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A Q&A with Amelia Daly and Eric Chung on the Growing Role of Blockchain

A Q&A with Amelia Daly and Eric Chung on the Growing Role of Blockchain

Industry experts offered insights on blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and how USC Marshall is meeting the moment

by: Alexander Bernard
01.21.25
Amelia Daly and Eric Chung

Amelia Daly (T) and Eric Chung (B) are pushing VEDA to the cutting edge.
[Photos courtesy of Daly and Chung]

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As blockchain technology advances, so too does the USC Marshall School of Business curriculum. With the launch of the Business of Blockchain Initiative, Marshall is keeping pace with the rapidly evolving technology, catalyzing research, teaching, and industry collaborations within the university to remain on the cutting edge of the turbulent and dynamic field. The initiative builds on the work of the USC Marshall VanEck Digital Assets Initiative (VEDA) and the initiative’s annual Blockchain Conference, which will convene March 11–12 at the Bovard Auditorium and Trojan Grand Ballroom, respectively, on the USC campus.

Bolstering VEDA’s dedication to education, events, and expertise, Amelia Daly, the head of partnerships at the Solana Foundation, will join as the initiative’s first executive-in-residence (EIR). Daly, who has over a decade's worth of experience in Web3, cryptocurrency, and digital health, will offer her vast experience and knowledge to Marshall students as they study the technology.

In a recent Q&A with Marshall News, Daly and Eric Chung, VEDA managing director, shared their crypto origin stories, thoughts on recent developments in blockchain, and insights into future trends.

What is your crypto origin story? How did you first get introduced to crypto?

Amelia Daly: A local coffee shop in Vancouver, British Columbia installed a bitcoin (BTC) ATM in 2013 — that was my first introduction to crypto. In 2018, I read the bitcoin white paper and spent more time with some friends building payment networks specifically for BTC. As my conviction grew around new financial rails using blockchain technology, I joined Solana in 2021.

Eric Chung: I discovered bitcoin in late 2016 from a TechCrunch article while I was teaching myself data science as a UCLA student. This quickly led me to ethereum and smart contracts, an actively discussed topic in the tech news cycle shortly after the DAO hack. I initially had a narrow view of using blockchains for their transparency characteristic to build a data analytics project that would stand out to prospective employers.

What’s a recent development in blockchain that you think is exciting and has huge potential in 2025?

AD: Stablecoins aren’t a recent development, but their adoption and utility are at a very exciting point — $178 billion in issuance and 100 million stablecoin holders around the world. Most people think of stablecoins as a dollar on the blockchain, the underlying technology that enables the movement of money that creates a new kind of internet-based capital market.

EC: The intersection of crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) is endlessly fascinating and will dominate blockchain innovation in 2025. I believe that more than 50% of global blockspace demand will come from AI-powered transactions in the next decade, and 2025 seems to be the year that the technological foundations for this future will be established.

Why is it important for academia to be involved in blockchain and digital assets?

AD: The internet was built on a couple of key open source protocols (e.g., SMTP and HTTP); these were breakthroughs based on research applications implemented at no cost to users to ensure that the underlying technology followed systematic standards. Blockchain relies on that same degree of open source rules to ensure that the world’s internet capital markets can be interconnected. Academia is a cornerstone of research that is derived from principles not purely for profit seeking outcomes — this objective contribution will remain essential to ensuring the future of blockchain.

EC: Academia plays the important role of formalizing acquired knowledge about blockchain and digital assets into replicable curriculum and research programs enabling future inventors and entrepreneurs to build on the work of those who came before. Academia also plays a significant role in organizing and signaling strong talent, which is a huge need for the crypto industry as it accelerates in relevance

If you could change anything about the mainstream perception of crypto and digital assets, what would you change?

AD: Crypto is not a purely speculative asset class — shift the focus from price volatility and speculation to the underlying technology and its potential to revolutionize various industries. As growing real-world applications (like stablecoin adoption) and thoughtful regulation comes to life, there will be greater trust in both the technology and digital assets.

EC: Mainstream perception of crypto has revolved around it being a vehicle for speculation, and I’d love for more people to learn about and tap into the exciting technological and financial innovation happening.

What is your favorite vertical or domain within the blockchain industry and why?

AD: DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure networks) is an exciting category in crypto. Projects like Helium (mobile network) and Hivemapper (mapping network) are examples of projects building DePIN projects that are getting a lot of traction and fundamentally changing how those services have been configured without blockchain.

EC: Since I mentioned AI and crypto already, onchain analytics would be my next choice. It’s incredible that we have software networks with persistent memory of every single action taken on them, and I’m continually excited by developing methodologies for mining sophisticated insights from blockchains.

How might students looking to get more involved in the world of digital assets best prepare themselves through education and professional experience?

AD: Find projects that you are interested in and become a power user. Develop your own perspective on what works well and what should be better. Reach out and engage with the project to see how you can get involved. There is so much work to be done; the industry is highly receptive to people who want to contribute.

EC: Click buttons. Set up a wallet, go through Github repos, try new crypto apps, join communities aligned with your interests with like-minded hungry people, contribute to the discourse, and take one of the many blockchain-related courses offered at USC.

What is the greatest piece of advice you’ve received that has helped you in your crypto journey?

AD: With the constant changes in the crypto landscape, continuous learning is essential. Stay curious. Avoid complacency by seeking new information, challenging your assumptions, and refining your understanding.

EC: Don’t be afraid to reach out to industry leaders with questions and ideas — the crypto world is still small enough that a new entrant can quickly and definitively make a dent in its trajectory.

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