#CFX In this exclusive interview, Professor Long Fan shared for the first time his path choices, independent judgments on industry trends, and advice for young developers. Article by: Lesley, MetaEra. On May 15th, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the "Strengthening the World · Tides Rising in Hong Kong" #Conflux 数字金融与生态发展大会上，Conflux Network 创始人龙凡教授，再次出现在公众视野。这位清华「姚班」校友、MIT 博士、现任多伦多大学教授，过去几年几乎淡出公众视野，不曾接受媒体专访，默默地带领团队推进 Conflux 作为中国唯一 # Compliance #公链 的技术探索与全球拓展。面对 # RWA boom, #Memecoin surge, and the accelerated development of stablecoins indicate that the pace of the Blockchain era is faster than ever. How does Conflux maintain its technological focus in this environment? As the only compliant Chinese public chain, what long-term thinking supports Conflux's compliance identity? In this exclusive interview, Professor Long Fan shared for the first time his path choices, independent judgments on industry trends, and advice for young developers.

The original intention of entrepreneurship and the technical foundation of Conflux MetaEra: Please briefly introduce yourself. You are a PhD from MIT, an alumnus of Tsinghua's Yao Class, and also the founder of Conflux, as well as many other identities. If you were to introduce yourself, which identity would you hope everyone remembers first? Why?
Professor Longfan: I am a researcher in computer science, which means I study computer science. You can think of it as what people often call a "scientist"; this might be the simplest identity that encompasses everything I do. Whether as the founder of Conflux or previously studying at MIT, and now teaching at the University of Toronto, it is actually all part of this identity or the experience of growing into this identity.
MetaEra: If you could introduce Conflux in just one sentence, how would you say it? Is there a sentence that can help ordinary users instantly remember what Conflux is doing right now?
Professor Longfan: I believe that what Conflux is doing now is to persist in building a high-performance public blockchain based in China or Asia, aspiring to become an important infrastructure in the Web 3.0 era. This is what we have always been doing, and it is also what we will continue to do.
MetaEra: Is this definition something we've been determining since 2018, or is it a result that our team has gradually explored over the past seven to eight years?
Professor Longfan: Our team has been thinking this way since 2018. In trendy terms, it's called "staying true to our original aspiration," and we have been坚持这样做.
MetaEra: Currently, Conflux's Twitter profile defines the project in relation to "stablecoin" and "payment". So compared to Ethereum, Solana, and other public chains, what significant advantages does Conflux have in the areas of stablecoin and payment?
Professor Longfan: I believe the biggest advantage of Conflux in terms of technology is that our overall technical architecture achieves high performance TPS without sacrificing decentralization and security. Our network can support 3000-6000 TPS, and the confirmation time is also very fast. All of this is achieved without sacrificing the number of nodes and without compromising security.
This is one of our technical strengths, and it has been proven over time. For example, the Conflux mainnet has maintained zero security incidents since its launch, reflecting the stability and credibility of the architecture. What we're doing is grounded in our unique market or industry position, focused on what we're better at doing, or should be doing. As you can see, we are actively promoting offshore RMB, stablecoins and other directions, and we are also focusing on cooperating with China Telecom on BSIM cards. You can think of the BSIM card as an entrance to the blockchain world, and it is a key channel for us to connect real-world application scenarios.
In fact, all of this indicates what we can do as a public chain platform that originated in China and is currently the only compliant one in the country, compared to other public chains, as well as our unique advantages in this position. This indeed brings different advantages and changes to our on-chain ecosystem, which is why we focus on these matters. Compliance is not something "earned" but rather a combination of "long-term belief + path choice". MetaEra: Recently, Conflux signed a strategic cooperation agreement with partners for the Belt and Road cross-border trade scenarios. I would like to understand which of the many landing scenarios mentioned at the meeting do you believe can land quickly?
Professor Long Fan: I believe there are two aspects worth paying attention to. In fact, the content released at the conference consists of projects that will have clear progress in the coming month or months, with a predictable implementation path.
For example, the offshore RMB stablecoin currently being promoted, our ecological partner AnchorX is already ready in all aspects including compliance. The main aspect still under negotiation is: in what way to better release the offshore RMB stablecoin, allowing more people to access it and apply it to these scenarios. Therefore, very soon there will be a compliant offshore RMB stablecoin running on our blockchain, and we will also launch a series of ecological solutions to help this project expand its influence. This will be a priority direction in our upcoming public chain development strategy.
The second is the BSIM card, the whole technology research and development process - not only the software level research and development, but also the overall cooperation with telecom operators and card manufacturers, in fact, for a long time, some things are not completely within our control. But happily, the recent development and coordination of these technologies is almost over, and we expect to be able to launch one or several BSIM cards in some of China Telecom's overseas markets in the next few months, so that users can actually use BSIM cards. If the effect meets expectations, you can expect more promotion, and maybe even cooperate with other operators to promote it. Speakers at the conference were Toshin Peace, one of the world's largest credit card manufacturers. They actually have the motivation to use this as a possible pilot and invest more in this direction in the future.
MetaEra: In fact, Conflux is currently one of the few public chain projects with significant advantages in compliance. It is not only actively advancing in mainland China but has also achieved good development results in Hong Kong and even the international market. This identity and positioning are quite unique. Do you think this path can send a positive signal to the entire industry—that Chinese blockchain projects can indeed develop along a path that combines both internationalization and localization within a compliance framework?
Professor Long Fan: The route we have always adhered to conveys the message that Compliance is possible and that we can persist in this way.
Now that we have become the only compliant public chain in China, there is actually a historical reason for it. It's not that we went for it, but that in the previous wave of regulations and policies, most teams voluntarily gave up on this matter. A lot of it is due to short-term strategic considerations, for example, the cost of doing compliance in China and maintaining communication with regulators is too high, so moving to Singapore is the choice of many teams. It is precisely because we adhere to the path of compliance development that the compliance costs borne are actually very high. It also means that we have to be more restrained in many decisions. For example, we can't issue new tokens at will.
There is another aspect, which is that many people were previously unwilling to try this because it was generally believed to be impossible or unnecessary to attempt. But we have always believed that this is achievable and are willing to put in the effort, even if it means sacrificing some short-term benefits along the way. We firmly believe that, in the long run, this endeavor holds great value.
At the same time, our thinking is more natural. Most of the members of our core team graduated from Tsinghua University, and there are also some researchers who have studied abroad. You're doing a very technical, serious thing. We wonder, why do we have to go into exile? It is possible to persist in a path of normal development. We have always believed that when it comes to compliance, it is not completely impossible to communicate with regulators. We are willing to try to communicate and explore what can be done. In fact, in the process of communication, we also found that regulation is not completely uncommunicable. Everyone has their own starting point, and regulators have their positions and considerations. However, as long as each other is willing to communicate, it is possible for the logic and reasons of both parties to be clarified gradually, and finally find a solution that understands each other and can continue to move forward.
MetaEra: Recently, Conflux has also been actively expanding in Hong Kong. In this process, what role do you think Hong Kong has played? For example, will the policies provide stronger support? Will the environment be a bit more relaxed?
Prof. Fan Long: First of all, Hong Kong can now be understood as a "special zone" of blockchain. We can understand it this way: when China is faced with something completely new that has both opportunities and huge risks, it often chooses to set up a special zone to pilot first. Blockchain is a prime example of this, and Hong Kong happens to take on this role. Because of blockchain, it brings some financial risks, such as capital flows, cross-border supervision and other issues. For the country, it may be that in Hong Kong, a place where capital is already open, there will be no pressure to pilot it, and this is the current positioning of Hong Kong. You can think that for quite some time, in Hong Kong, all kinds of applications can be legal, and you don't have to worry about various policy risks. As a direct result of this environment, the cost of compliance in Hong Kong is much lower than in the mainland.
In fact, we look at this from the perspective of the characteristics of the industry. Now the industry is in a window period. Not only in China, but also in the vast majority of blockchain projects in the world are distributed offices. In this case, "where the person is" and "where the project is registered" are often two separate things. You'll see that a lot of projects have recently chosen to register their projects in Hong Kong, regardless of where their team members are located. The reason is simple: once it becomes a "Hong Kong project", it is much easier to promote compliance and less prone to unnecessary trouble. From this perspective, Hong Kong is in a natural period of policy dividends, which is a very important window of opportunity.
Of course, I've been talking to people in the industry lately, and there is a certain sense of urgency in Hong Kong right now, mainly from the United States and other overseas regions. Elsewhere the blockchain is moving very fast. Although Hong Kong's policies have been relatively open, Hong Kong is also reflecting on whether the current policy is still too conservative. If the current pace continues, some key opportunities may still be missed in the future. This may also be the direction in which Hong Kong's policies need to be further adjusted and accelerated in the future. RWA is Evolution, Memecoin is Human Nature: The Bipolar Survival Law of the Blockchain World MetaEra: We've noticed that you haven't been interviewed for a while. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to hear from you about the changes that the industry has experienced over the past few years. For example, what do you think about the RWA sector, which has been in the spotlight lately, and the market boom that Memecoin has sparked before? How do you and the Conflux team determine if a track is a "trend" or a "bubble"? In addition, in the face of the continuous switching of hot spots, will Conflux choose to actively chase certain market hot spots, or stick to its established technical and strategic path?
Professor Longfan: First of all, I have always viewed it this way, RWA is not a bubble, and stablecoins are not a bubble either. They essentially represent the entire industry in the process of breaking through regulatory barriers and existing framework limitations, constantly seeking new narratives to optimize their own development paths. This matter itself is meaningful and is an important step forward for humanity in better utilizing blockchain technology.
We used to talk about "stablecoins", now we talk more about "RWA", but it's essentially the same thing, it's just that the concept is expanding and the narrative is evolving. It can be understood that people within the industry are constantly revising and upgrading the narrative to reinterpret how blockchain should be applied in a way that is more easily understood and accepted by the outside world. So I think that's a good thing, not a bubble.
In fact, the acceptance of these concepts by the outside world changes with time and social context, hence the saying "this moment, another moment." Take stablecoins for example; in the beginning, no one was optimistic about stablecoins, thinking they were merely a substitute for traders unable to cash out. However, no one says that anymore. When you find out that stablecoins are among the top ten buyers of U.S. Treasury bonds, it indicates that their use cases and influence have far exceeded mere cryptocurrency trading. The main application scenarios for stablecoins now are not speculation, but rather in payments, transfers, and particularly in areas like cross-border trade. Of course, exchange scenarios still exist, but they are no longer the mainstream. Things are always evolving, and RWA is no exception.
At first, everyone had the impression of stablecoins as "coin speculation tools", which was considered speculative, illegitimate and even bubble from the perspective of many Chinese. But now we see that through RWA, some real assets can be digitally packaged, thus providing a new source of liquidity for illiquid assets in the real economy. At this time, people suddenly realized that RWA can serve the real economy and has practical value. But in fact, in the end, this thing can be done before, but now it is just a different name and a different narrative to advance.
In the final analysis, this is a different perspective for the entire blockchain industry, conveying the same core point to the outside world: blockchain technology is valuable and has real application space. So I think RWA is by no means a bubble, it's just a narrative upgrade for our industry, a way to talk to the times.
MetaEra: So you think Memecoin is a bubble.
Professor Long Fan: I think Memecoin is an ancient demand of humanity. It's actually quite simple; the gambling instinct is an ancient need of humans. If gambling is necessarily a bubble, then Las Vegas casinos should have closed down a long time ago.
When it comes to Memecoin, my view is that humans inherently have a primitive urge to "take a gamble," and Memecoin is essentially a manifestation of this need, a form of "gambling in the crypto age."
Memecoin, like gambling, has a banker, and even the president of the United States can be the banker at this table. There are also bookmakers in casinos in Las Vegas, and the casinos themselves are bookmakers. So if you want to ask if this kind of thing is a "bubble", I think the answer to this question depends on your attitude towards "betting".
If you believe that the demand for gambling itself should not exist, you might see it as a bubble; but if you acknowledge that there is an inherent human nature that yearns for risk, excitement, and uncertainty, then it is merely another form of expression, another table to play at.
At the Memecoin table, people bet, chase trends, and sell at losses; ultimately, it's just a game. Once we see the essence of this mechanism, there's no need to overly criticize or attack it. After all, everyone is just playing a round in this "casino" and nothing more.
MetaEra: The Conflux team has always adhered to the technical route of "high-performance public chain in Asia" since 2018, staying true to its original intention. If we extend the timeline to five years or even a bit longer, do you hope that what Conflux is doing will still be the same as it is now?
Professor Long Fan: I think we will continue to insist on doing this in this direction. Of course, if I have any hopes, it would definitely be that the things we insist on doing have made significant progress, even if the things and methods we are doing are different from what many teams are doing.
The approach of many teams is to keep up with the market and quickly launch a new project within two weeks as soon as there is a hot spot. But our team is relatively more restrained and prudent in its strategy. The pace of what we are advancing is often slow, on the one hand, because the direction itself takes time to precipitate, and on the other hand, it does require our long-term efforts to promote. But we always believe that there are opportunities in this direction. Especially in the context of the continuous changes in the current international situation, the direction we adhere to is gradually showing its value and significance. This value may not be so conspicuous in the short term, but in the long term, it is solid and clear.
So if we are to talk about my expectations for the future, it is this: four or five years from now, what we are doing will definitely achieve greater progress than it does now. I am willing to believe that this continuous investment will ultimately yield returns.
MetaEra: Actually, we're seeing a lot of developers coming into Web 3.0 right now, so if there were new developers who wanted to get into the industry, would you suggest they do the underlying infrastructure, the application layer, or some other direction?
Professor Longfan: I think this actually depends on the individual situation of the developer or possibly the team.
In fact, now in China's blockchain industry, there are two main styles of doing things. The first is to be good at seizing short-term opportunities, iterating quickly, and making quick trial and error. There are indeed many outlets in this industry, and there are also many attention scenarios that can be quickly amplified. If you are the kind of team with a strong sense of execution and rhythm, and are willing to actively chase hot spots and trends, then I think you can try more application-oriented directions. Such opportunities do exist. But the premise is, are you really comfortable with this rhythm? Adapting to this rhythm can mean that you're constantly chasing hot spots and trying out all kinds of related products or playstyles.
Another approach is to choose a direction that can be invested in for a long time, whether it is infrastructure, a certain type of subdivided application, or a technology gap in the Infra layer. As long as you confirm that there is a real, unmet need in this direction, you can choose to focus on it. The challenge with this approach is that it requires a truly long-term faith. Because the entire industry is full of short-term temptations and disruptions, the flow of capital, users and resources is highly volatile. It's not easy to persevere in such an environment. But on the other hand, the advantage of this path is that there are not many people who are really willing to do long-term things, so the "real competition" faced is not so fierce. The biggest challenge may not be others, but yourself - whether you can continue to invest and withstand the cycle, and whether you have enough faith and stamina to really precipitate resources.
Therefore, I believe that every team ultimately has to return to its own endowments and rhythm, finding the path that is most suitable for itself.
MetaEra: At this conference, we also saw many projects being built on the Conflux ecosystem. I would like to ask, does Conflux still have relevant resources or platforms to support young developers in their continuous growth and exploration? Will there be some incentive mechanisms in the future to help more developers join the ecosystem and participate deeply in its construction?
Professor Long Fan: Our ecosystem has always had various ways to incentivize developers, and we are continuously adjusting and optimizing these incentive methods. In fact, we have tried many different paths and models. Our goal is to look for projects that are willing to establish long-term cooperative relationships with us, rather than just short-term collaborations.
In fact, there are also many "migratory bird" developers in this industry - they often migrate between different public chains with short-term incentive flows. However, for Conflux, we are more focused on long-term development, so this type of developer is relatively limited in helping to build a sustainable ecosystem. From our point of view, we're more inclined to support teams that are genuinely willing to land, committed, and have a clear long-term plan. We hope to establish a solid cooperation with them and promote the common growth of the ecosystem together.
As for another situation, for example, some developers may have already created similar products on other ecosystems, thinking they can directly "Copy & Paste" the code and deploy it, and then apply for a Grant, expecting to receive funding of twenty or thirty thousand, or even fifty thousand dollars. Our support for this model will be relatively limited.