Three questions with Gianluca De Novi, Founder & CEO at Circular

Boston (US) – Lugano (CH), August 27th, 2024. We sat down with Dr. Gianluca De Novi, who is the soul of the Circular project, which is starting to spread as we speak. More news is coming from the Circular Team, but let’s chat with the man who conceived this whole layer one revolution.

Who are you and what do you do for a living?  

I am passionate about learning and applying my knowledge to create innovative solutions. At my core, I am driven by a deep motivation to work on new technologies that can positively impact the lives of many. Professionally, I am an engineer with a background in Electronics and Computer Science, holding a PhD in Robotics and Controls. However, I consider myself an expert in high-performance computing, as much of my work demands speed and the use of GPUs.

I am a faculty member and researcher at Harvard Medical School, where I have led the Medical Device and Simulation Laboratory at Massachusetts General Brigham for over 15 years, focusing on DoD-funded research. Alongside my academic career, I am also an entrepreneur, having founded several startups centered on converging technologies. Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working on numerous groundbreaking technologies.

What’s the point of Circular? What’s different vs. all other chains? 

At a certain point in my career, I began exploring technologies that could be adopted by the government, for ensuring data integrity, with a particular focus on healthcare data. This journey led me to blockchain technology.

During my research, I uncovered two critical insights: first, no existing Layer 1 blockchain was suitable for adoption in high-stakes applications, due to their inability to meet stringent regulatory requirements like HIPAA and GDPR. Second, blockchain technology was nearing the end of its market probing phase—a stage in the technology life cycle that precedes mass adoption, similar to what we’ve seen with other transformative technologies.

Realizing there was a gap in the blockchain market and the limited time before enterprises would begin widespread adoption, I spent nearly seven months refining a new concept on my whiteboard. My goal was to design a blockchain from the ground up—not a copycat, but something genuinely innovative that could meet the regulatory demands of enterprises and institutions, while offering developers a richer set of tools and features. This led to the creation of the Circular Protocol.

Circular is not just another blockchain; it is a fourth-generation blockchain protocol with some unique features that set it apart. Unlike many other blockchains that execute smart contracts in parallel on a single chain, Circular is a true parallel blockchain network. It can mint blocks simultaneously on multiple branches of the same chain, or on entirely separate chains. Additionally, Circular introduces a novel smart contract architecture that ensures security and reliability while delivering exceptional performance. For example, our equivalent of an ERC-20 token (CRC-0023 on Circular) can handle approximately 1,000 TPS (transactions per second), based on real, measurable metrics, rather than theoretical numbers. The scalability of Circular is another key advantage. The throughput of 1,000 TPS can be scaled quasi-linearly with the number of shards and branches within the blockchain, effectively meeting any future demand for higher throughput. Many blockchains claim to achieve hundreds of thousands of transactions per second (TPS), but when put to the test, they often struggle to reach even 2,000 TPS.

Beyond these features, Circular also offers the ability to certify entire processes—not just data—using Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) and batch GPU processing. This creates a meaningful integration between blockchain and AI, paving the way for new applications and innovations.

How can people join Circular, if they want to code, invest, exchange ideas? Where can we find you?  

At Circular, we pride ourselves on being highly responsive and easy to reach. Developers can connect with us on our Discord and Telegram channels, and it’s worth noting that developers on Circular earn a share of the transaction fees. This makes learning how to develop on Circular a great way to start building recurring revenues, even for freelancers. Investors can purchase our coins on initial exchanges such as LBank, BitMart, and XT, or reach out to us directly, to participate in private sales. For anyone interested in joining our community, Circular is about inclusivity—“no corners, no sides”—everyone is welcome.

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