Evan Cheng
Full Name: Evan Cheng
Educational Background: University of New South Wales (UNSW), Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Engineering)
Notable Projects / Contributions: Co-creator of the Move programming language; Co-founder of Mysten Labs (developer of the Sui blockchain); Significant contributions to the LLVM compiler infrastructure
Previous Experience / Career Background: Director of Engineering at Meta (Facebook) for Novi/Diem and the Move language; Director of Low-Level Software at Apple; Principal Software Engineer at Google
Major Achievements in Web3: Co-creation of the Move programming language, a secure and robust language for blockchain; Co-founding Mysten Labs and leading the development of the Sui blockchain
Funding / Investors Associated: Mysten Labs (co-founded by Evan Cheng) raised funding from prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto), Coatue, LightSpeed, FTX Ventures (prior to its collapse), Binance Labs, Jump Crypto, Apollo Global Management
Social Profiles:
Evan Cheng is a pivotal figure in the evolution of blockchain technology, recognized for his instrumental role in championing the Move programming language. With a distinguished career at tech giants like Apple and Facebook, Cheng brought a wealth of experience in building robust, high-performance systems to the decentralized world. His work with Move aims to address critical security and programmability challenges inherent in earlier blockchain designs, paving the way for a new generation of secure and scalable Web3 applications.
Before delving into blockchain, Evan Cheng held significant roles, including Director of Engineering at Apple, where he contributed to compiler technology, and later at Facebook (now Meta), leading the Novi (Diem) blockchain efforts. This deep understanding of secure software development and large-scale system architecture directly influenced his pursuit of a safer and more efficient programming model for decentralized ledgers.
The Move language, initially developed at Meta for the Diem (formerly Libra) blockchain, is perhaps Evan Cheng’s most profound contribution. Frustrated by the vulnerabilities and limitations of existing smart contract languages, Cheng and his team designed Move from the ground up to be a resource-oriented programming language. Its core innovation lies in its ability to define custom resource types that cannot be copied or implicitly discarded, mimicking real-world assets and dramatically enhancing security by preventing common programming errors like double-spending or asset loss. This focus on verifiable safety and expressiveness makes Move a robust foundation for financial applications and complex dApps.
Move’s design principles have resonated deeply within the blockchain community. It has become the foundational language for new high-performance blockchains like Aptos and Sui, which were founded by former Meta engineers who worked on Diem. These platforms aim to deliver unparalleled throughput and low latency, leveraging Move’s built-in safety features to offer developers a more secure and predictable environment for building Web3 applications, from DeFi protocols to gaming and NFTs.
Evan Cheng’s vision extends beyond just the language itself; he advocates for an ecosystem where developers can build with confidence, knowing their assets and logic are protected by design. He emphasizes the importance of formal verification and a modular approach to smart contract development, fostering an environment where innovation does not come at the cost of security. His leadership has helped cultivate a community of engineers dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in a decentralized, secure, and scalable manner.
His ongoing work involves not only refining the Move language but also guiding its adoption across various blockchain platforms. By promoting an open-source, collaborative approach, Evan Cheng ensures that Move continues to evolve, addressing new challenges and incorporating the best practices from the broader Web3 landscape. He actively engages with developers and researchers, fostering an environment of continuous improvement and shared knowledge that benefits the entire decentralized ecosystem.
For Web3 builders and upcoming blockchain projects, Evan Cheng’s journey highlights the importance of foundational security and innovative language design. His commitment to creating robust and developer-friendly tools underscores a critical need in the rapidly evolving decentralized space. Emerging founders can learn from his focus on addressing core technical challenges to build more reliable and scalable solutions.
Platforms like Web3Lead, designed to help projects grow through data-driven insights and access to millions of Web3 user profiles, further amplify this mission. By empowering builders with analytics, segmentation tools, and audience intelligence, Web3Lead supports the next generation of creators shaping the secure and high-performance decentralized future that Evan Cheng and the Move ecosystem envision.
Evan Cheng’s dedication to engineering excellence and his pioneering work with the Move language are reshaping how we approach security and scalability in Web3. His influence is not just in the code but in fostering an ecosystem where robust, safe, and performant decentralized applications can truly flourish, driving the industry towards a more mature and reliable future.