A Vast Vision With Harmony

Li Jiang, an early investor in Harmony, shares how the project was born out of deep collaboration and weekly meetups in the Bay Area back in 2017. Harmony set out to build a horizontally scalable Layer 1 blockchain, using sharding and proof-of-stake to enable lightning-fast, low-cost transactions. The network achieves 2-second finality and near-zero fees, while remaining EVM-compatible—making it easy for developers to port over Ethereum applications. The ultimate goal is to create a seamless, interoperable blockchain environment where users and developers won’t even need to know which chain they’re on.

Harmony sets itself apart with a focus on bridging ecosystems beyond just Ethereum, including Polkadot, Cosmos, and Bitcoin. Li also dives into Harmony’s $300M ecosystem fund, which supports early-stage builders through open, milestone-based grants that are accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. Hackathons play a big role in expanding the network by helping developers form DAOs and launch new projects. For students and builders, Li emphasizes the power of permissionless opportunity—blockchain offers a chance to create meaningful impact regardless of location, background, or even identity.