Simon Jentzsch is a prominent figure in the blockchain industry. He is best known as the cofounder of Slock.it. Simon is famous for his role in developing The DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) in April 2016, which ceased operations after much of its funds were taken in a hack in June 2016. He has contributed significantly to advancing decentralized governance and smart contract technology. Simon built the first applications connecting the Ethereum blockchain with Internet of Things (IoT) devices, creating new use cases in the sharing economy. He is the vice president of blockchain engineering at Blockchains. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Early Life and Education

Simon Jentzsch was born and raised in Germany. At 14, he wrote his first commercial CAD software on an Atari ST. He pursued his higher education at the University of Applied Science, Erfurt, earning a diploma in engineering architecture from 1996 to 2002, which provided him with a strong foundation in technology and programming. His interest in cryptography and decentralized systems began early in his career, eventually leading him to explore the burgeoning field of blockchain technology.

Career

Before his involvement in blockchain, Simon worked in various technology firms, gaining extensive experience in software development and project management. His roles often involved developing secure and scalable systems, skills later proving invaluable in his blockchain ventures.

In 2015, Simon co-founded Slock.it with his brother Christoph Jentzsch, a German startup focused on integrating blockchain technology with the Internet of Things (IoT). Slock.it uses blockchain technology to help the Internet of Things (IoT) environment in its technological foundation by providing the IoT layer to power secure and interoperable transactions between machines and humans and enabling the economy of things. The company aimed to create a decentralized sharing economy by allowing smart objects to be rented, sold, or shared autonomously via Ethereum smart contracts. Slock.it gained significant attention in the blockchain community for its innovative approach to decentralization and automation. In 2019, slock.it was acquired by Blockchains^[5][6][7]

In 2020, Simon joined Blockchains as a Vice President of Blockchain Development after Blockchains acquired slockit.^[8]

The DAO Hack

In June 2016, The DAO suffered a significant setback. A vulnerability in its smart contract code was exploited, resulting in the theft of a staggering $50 million worth of Ether. This event profoundly impacted the Ethereum community, sparking a contentious debate about the immutability of blockchain transactions.^[2]

The Ethereum community implemented a hard fork to mitigate the damage, creating a new blockchain version and effectively restoring the stolen funds. This decision created two blockchains, Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC), while Simon continued to support the original Ethereum chain.^[4]