys. This allows a smart contract on one blockchain (e.g., NEAR) to control assets and sign transactions on other external blockchains (e.g., Bitcoin, Solana, EVM chains). The system's security is enhanced by running MPC node software inside hardware-enforced Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), ensuring that no single node operator can compromise the managed private keys. This technical architecture is designed to be the engine powering chain-abstracted applications, including advanced wallet recovery systems, two-factor authentication (2FA), and dApps that operate across multiple chains. ^[12]​

Expansion and Recognition

Multi-Chain Strategy

While initially focused on NEAR, Volnov's strategy has always included a multi-chain vision. This was made explicit when HOT Labs, the entity he leads, announced a significant expansion into the TON (The Open Network) ecosystem. In May 2024, HOT Labs received a $500,000 grant from the TON Foundation. The grant was designated to fund the development of a memecoin platform and launchpad on the TON blockchain. This move was strategic, aiming to leverage the expertise in user engagement gained from working with Telegram mini-apps on NEAR and apply it to TON's native ecosystem, which is deeply integrated with Telegram's large user base. ^[7]​

In a post from November 2025, Volnov announced a feature enabling the use of NFTs on the TON Blockchain with zero gas fees, further demonstrating the practical output of this multi-chain expansion. ^[9]​

Forbes Technology Council

Volnov is an official member of the Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community for senior-level technology executives. His inclusion signifies recognition for his leadership and expertise in the technology sector. As part of this council, he has contributed as an expert panelist, sharing his insights on business and technology. For instance, he provided commentary for a Forbes article published on November 18, 2024, titled "20 Strategies For Keeping Business Momentum During The Holiday Season," further establishing his presence as a thought leader in the broader business community. ^[3]​