Henrik Hjelte is the co-founder and CEO of Chromia, a blockchain platform designed to support decentralized applications (dApps). His career spans software development, financial systems, and blockchain technology, with a focus on integrating traditional programming practices with decentralized systems. ^{[1] [3] [7]}

Education

Henrik Hjelte holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Economics from Uppsala University, which he pursued from 1989 to 1996. During his time at the university, he was associated with Kalmar Nation, one of Uppsala’s student organizations. This academic background provided a foundation in economic theory and business management, which later informed his work in financial systems and blockchain technology. ^{[2] [3] [7]}

Career

Hjelte began his career in the late 1990s as a senior consultant at VPD Financial Software Consulting. There, he worked on financial risk modeling, fixed-income mathematics, and software development for clients including major banks and Sweden’s National Debt Office. His responsibilities included programming in C++ and Python, database management, and project oversight which served as the basis for later working with decentralized applications.

Between 2008 and 2012, Hjelte held various consulting roles. At Eniro, a Nordic search engine, he contributed to frontend development, including responsive design implementations and platform migrations. During this period, he also worked on startup projects such as GoBreakTheIce, where he analyzed user behavior metrics and experimented with JavaScript and Go programming.

In 2007, Hjelte founded stix.to, a startup focused on exploring new methods of online communication. The project utilized programming languages like Common Lisp to experiment with organizing and sharing digital content. While the platform remains operational, its development has been secondary to Hjelte’s later work in blockchain technology.

In 2014, Hjelte co-founded ChromaWay, later rebranded as Chromia. The company initially gained attention for developing ChromaWallet, an open-source Bitcoin wallet that supported "colored coins." This technology allowed Bitcoin’s blockchain to represent assets such as real estate, commodities, and digital art, extending its functionality beyond cryptocurrency transactions.

As CEO of Chromia, Hjelte led the platform’s transition into a full-stack blockchain solution for dApps. Chromia integrates relational database architecture with blockchain technology, aiming to simplify development processes and improve scalability. The platform supports multiple programming languages and emphasizes interoperability with other blockchain networks.

Hjelte has been involved in various blockchain-related projects, including advisory roles and collaborations. In 2013, he worked with Bitcontacts, a distributed team focused on Bitcoin-based solutions. He has also contributed to initiatives exploring decentralized identity and asset tokenization.

Hjelte’s work has focused on merging traditional software development practices with blockchain technology. His early work on colored coins contributed to the development of tokenization, while Chromia’s architecture reflects his interest in combining relational databases with decentralized systems.

Hjelte has participated in industry conferences and forums, where he has discussed topics such as blockchain scalability, decentralized finance (DeFi), and the challenges of dApp development. ^{[1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

Interviews

Blockster Interview #01

In an interview with Blockster on September 18, 2024, during the TOKEN2049 conference, Henrik Hjelte discussed Chromia’s future developments, focusing on interoperability and gas-free solutions. Hjelte emphasized Chromia’s commitment to addressing scalability and user accessibility challenges in blockchain technology.

He highlighted the platform’s approach to enabling seamless interaction between different blockchain networks, aiming to reduce fragmentation in the ecosystem. Hjelte also elaborated on Chromia’s gas-free model, which seeks to eliminate transaction fees for end-users, making decentralized applications more accessible to a broader audience.

According to Hjelte, these innovations are part of Chromia’s broader vision to create a more inclusive and efficient blockchain environment. He noted that the platform’s architecture, which combines relational databases with blockchain technology, plays a key role in achieving these goals. ^{[8] [9]}

ChromaWay Interview #02

During the "Building the New Web" event at New York Blockchain Week 2019, Henrik Hjelte, CEO of Chromia, presented the platform’s relational blockchain model. In his talk, Hjelte explained how Chromia integrates relational database functionality with blockchain technology to address inefficiencies in traditional blockchain systems, particularly for enterprise applications.

Hjelte highlighted the platform’s focus on decentralization, emphasizing its potential to empower users by reducing reliance on centralized entities. He discussed Chromia’s applications across various sectors, including gaming, social media, and environmental finance, and demonstrated its developer-friendly environment through live coding examples.

A key announcement during the presentation was the rebranding of Chromapolis to Chromia, reflecting the platform’s evolution and broader vision. Hjelte also outlined Chromia’s decentralized hosting model, which allows users to choose where their applications are hosted, enhancing control and reliability. ^[10]