Why: The Answers Underscoring HODL Assets’ GalaxE

Why? This three-lettered question underscores the ethos of many of today’s most impactful companies. Why, when someone else could do it, are we doing what we do? Why is our offering essential, and, furthermore, why do we have to be the ones to do it? For GalaxE by HODL Assets, a company quickly rising to prominence in the increasingly crowded crypto-sphere, the why was always crystal clear: to demystify blockchain technologies and make their benefits accessible to all. Far from just a copy and paste answer, this sentiment resonates deeply with original co-founders Lenny Schutz and AJ Bosch.

Schutz, an architect by trade, has always found ways to incorporate new technologies into his work. Having spent two years designing and refining what would officially become known as HODL Assets (now GalaxE, the platform component), I asked Mr. Schutz what his impetus was.

“I remember when I first learned about Bitcoin,” Lenny wrote in our email correspondence. “The blockchain was just in its inception, and one coin could’ve been had for just a few cents. Unfortunately, my understanding of cryptocurrencies and their utility was pretty limited at the time, so I, much to my chagrin, didn’t properly invest.” Mr. Schutz went on to discuss how, in the years that followed this lost opportunity, he spent more and more of his free time learning all that he could about cryptocurrencies and the blockchains that enable them. “You have to understand,” he continued, “it was a different time. Blockchain technology (and cryptocurrencies) were such niche topics. The information that could be found on them was incredibly technical and did not lend itself to being digested by any but those most willing to deep dive into the subject matter, and that didn’t sit well with me. If these technologies I was studying were truly as beneficial and versatile as I was coming to believe, then why did their information and accessibility exist in a vacuum? That didn’t sit well with me at all.”

AJ Bosch, the code-seasoned co-developer of GalaxE by HODLAssets, had a similar response. “Like Lenny, I didn’t like how information surrounding blockchain and crypto was so shrouded in mystery. I am, if I may be so bold, a pretty technically inclined person. In those early days, the stuff that was coming out, it was hard even for me to follow along with. What was happening then, was that people were missing out. People were missing out on learning about these technologies, on discovering their utility, because everything was so hard to navigate and piece together. You can see the results of that today. Instead of experiencing the adoption they deserve, cryptocurrencies are often portrayed (in the media, at least) as financial fads for the young, the rich, and the reckless.”

With the basis of their why firmly in hand, I asked the co-founders to share more about their thoughts on NFTs, and how GalaxE by HODL Assets would help bring blockchain to the masses.

“Several years into my crypto education, I met AJ,” Lenny responded. “At the same time, a quiet buzz was starting to crop up around the concept of NFTs, Non-Fungible Tokens, and that’s when we realized what we had to do. We knew NFTs were going to change everything. I don’t just mean NFTs as in the hot ticket items you are seeing in the media right now. I mean NFTs as in how almost everything we consume and share can and will be tokenized, not as a high-value collectible, but as a means of streamlining and optimizing security and communication throughout our entire society, both in the real world and online. We saw the vision and wanted to ensure that this time, there was one easy, intuitive, impactful place people could come to learn about, create, buy, and sell NFTs. We wanted to have one place where people knew they could come to explore the Metaverse and all that it has to offer. That place, as you now know, is HODL Assets’ GalaxE platform.”

“For me,” AJ notes in his reply to my asking how GalaxE will fit into Web 3.0, “GalaxE represents the best of what Web 3.0 has to offer. You don’t have to go too far or dig too deep to learn that online privacy and security are virtually non-existent for the average user. The sites we visit record our information and sell it off to advertisers and the like, and there you go – your ability to just exist on the web has been compromised by no fault of your own. Internet consumers (all of us) have become products, and that’s not ok.” He went on to explain his point, “Web 3.0 will fix that through decentralization. Part of what makes blockchain technology so appealing is this concept of decentralization. Instead of a website or institution owning my information, I own it. I own (as I should) my identity, finances, records, all of it, and it is up to me whether or not I want to share any details. At a time when malware and phishing scams ravage even the largest corporations and institutions, it is more important than ever to feel safe online. Web 3.0 will make that possible. HODL Assets’ GalaxE will make that possible.”

Understanding now what GalaxE by HODL Assets represented for these two visionaries, I was curious to learn how they measured success.

“For me,” Lenny wrote, “launching the original platform this past August was a success. Getting HODL Assets live was no small feat. In addition to the countless hours the team put in, we also got a large swatch of early adopters and beta testers who all helped us (and continue to help us) make HODL Assets the success that it is. Looking to the future, I see GalaxE going into 2022 with at least a million active users. I see thousands of artists and creatives turning the profits they deserve. I see a community that can buy and sell commodities with crypto and fiat alike. I see all that and so much more that I, unfortunately, cannot yet reveal.”

“Like Lenny,” AJ commented, “I see what we have already achieved as a success. The community, the CoinLinked acquisition, and the addition of Jenny Q. Ta – I think that, if I may speak for both of us, all of that really surprised Lenny and me. Don’t get me wrong, we worked for all of it. We put in the hours, the blood, sweat, and tears, but it was really something to see so many other people get behind and support our vision, our passion. Looking to the future – if we were to amass even 1% of the users of major social media competitors, I would consider this next step a success. If we can get 1% of those users on board with the notion that they have a right to privacy and security, that they have a right to seek out a community and information around the technologies that stand to significantly shape their future, that, I think, would merit being called success.”

To demystify blockchain technologies and make their benefits accessible to all. With each momentous step HODL Assets takes, this goal becomes more and more realized, and with that realization comes the satisfaction for Lenny and AJ that they have truly done everything in their collective powers to help people lead life to the fullest.

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About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.