Ling Qing Meng, co-founder of Lucia Protocol, is an American entrepreneur, investor, author, and blockchain innovator who aims to contribute to advancements in technology and blockchain. ^[1]

Early Life & Education

Ling Qing Meng was born in Virginia, United States, and moved to Minnesota at the age of three. He developed an interest in programming early on, creating games such as Cannon Defense (2003) and Mage RPG during middle school. As part of a gifted program, he was able to take advanced math courses at a young age. Meng has expressed that the traditional education system could aim to better equip students with practical skills, such as understanding social dynamics and personal finance.

From 2010 to 2014, he attended the University of Minnesota, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, focusing on AI and cryptography, which informed his later work in blockchain. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Career

Ling Qing Meng began his career at Comfibuild, a Menlo Park startup, and later worked under entrepreneur Lincoln Nguyen. He gained diverse experience through various contract roles in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2014, Meng joined Keystone Strategy as an Information Security Analyst, specializing in the financial services industry. From 2016 to 2018, he worked as a Software Engineer at Branch, where he contributed to the development of tools like Deeplink Journeys and AMP Banners.

Since 2022, Meng has served as CEO of Lucia Protocol, overseeing its operations and strategic initiatives. He previously held leadership roles, including VP and Head of Global Business Development. As a researcher in Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), he has contributed to blockchain advancements, including the development of a secret voting mechanism for organizational governance.

Before founding Lucia Protocol, Meng worked with Gabriel Nones and was CTO at FanVestor, which provided him with further insights into technology and team management. He has also contributed to projects such as Cosmos and Uniswap and is recognized as an Arctic Vault contributor on GitHub.

Meng has aimed to help individuals overcome limiting beliefs and achieve career growth through events in San Francisco, using techniques like meditation and neuro-linguistic programming. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Lucia Protocol

Ling Qing Meng co-founded Lucia Protocol, a decentralized identity and reputation management system that aims to foster trust among pseudonymous participants in blockchain ecosystems. The protocol seeks to expand use cases for decentralized applications and enhance blockchain platform functionality by attributing identity without requiring user interaction.

In 2022 and 2023, Meng met with Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchain developers to discuss challenges, particularly the lack of use cases and growth tools for decentralized applications. These discussions led him to design a solution that automates identity attribution, offering an alternative to systems like Civic and Worldcoin, which require active user participation.

Lucia Protocol was officially announced in Q4 2024, with a core team including Andrew Jacobs Chen, Osaze Hunt, Salman Haider, and Muhammad Mustafa. Meng also presented the protocol at ETH CC 2024, an Ethereum-focused conference held in Brussels. ^{[1] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8]}

Philantropy

Ling Qing Meng is dedicated to environmentalism and shares advice on life extension, hormone optimization, and fitness through his social media. He aims to collaborate with brands focused on sustainability, such as Plant Nature Tailor, which offers organic alternatives to polyester. ^[3]