Harry Zhang is one of the co-founders of Galxe, a decentralized platform for managing digital identities and credentials in Web3. ^[1]

Education

Zhang graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Statistics. ^[1]

Career

Zhang is the Co-Founder of Galxe, a Web3 infrastructure and digital credential network that enhances Web3 experiences using AI, digital identity, and blockchain technologies. Before starting Galxe, Zhang co-founded and served as COO of DLive, a large blockchain-based live-streaming platform later acquired by BitTorrent. ^[1]

Galxe

In an interview with MTC News Desk, Zhang discussed how Galxe was founded and its future goals, starting with how the idea came to him and Charles Wayn, his co-founder: ^[2]

“I’ve always been interested in the concept of decentralization. While everyone usually focuses on decentralization on the user side, I’m more passionate about decentralization on the supply side. Platforms like Github and Wikipedia encourage the latter– how we can innovate together as a society and benefit by adding value to the system. That’s what inspired me to co-found Galxe. At the beginning, we recognized that the market was in need of a tool for Web3 community builders and marketers to leverage blockchain technology to grow and engage with their communities, so we pioneered a way to leverage NFTs, users’ on and off-chain activities to propel community growth.”

He then explained what Galxe is: ^[2]

“Galxe is the leading platform for building Web3 communities. Our platform provides projects with a suite of on and off chain tools (which are verifiable Credentials) to capture their target audiences and grow their communities exponentially. With over 11 million users, Galxe has propelled the growth of Optimism, Polygon, Arbitrum, and more than 2900 partners with our reward-based loyalty programs. Our user base consists of Web3 projects who seek to grow and engage with their communities, as well as end-users who utilize Galxe to explore, interact with, and contribute to new communities that align with their personal preferences.”

When asked how Galxe could appeal to Web3 marketers, Zhang responded: ^[2]

“Web3 projects that work with Galxe leverage our unique reward systems and ‘plug-and-play’ growth solutions to reward their communities’ loyalty instead of how much money they are able to splurge. An innovative feature that Galxe offers is our different types of Reward and Campaign. These quest-based Campaigns allow project’s to tailor the rewards and activities however they desire. For example, if a partner wants to select ten users through a raffle and reward them with an NFT whitelist, or if a partner wants to reward ten of their most loyal Twitter users by sending them t-shirts, they can easily do so by leveraging Galxe’s Custom Reward Campaign. What we provide is a platform of tools and solutions, which our partners can leverage and play around to innovate, when it comes to rewarding and engaging with their communities!”

“Galxe helps marketers in a myriad of ways. They can leverage Galxe to identify their target audience and market directly to them, to choose the community members’ activities they want to encourage, and to distribute the type of rewards they want to incentivize with. Our platform is plug and play. This means that anyone, Web3 savvy or not, is able to navigate, participate in, and design Campaigns. We aim to make the content on our platform as user-friendly as possible and we encourage everyone, especially those unfamiliar with Web3, to get started by participating in a campaign on Galxe. Getting involved is truly easier than it sounds! ”

Zhang also explained how Galxe’s credential network worked: ^[2]

“Privacy and security is of the utmost importance at Galxe. The Galxe Passport was created to be a secure, private way for users to store data. Users’ private information is encrypted with their password, thus, only accessible to the user, while all others (including Galxe) can only access the data after receiving the user’s consent. Users who want to obtain a Soulbound Token can do so by going through the verification process on Galxe which will then allow them to mint and claim the Galxe Passport Token. Galxe Passport is revolutionary not only for Galxe but for the Web3 space as a whole. This feature tests the boundaries of decentralization in the space, enabling a convenient, safe, and anonymous experience for all. We pride ourselves on being innovators at Galxe and plan to continue developing tools that ensure a secure Web3 experience.”

Panels

Project Galaxy

At BNB Chain’s Revelation Hackathon, Zhang discussed the Project Galaxy (now Galxe) efforts to create an open and collaborative financial data network by leveraging credential data. He highlighted the importance of both on-chain and off-chain credential data, such as public behavior, reputation, and achievements, in enhancing various applications like voting systems, loyalty programs, and hackathons. Zhang pointed out the current inefficiencies and user control issues in Web 2.0 credential data networks, which are fragmented and controlled by applications. Project Galaxy aimed to solve these problems by integrating multiple data sources and providing tools for developers to use this data securely, thereby enabling more efficient and user-controlled data utilization in Web3 applications. ^[3]

Power of Credentials

At UDC 2022, Zhang discussed the creation of an open and collaborative credential data network for Web3. This network enables developers to build better products and communities by leveraging various forms of credential data, such as public behavior, achievements, and contributions. Galxe's infrastructure addresses issues in Web2, where credential data is fragmented and often monetized without user control, by offering a unified platform that allows data curators to contribute and monetize their data while enabling developers to access and utilize this data for diverse applications, including voting systems, credit scoring, and Sybil attack prevention. Additionally, Galxe Passport provides a secure, private identity verification system to enhance further user trust and data integrity in the Web3 ecosystem. ^[4]

Onchain Credentials in Web3

At Bitcoin Latinum’s DCentral Miami, Zhang discussed the company's role in building infrastructure for a credential data network in Web3, integrating both on-chain and off-chain data. This network supports various applications, such as enhancing DAO voting systems, creating loyalty programs, and building credit scores. Galxe has launched over 300 credential-based NFT campaigns, helping over 50 projects boost community engagement sustainably. The platform offers plug-and-play modules and partners with other projects to incentivize actions and reward community members. Additionally, Galxe ID serves as a unified identity platform, connecting users' contributions across Web2 and Web3. ^[5]

Introducing Gravity L1

Zhang introduced Gravity at Consensus 2024, a solution designed to address chain fragmentation, which complicates the user experience and hinders Web3 adoption. Gravity enables seamless cross-chain interactions through an intent-based protocol, which allows users to execute transactions without worrying about the underlying blockchain complexities. It integrates zero-knowledge proof verification for enhanced security and privacy, ensuring that identity data can be securely shared across networks. Additionally, Gravity is EVM-compatible, making it easier for developers to deploy applications. Galxe plans to migrate its ecosystem to Gravity, aiming to create a more scalable and user-friendly infrastructure for the future of Web3. ^[6]