I created ValidOrange to provide validator services to the Polkadot and Kusama community. I am an experienced IT professional with a career focused on Linux administration and infrastructure operations. 

My experience with cryptocurrency goes back over ten years, starting with Bitcoin mining back when one bitcoin was worth around $50. I didn't realize at the time how big crypto would become. My Butterfly Labs ASIC miner was obsolete before it arrived, and my poor GPU was seemingly burning more money on electricity than it was generating in Bitcoin. If only I knew just how much BTC would rise in value! But my fascination with blockchain technology remained. I have watched with interest, although mostly from the sidelines, as the crypto ecosystem has developed and exploded to what it is today. I jumped back into it in 2023 because I believe in the vision of Polkadot as a layer zero blockchain, and I also see an opportunity to get involved in a way that plays to my personal skills and interests.

I see operating infrastructure for the Polkadot ecosystem as the perfect way for me to contribute. I intend to do it professionally, delivering value to those who nominate ValidOrange and to the Polkadot/Kusama/Substrate ecosystem as whole.