{"id":"james-hunsaker","hidden":false,"ipfs":"QmP4zdpQXgVK1hAEurH5XRbHSTnYKZTRA8Ny8Av1hfx3eA","language":"en","transactionHash":"0xe00509f8b07722a8584de51237a4581a276be89e9fc9f407b3ffba35f8196071","created":"2024-05-30T20:05:18.712Z","updated":"2024-05-30T20:05:18.712Z","title":"James Hunsaker","summary":"James Hunsaker is the CTO and co-founder of Monad, a parallel EVM blockchain, and a former VP at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan.","content":"**James Hunsaker** is an American software engineer and entrepreneur who co-founded the [Monad](https://iq.wiki/wiki/monad) [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) protocol and serves as co-founder and CTO of Category Labs (formerly Monad Labs), the team developing software infrastructure for the [Monad](https://iq.wiki/wiki/monad) protocol founded as Monad Labs in 2022.[\\[4\\]](#cite-id-xtxdd54r9f)​[\\[5\\]](#cite-id-ap09in6tsn)​[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-3bqer2uauva)​[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-kfrsu0yya9) Hunsaker is a software engineer and entrepreneur who spent more than a decade in traditional finance and high-frequency trading before co-founding Monad, experience that informed the chain’s low-latency, parallel [EVM](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum-virtual-machine) design.[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-kfrsu0yya9)​\n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](mee-5mcuvMU)\n\n## Education\n\nHunsaker graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics.[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-3bqer2uauva)​\n\n## Career\n\nHunsaker worked as an associate at Goldman Sachs in New York City from July 2010 to July 2012, then became a vice president at J.P. Morgan from July 2012 to April 2013, before returning to Goldman Sachs as a vice president from April 2013 until February 2014.[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-kfrsu0yya9)​[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-3bqer2uauva) He then joined Jump Trading in New York City as a senior software engineer on the trading team, working in high-frequency trading from February 2014 to May 2021 and continuing in that role from May 2021 to February 2022, with a focus on crypto trading and building Pyth.[\\[1\\]](#cite-id-3bqer2uauva) Alongside this professional trajectory, Hunsaker has described a long-standing interest in technology, recalling that he began experimenting with programming as a child by typing code from magazines into Apple II computers at school.[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-rvsits7hm2) Together with [Keone Hon](https://iq.wiki/wiki/keone-hon) and [Eunice Giarta](https://iq.wiki/wiki/eunice-giarta), he co-founded [Monad Labs](https://iq.wiki/wiki/monad), the team building software for the [Monad](https://iq.wiki/wiki/monad) [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) protocol, which rebranded to Category Labs on December 16, 2024.[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-kfrsu0yya9)​[\\[5\\]](#cite-id-ap09in6tsn) Hunsaker serves as CEO of Category Labs while remaining a co-founder and core contributor to the [Monad](https://iq.wiki/wiki/monad) [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) protocol.[\\[5\\]](#cite-id-ap09in6tsn)​\n\n### Monad Labs\n\nIn an interview with The Pipeline Podcast, Hunsaker shared how the co-founders came up with the idea of [Monad](https://iq.wiki/wiki/monad), which is developed by [Monad](https://iq.wiki/wiki/monad) Labs, the team that rebranded to Category Labs on December 16, 2024.[\\[2\\]](#cite-id-a06lkqyo9tu)​[\\[5\\]](#cite-id-ap09in6tsn) As co-founder and CTO of Category Labs, the team behind [Monad](https://iq.wiki/wiki/monad), Hunsaker leads the technical direction for the chain’s parallel EVM architecture, drawing on his background building low-latency systems in high-frequency trading to focus on portability and execution speed.[\\[6\\]](#cite-id-kfrsu0yya9)​\n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](kjZShZB_7v0)\n\n## Interviews\n\n### Monad and Personal Journey\n\nIn a 2023 interview with Munjal Shah on the Unfiltered Podcast, Hunsaker described his early technical background, recalling that he began experimenting with programming in elementary school on Apple II computers and other early machines. He explained that he would type code from magazines into these computers to run simple games, summarizing this period by saying, “I started ‘programming’ in third grade.”[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-rvsits7hm2)​\n\nDiscussing his motivations for becoming an entrepreneur, Hunsaker characterized his decision as driven by optimism and a belief that starting a company was achievable if others had done so. He suggested that many founders underestimate the complexity and “big business” aspects of building a company, and that a degree of “ignorance” about the challenges ahead can make it easier to take the initial leap.[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-rvsits7hm2)​\n\nHunsaker also explained why he left Jump Trading, describing high-frequency trading as a demanding environment involving “constant grinding” and persistent performance pressure. After roughly eight years at the firm, he felt it was an appropriate time to pursue something new, while leaving open the possibility of returning to trading or helping build on-chain trading infrastructure in the future.[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-rvsits7hm2)​\n\nOn the future of crypto and [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) applications, he argued that the industry should focus on “real apps that real people want to use,” where decentralization offers a clear advantage over centralized alternatives. He framed the key competition as being between blockchain-based services and established payment providers such as PayPal and Venmo, suggesting that debates over which specific [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) to use are less important than building compelling products.[\\[3\\]](#cite-id-rvsits7hm2)​\n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](zWtrwya-9X0)\n","recentActivity":null,"operator":{"id":"0x1E23b34d3106F0C1c74D17f2Cd0F65cdb039b138"},"categories":[{"id":"people","title":"People in crypto"}],"tags":[{"id":"Founder"}],"images":[{"id":"QmaRMtvQBgCqB41ASHN47rpvvwC47mHhgvfbk7H7335kCc","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"media":[{"name":"mee-5mcuvMU","id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mee-5mcuvMU","size":"0","type":null,"source":"YOUTUBE"},{"name":"kjZShZB_7v0","id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjZShZB_7v0","size":"0","type":null,"source":"YOUTUBE"},{"name":"zWtrwya-9X0","id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWtrwya-9X0","size":"0","type":null,"source":"YOUTUBE"},{"name":"HdTg7d5OtkA","id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdTg7d5OtkA","size":"0","type":null,"source":"YOUTUBE"},{"name":"vm6ByQsdstg","id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm6ByQsdstg","size":"0","type":null,"source":"YOUTUBE"}],"linkedWikis":{"founders":[],"blockchains":["monad"],"speakers":[]},"events":[{"title":"Joins Goldman Sachs as Associate in New York","date":"2010-07-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"James Hunsaker joins Goldman Sachs in New York as an associate focusing on equity volatility automation.","link":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshunsaker/","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"7f952fa1-e544-4d55-b466-1878268b5673"},{"title":"Becomes Vice President at J.P. Morgan","date":"2012-07-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Hunsaker moves to J.P. Morgan in New York as a vice president working on electronic market making.","link":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshunsaker/","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"6881b8eb-37f9-4fa9-b692-8692be7b9dee"},{"title":"Returns to Goldman Sachs as Vice President","date":"2013-04-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Hunsaker returns to Goldman Sachs in New York as a vice president in equity derivatives.","link":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshunsaker/","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"00525058-341f-4d1c-95ad-608f49aecf1b"},{"title":"Joins Jump Trading as Senior Software Engineer","date":"2014-02-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Hunsaker joins Jump Trading in New York as a senior software engineer on the high-frequency trading team.","link":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshunsaker/","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"334b0152-d651-408d-9de4-738cb983922b"},{"title":"Becomes lead maintainer for Pyth","date":"2021-01-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"While at Jump Trading, Hunsaker becomes a lead maintainer for the Pyth oracle project as part of his crypto-focused work.","link":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshunsaker/","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"67c50cd5-97d7-47db-ba26-277f7bfa14eb"},{"title":"Co-founds Monad Labs, the team building the Monad blockchain","date":"2022-02-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Hunsaker co-founds Monad Labs, later known as Category Labs, to develop the Monad blockchain protocol as co-founder and CTO.","link":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshunsaker/","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"59487b8c-bf71-4921-8477-a7a6f1b8268f"},{"title":"Monad Labs rebrands as Category Labs and Hunsaker becomes CEO","date":"2024-12-01","type":"DEFAULT","description":"Monad Labs rebrands as Category Labs, with Hunsaker serving as CEO while continuing to lead development of the Monad blockchain protocol.","link":"https://www.category.xyz/blogs/introducing-category-labs","country":"United States","continent":"North America","multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"9d436a75-c8aa-49aa-a3a9-9dc54659c214"}],"founderWikis":[],"blockchainWikis":[{"id":"monad","title":"Monad"}],"metadata":[{"id":"twitter_profile","value":"https://twitter.com/_jhunsaker?lang=en"},{"id":"linkedin_profile","value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshunsaker/"},{"id":"github_profile","value":"https://github.com/jhunsaker"},{"id":"wiki-score","value":"79"},{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"3bqer2uauva\",\"url\":\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshunsaker/\",\"description\":\"James Hunsaker | LinkedIn\",\"timestamp\":1717098884070},{\"id\":\"a06lkqyo9tu\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjZShZB_7v0&ab_channel=ThePipeline\",\"description\":\"The Pipeline with James Hunsaker | YouTube\",\"timestamp\":1717099136043},{\"id\":\"rvsits7hm2\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWtrwya-9X0&pp=ygUUamFtZXMgaHVuc2FrZXIgbW9uYWQ%3D\",\"description\":\"Unfiltered with Munjal | YouTube\",\"timestamp\":1717099171046},{\"id\":\"xtxdd54r9f\",\"url\":\"https://coinscapture.com/trending/all-you-need-to-know-about-james-hunsaker,-the-co-founder-of-monad-blockchain\",\"description\":\"All You Need To Know About James Hunsaker, The Co-Founder of Monad Blockchain | CoinsCapture\",\"timestamp\":1790541407928},{\"id\":\"ap09in6tsn\",\"url\":\"https://www.category.xyz/blogs/introducing-category-labs\",\"description\":\"Introducing: Category Labs\",\"timestamp\":1790541407928},{\"id\":\"kfrsu0yya9\",\"url\":\"https://usethebitcoin.com/crypto-personalities/who-is-james-hunsaker/\",\"description\":\"Everything to Know About James Hunsaker | UseTheBitcoin\",\"timestamp\":1790541554893}]"},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"QmP4zdpQXgVK1hAEurH5XRbHSTnYKZTRA8Ny8Av1hfx3eA"},{"id":"commit-message","value":"Trim James Hunsaker wiki; condense timeline (-474 words)"},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"QmP4zdpQXgVK1hAEurH5XRbHSTnYKZTRA8Ny8Av1hfx3eA"}],"user":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"author":{"id":"0x1E23b34d3106F0C1c74D17f2Cd0F65cdb039b138"},"views":1759}