Lisk, the blockchain application platform, has announced the appointment of a new Chief Operating Officer, along with a ramped up call for developers to join the project, with openings for front-end and back-end developers to join their growing team.

Joel Fernández is being promoted as COO. Originally from Puerto Rico, Fernández moved to Berlin, Germany to supercharge the Lisk core team’s efficiency in development and outreach. Previously, Fernández served as Community Manager of Lisk since inception, aiding co-founders Max Kordek and Oliver Beddows in the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and in continuous outreach to the community. Among his responsibilities as COO, Fernández was entrusted with the roll-out of a rewards-based bounty program aimed at incentivizing further development on the promising platform.  

“We are excited to announce that Joel has accepted a position at Lisk as Chief Operating Officer. Since the beginning, Joel has been an invaluable resource to our team and actively contributed to the success of the Lisk project. I believe that Joel will continue to add his exceptional knowledge and experience as he joins our senior management team here in Berlin,” said Max Kordek, CEO and Co-Founder of Lisk. 

In addition, Lisk is looking to add first-party developers to the project and has begun a new wave of talent acquisition.

“Following the release of 0.4.0 to the main net, we are now looking for two front-end and two back-end developers to join our team and aid in the continued developments of the platform as outlined in our roadmap. We welcome candidates with excellent programming experience and who have an interest in blockchain technologies and digital currencies”, Kordek said.

Rewards-based bounty program

In response to the continued support and contribution from Lisk contributors around the world, Lisk distributed rewards from a bounty fund, in the form of LSK - the cryptocurrency underpinning the platform. 

“The aim of this bounty program was to compensate exceptional Lisk contributors and Ambassadors who have poured in countless hours into helping Lisk flourish. Our Lisk ambassadors are actively spreading awareness of Lisk’s extraordinary capabilities in many countries across the world. Moreover, there have been many community members who have created significant and tangible projects supporting the Lisk ecosystem, and it was time to make sure they are rewarded for their efforts,” added Kordek. 

Contributors to Lisk have developed set-up and technical guides, voting tools, Lisk network monitors and lite clients. In particular, Lisk applauded the contribution from U.S.-based Isabella Dell, who received recognition for her development of Lisk provisional scripts including the process management script, automated install / upgrade script and the automatic snapshot script.  

In other developments, Lisk became a sponsor of prominent San Francisco Bitcoin meet-up SF Social. The twice-monthly event educates and informs cryptocurrency veterans and newcomers alike on the latest developments in the booming sector with, with regular presentations from leading experts in the space.

“Having attended many conferences this year including International Blockchain Week, we see a need to support networking for the community. San Francisco and Silicon Valley have some of the world’s elite technologists and visionaries, and we look forward to supporting and meeting with many of these outstanding individuals in the months to come,” concluded Kordek. 

Currently valued at over $19 million, LSK, the cryptocurrency underpinning the platform, sits in 16th place of the most valuable digital currencies. 

Headquartered in Berlin, Lisk’s platform uniquely allows for the deployment, distribution, and monetization of blockchain applications, each running within their own sidechains. Founded in early 2016, Lisk completed its ICO in May and attracted approximately 14,000 BTC, now worth over $8 million. At the time, Lisk’s ICO became the second most successful crypto-currency crowdfund to date, and it remains among the top 25 largest crowdfunds in history.