Key Takeaways
- Mike Belshe, born in 1971, is a computer scientist and entrepreneur with a Computer Science degree from California Polytechnic State University.
- In 2011, Belshe co-founded BitGo, a company focused on secure digital asset storage. In 2021, Galaxy Digital bought BitGo for $1.2 billion.
- Belshe developed BitGo’s multi-signature wallet and Threshold Signature Scheme (TSS), securing over 600 tokens across blockchains.
Who Is Mike Belshe?
Born in 1971, Mike Belshe is an American entrepreneur and computer scientist. He is the co-founder and CEO of BitGo and helped start Lookout Software in 2004. Belshe also co-created the SPDY protocol and played a major role in writing the HTTP/2.0 specification. He has over ten technology patents as an inventor.
Belshe graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 1993, where he was named ‘Computer Science Senior of the Year’ by the faculty.
Early Career
Mike began his career in 1993 as a Software Engineer at Hewlett-Packard (HP), where he worked until 1995. He then moved on to Netscape Communications Corp. as a Software Engineer, staying with the company until 1997.
Leadership Roles
In 1997, Mike became the Director of Engineering and VP of Applications at Remarq, a company that was later bought by Critical Path. He worked there until 2001. Afterward, he joined Good Technology as Director of Engineering, a role he held until 2003.
Co-Founding Lookout Software
2003 Mike co-founded Lookout Software, an email search company, alongside Eric Hahn. Microsoft bought The company in 2004, and Mike joined Microsoft as a Software Engineer and Development Manager.
Google and SPDY Protocol
Mike joined Google in 2006 as one of the early hires, working as a Staff Software Engineer on the Google Chrome team. At Google, he contributed to protocol research and co-authored SPDY, a now obsolete protocol for transporting web content.
HTTP/2.0 and IETF Involvement
In 2011, Mike presented SPDY to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and helped create HTTP/2.0, a major update to the HTTP protocol. During the IETF’s official process, he suggested that encryption should always be used in the protocol.
Founding BitGo
Mike Belshe co-founded BitGo and became its CEO in 2011. BitGo provides secure storage and protection for digital assets. In 2021, Galaxy Digital bought it for $1.2 billion. The company offers services like regulated storage, borrowing, lending, and infrastructure for investors and developers. Mike’s early work at BitGo included creating the world’s first multi-signature web wallet for Bitcoin.
Security Developments
After creating the multi-signature wallet, BitGo developed the Threshold Signature Scheme (TSS) to improve digital asset security. With multi-signature and TSS technology, BitGo helps protect over 600 tokens across various blockchains.
Service Expansion
In 2018, BitGo started BitGo Trust Company, which provides secure, regulated cold storage and its original hot wallet service. In April 2020, BitGo bought Lumina, a platform for managing institutions’ digital assets.
Launch of The Go Network
In July 2023, Mike Belshe revealed the launch of the Go Network, BitGo’s platform for managing and settling USD and digital assets in real-time, 24/7. Although the Go Network started adding new features in October 2022, Mike mentioned in an interview that it takes time to bring together different market participants and figure out the settlement process, which officially began in 2023.
Technology Leadership Across Fields
Mike Belshe is a computer scientist with experience in many areas, such as web protocols and blockchain. He has used his skills in different fields, from creating technology for web browsers (Google Chrome) to managing digital assets (BitGo), combining new ideas with leadership.
Adoption of Blockchain by Institutions
Belshe’s goal for BitGo was to make blockchain technology safe and effective for businesses. This has become a big part of the financial industry’s use of blockchain and crypto-assets, offering institutions secure and regulated solutions for crypto transactions.
Belshe’s Crypto and Blockchain Vision
Belshe’s vision is to build secure and scalable blockchain solutions that work with traditional finance, enable real-time transactions, and help blockchain grow across industries. He focuses on security, building trust, and giving people control over digital assets in a more open and secure economy.
Final Thoughts
Mike Belshe has made important contributions to technology, from co-founding BitGo and improving blockchain security to helping create the SPDY protocol and HTTP/2.0. As a leader at BitGo, he played a big role in making secure digital asset solutions widely used. His work has helped businesses adopt blockchain, focusing on security and making it work with traditional finance. Belshe’s vision is to help shape the future of secure, real-time transactions in the growing digital economy.
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