Winning traits attract tech entrepreneurs

KUCHING: Malaysia’s combination of technical talent, multilingual skills and relatively competitive costs gives blockchain founders a base from which to build for global markets.

Superscrypt founder and managing partner Jacob Ko said Malaysian entrepreneurs had already built internationally recognised platforms across several segments of the crypto and digital asset industry.

Speaking during a BFM 89.9 podcast, he cited Jupiter, Pendle, Etherscan, CoinGecko, Drift and Aevo as examples of platforms with Malaysian founders.

Their reach extends beyond financial trading to infrastructure and services that help users navigate blockchain markets.

Ko highlighted Pendle’s role in yield trading, Etherscan’s blockchain transaction information and CoinGecko’s cryptocurrency market data.

“If you launch a financial product on the internet, anyone worldwide can access it,” he said.

Ko described blockchain as an extension of changes the internet had already brought to information, music and commerce, with the technology applying similar principles to money and value.

The ability to move money across borders through the internet, he said, was central to understanding its commercial potential.

Building such products, however, requires a strong pool of technical expertise.

Ko pointed to institutions including APU, Monash University, Sunway University, Universiti Malaya and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia as contributors to the country’s engineering talent base.

“What you need are individuals skilled in engineering and computer science, who are entrepreneurial and willing to take risks,” he said.

He also highlighted graduates’ fluency in English and other languages, coupled with an international outlook, as advantages when developing internet products capable of expanding rapidly beyond their initial markets.