In this exclusive 'Behind the Startup' interview, Cais Manai, the visionary behind Obscuro Labs and TEN, takes us on a journey from his roots in investment banking to the cutting edge of Web3 innovation. Manai shares how TEN is revolutionizing the blockchain landscape by introducing crucial data access controls to the decentralized world, effectively bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3 functionalities.
\ Ishan Pandey: Hi, Cais Manai; we're thrilled to have you on our 'Behind the Startup' series. Can you take us through your journey from investment banking to the crypto world? What inspired you to establish Obscuro Labs, and how did the idea for TEN come about?
\ Cais Manai: My career in investment banking feels like a lifetime ago. It’s true what they say about Web3: one year in Web3 is like ten years in any other industry!I began my career working for Swiss banks as a quant developer on the exotics equity derivatives trading desk and prime broker. My primary focus was on building risk and trading models.
\ It was in 2012 that I came across Bitcoin. Although it took a few reads of the whitepaper, I finally got that ‘aha’ moment. Then, when the Ethereum whitepaper was published, that was it for me. I knew instantly that I had to be in this space full-time.
\ I started off working at R3, where I, along with most of the TEN team, worked on building what is now considered the world’s most successful enterprise blockchain, R3 Corda. I was responsible for the product management of Corda itself, as well as initiating and running R3’s CBDC project, which has become the foundation for the majority of the world’s CBDC initiatives.
\ The inception of Obscuro Labs and TEN stemmed from a realization: most tech entrepreneurs still think in terms of the Web2 stack when solving problems. They don’t realize that Web3 can offer something fundamentally different. But the current design space of Web3 is limited—it’s often considered only for niche use cases. That’s why we created TEN. We wanted to massively expand what we can do with Web3 by adding the final missing piece that separates Web2 from Web3—the ability to control data access, which, in the decentralized world, can only be done via encryption.
\ A Web2 application is private by default: all data and processing take place in private servers somewhere, and data flowing in and out is encrypted. Web3 is the only tech stack in the world where the default is 100% transparent, and there is nothing in between. Web3 is like the internet prior to HTTPs (pre-1994), where everything was exposed.
\ TEN bridges that gap and gives Web3 the same ‘superpowers’ as Web2.
\ Ishan Pandey: What key features distinguish TEN from other similar projects in the Web3 ecosystem? How do you plan to attract both Web2 and Web3 users?
\ Cais Manai: We sometimes compare ourselves to Arbitrum and Optimism, who currently set the standard in the L2 space. They have successfully scaled Ethereum using Optimistic Rollup technology.
\ But the comparisons really stop there. What we’re doing with TEN completely changes the Web3 landscape. Let me explain why: If you look at any successful Web2 application, what you’ll find under the hood is the ability of the developers and operators to control who has access to what data.
\ Think about it—email, messaging applications, bank accounts, documents on Google Docs, orders on Amazon, photos on Facebook, or take streams over Netflix and Spotify. When you watch Netflix, you can only access content included in your subscription, and it’s the same with Spotify; only paid subscribers can listen to songs. Without these controls, both of their business models would fall apart. The list of applications goes on and on—but the one thing they all share in common is data access controls. This is so crucial that it’s inconceivable for the Internet to work without it.
\ However, Web3 developers will tell you that the radical transparency of blockchains makes all of this impossible.
\ It’s precisely here that TEN differentiates itself from the competition. TEN makes it possible to build anything in Web2 on a decentralized network. This gives Web3 developers the same powers as their Web3 counterparts with nothing but pure Solidity. There’s nothing new to learn, no complex new languages or tools to master.
\ As for attracting both Web2 and Web3 users, our strategy is twofold:
\ For Web3 users, TEN offers a unique value proposition that no other platform can match. By enabling data access controls on a decentralized network, we're opening up a whole new realm of possibilities for DApp developers. They can now build applications that were previously impossible on Web3 while still benefiting from the trustless nature and composability of blockchain technology. For example, new types of DeFi that leverage Web2 data to allow for under-collateralized loans and prime brokerage, new forms of governance that extend beyond Web3, on-chain games with hidden maps and player moves combined with real in-game economies, or the real moon-shots like future governments running economies entirely on-chain with AI-driven processes, all of the world’s trade finance executed on-chain with limitless deep tier financing and zero risk.
\ This is a game-changer for the Web3 ecosystem, and it will attract a significant portion of the existing Web3 user base.
\ We’ve built a platform that appeals to both Web2 and Web3 users by combining the best of both worlds. By enabling Web2 functionality on a decentralized network, TEN is the Web3 platform with the potential to attract a massive new user base and is quickly becoming the go-to platform for building the next generation of decentralized applications. While other L2s are cookie-cutter clones of each other, TEN is entirely revolutionizing Web3 by bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3.
\ Ishan Pandey: How does TEN handle scalability and security concerns that are often raised in Web3 projects?
\ Cais Manai: We solved scalability and security concerns early on in TEN’s development by designing a new type of rollup, a confidential rollup. We figured out that with roll-up technology, we could have the security and decentralization of Ethereum with the scalability provided by being a Layer 2, by solving the blockchain trilemma.
\ This refers to the trade-off between three critical aspects of blockchain technology: Security, scalability, and decentralization. You could only solve two of these for a large part of Web3’s history. All transactions on TEN are protected by the economic and technical safeguards available within other blockchains and we leverage secure hardware as an additional layer to prevent even node operators from accessing data or computations.
\ Ishan Pandey: How does your marketing strategy for TEN incorporate traditional Web2 channels to onboard new users, especially those unfamiliar with Web3?
\ Cais Manai: We’re building infrastructure that others then build on top of to appeal to new users. We believe it’s our job to provide the necessary feature set to allow dApp developers to build new applications with mainstream appeal that can only be built on a Web3 stack.
\ We’re actually working on an in-house game ourselves that we believe will have mainstream appeal. It’s a game that anyone can understand, has significant economic incentives, and, crucially, can only exist on TEN. We’ll be pushing it to the masses via Web2 channels because we believe in ‘show, not tell’—we want to showcase the unique use cases that Web3 can unlock when used correctly with the right tools available. One specific way we’re doing this is by implementing Account Abstraction (ERC-4337) at the network level, allowing developers to add account and gas abstraction and social auth into their dApps, making for an overall more Web2-like experience. Developers can exploit the synergies of Web2 and Web3 to solve user problems without compromise.
\ Bilateral integration will solve problems that we can’t even imagine yet without impacting the UX. We’re making it so frictionless to build and use TEN that we ultimately hope to just blend into the background and allow the amazing dApps that are being built to shine.
\ Ishan Pandey: User-generated content played a significant role in Upland’s success. How do you see this approach fitting into your marketing strategy for TEN?
\ Cais Manai: That’s an interesting one, as we’ve been talking about how we need to be able to support new types of user-generated content for a long time. NFTs with hidden elements, NFTs that evolve based on preconditions that nobody knows about, can only exist on a network like TEN. Ultimately, we’re a network providing developers with the tools to do entirely new things. Anyone can come to us with their idea, and we'll make sure to allocate time to help bring it to life.
\ Ishan Pandey: What strategies are you implementing to build and sustain a strong community around TEN, considering the diverse nature of the Web3 audience?
\ Cais Manai: That’s a great question and one we’ve given a lot of thought to. First and foremost, we know we’re building a network that offers functionality that simply doesn’t exist elsewhere. This translates into unique dApps that you’ll only be able to use on TEN, which allows us to build a community based on merit and utility rather than relying on short-term incentives like airdrops that fail to foster long-term community engagement.
\ We believe the current approach to community building is broken. Many projects leverage war chests with millions to splash out on ‘buying’ dApps and communities. You end up building a mercenary landscape where it becomes purely about money and gains, and genuine innovation is washed away. Our growth comes from passionate, grassroots developers and users excited by what’s made possible on a chain like TEN—those who still passionately believe in a world made better by Web3. Our community, “The Musketeers’ many of whom have been with us since the early days, feel a strong affinity for the mission to build a bigger and better Web3 that can surpass Web2. They act as ambassadors for TEN and will eventually take control of the project through the TEN DAO, ensuring that our community remains engaged, empowered, and aligned with our long-term vision.
\ Ishan Pandey: What is your vision for TEN’s role in the broader Web3 landscape? How do you see it evolving over the next 3-5 years?
\ Cais Manai: As with any big tech, over a sufficiently long time horizon, you end up with a small handful of big players. It’s no different in Web3. Ultimately, we don’t need 100s of L1s; all that does is fragment liquidity and add complexity for end users. We’ll probably land on two to three dominant L1s, and Ethereum will be one of them. Ethereum’s roadmap is entirely focused on scaling through L2s, and I believe TEN will become the dominant L2.
\ From a technical perspective, TEN offers everything that other L2s do,, plus so much more. Our team at TEN is by far the strongest in Web3; we have already built the dominant enterprise blockchain that is actually being used by industries from banking to telecommunications and payments through to insurance. Banks are notoriously difficult to get new software in the door or change processes, and yet we did it. We’ll continue to leverage the team's creativity, technical ability, and strategic foresight to make waves in Web3 and establish TEN as the leading L2.
\ Ishan Pandey: Given the dynamic nature of Web3, what future trends do you believe will shape the success of Web3 Projects?
\ Cais Manai: Given the dynamic nature of Web3, I believe several key trends will shape the success of future projects:
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Leveraging Web3 Fundamentals: Successful projects will better leverage and promote the unique attributes of Web3. This includes: Creating applications that harness infinite composability to solve previously unsolvable problems and significantly enhance efficiency and capital allocation. When we built Corda, our mission was to build a new operating system for finance—one where every instrument and participant operated seamlessly with each other. For example, the expiration of an equity option would trigger all of the right flows, from payments to closing out positions, and every record would be updated in perfect sync. Web3 offers the opportunity to do this on an even larger scale—essentially creating an operating system for the world.
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Unified Money and Computation: Developing use cases where paying per transaction actually improves the user experience because granular control over costs is required, and customers are not tied into daily, monthly, or yearly payment deals. Instead, they can pay as they go, giving them more flexibility and control.
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Unified Money and Computation: With Ethereum, money and computation live on the same network for the first time. This is a game-changer. Future projects will increasingly leverage this unique capability to create innovative financial products and services that were previously impossible. Just think about that - actual money sitting inside an application without needing a third party like a bank to move it around. This is a fundamental paradigm shift that transforms how we think about and interact with money.
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AI Integration: As AI continues to advance, we'll see more projects building for an AI-driven future. Here’s the exciting part: the infrastructure we’ve built with Web3 is uniquely suited for AI systems to interact with the world on our behalf vs the current infrastructure where “The design is very human”. We’ve quite literally built te the perfect interface for AI systems to interact with the world on our behalf. AI will be able to navigate the web3 universe, hold our wallets, transact for us, and trade for us. It’ll also have the power of Web3’s infinite composability to build new applications that meet our every need, revolutionizing how we interact with digital environments and ushering in a new economy - the machine economy. For this to become a reality, data access control is fundamental; after all, you can’t have personal AI agents unless you hand over your data, but crucially, within your control, your permission, and private to everyone else.
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User-Centric Simplification: The key to mass adoption of Web3 lies in simplifying the user experience. Successful projects will focus on removing complexity from the end-user experience. This includes advancements in chain and wallet abstraction, allowing users to interact with Web3 applications as seamlessly as with Web2 platforms. The goal is to provide users with at least the same Web2-like experience they've come to expect, if not better. By achieving this level of ease and convenience, we can bring Web3 to a broader audience.
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Bridging Web2 and Web3: Innovations like ZkTLS, built on Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), will play a crucial role in this integration, enabling a more comprehensive and interconnected digital landscape. Ultimately, Web2 does not want to be disrupted, and it doesn’t want all the data it’s collected on users to be made available to Web3. ZkTLS force retrieves the data in a trustless way, allowing the use of Web2 data within the Web3 ecosystem.
\ Ultimately, these trends point to a future where Web3 fundamentally reshapes how we interact with digital technology. At TEN, we are focused on driving these trends by creating a platform that provides the necessary tools and infrastructure to make these possibilities a reality.
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:::tip Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR
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