ICO Crowd Magazine Issue 4 by Ico Crowd

www.icocrowd.com

ISSUE #4, december 2017

SPACE DAO Featuring D10eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mike Costache, Senero, Aragon, Ocean Protocol and many more...

Democratising Space Exploration

MISSION TO THE MOON

Price: 0.01 BTC

FOREWORD

ISMAIL MALIK Editor-in-chief DONOVAN OBOSI Head Analyst ANNEMIEKE DIRKES Managing Editor

Crypto Tokens such as Bitcoin & Ethereum are not a currency so much as an attitude

PAM TATRO Content Editor TZVI SHISHLER Marketing Photo credit © Shutterstock

by ISMAIL MALIK Chairman & Executive Editor ICO Crowd

Recent phenomenon of Hodling whilst evangelising their virtues, have scratched at the surface of the new post money era of “ blockchain value”. This means a move away from seeing currency as just a mere spending instrument and towards a truer “value” experience.

If you would like to advertise with us or have any other queries please get in touch at info@icocrowd.com Disclaimer. All opinions and views expressed in this publication are those of the author only and do not necessarily represent the views of ICO Crowd magazine, its Management or Advisors. All content of ICO Crowd Magazine, in particular but not exclusively, photographs, businessdetails, facts and figures, names, adresses and dates, historic details and offers, are the sole responsibility of the author of each artice. Copyright violations by the author are the sole responsibility of the author and ICO Crowd magazine can not be held liable, whether on the whole or on particulars. www.icocrowd.com

Genuine, heartfelt and inclusive crypto communities centred around tokens to adopters, grow an air of familiarity and humanness. Crypto for the converted is natural, social and authentic - transparently governed and caringly distributed. True coin communities have sought to give meaning to their vision and provide a sense of authenticity in the value attained, not seen since the barter period.

What’s crucial is: • Positive futures, by developing deeper relationships with coin hodlrs and developers. • Grass root movements being built around these post ICO coin communities • Enshrining core values of simplicity, decentralization, consensus and shared visions These will flourish outside the traditional tech space, both in public and private offerings, shaping Value and Consensus politics. They will have huge economic impact, but their significance will not be reduced to mere profit margins. For this reason, the token economy will be less fickle and diluted then current capitalism, creating a much larger social shift through decentralised consensus with demonstrable value held on publicly audit-able ledgers.

CONTENTS 4 5 6 8 10 12 15 16 18 20 23 24

Advisory Board John McAfee and Other Keynote Speakers Will Attend the First Blockchain Cruise in Asia CREDITS A Very Fast Blockchain for Financial Technology Services // IGOR CHUGUNOV

Blockchains: The Next Generation? // HELEN DISNEY

The Internet of Tokens Vaultbank Plans to Revolutionize Banking as We Know It // ALEX LIGHTMAN

The Internet of Tokens d10e The Leading Conference on Decentralization // ALEX LIGHTMAN

The Internet of Tokens Bitcoin // ALEX LIGHTMAN

The Latest From the SEC Regarding ICOs // CHRISTIAN FERRI

ExsulCoin Uses Blockchain Technology to Help Refugees // JAMES SOWERS

Spacebit: Realising a Greater Mission for Crypto // PAVLO TANASYUK

Novum Coin Your Eye on the Future // TOBY LEWIS

The Initial Coin Offering and the Future of Finance // TOBY LEWIS

26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 45 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60

Crowdmachine Unshackling the Cloud // CRAIG SPROULE

GazeCoin // JONNY PETERS

Transforming a $500B Professional Services Market with Blockchain Technology // MICHAL BACIA LALA World: Financial Services for Economic Migrants and the Unbanked Loopring: Trading Smarter 3 Ways Tron Can Use Blockchain to Transform The Universe of Digital Entertainment The Rise of the Decentralized Organization // KIRBY DARCY

Blockchain For Humanity: Sovereignty, Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy // MELINDA WOOLF

Topl: Empowering Growth by Enabling Investment // CHRIS GEORGEN

ASTON Dreaming of a Paperless World // KIM DONG HO

Bezop A New Breed of E-commerce // DERYCK JONES

BRAINCITIES: Data forgery, The Biggest Threat to AI & the Digital Economy // KAZÉ A. ONGUENE

Iconiqlab: Venture Financing 3.0: Startup’s Newest Opportunity // PATRICK LOWRY

GOLDEA Set to Revolutionize Investment in the Gold Mining Industry! // DRAŠKO JOCIĆ

CRYPTONAUT. Winning Ways: A Crypto-Investment Fund Led by Champions // MAXIMILIAN VON WALLENBERG DICE. The Cryptocurrency ICO That’s Revolutionising ICOs // DAN J. ARMSTRONG

Tsio. How Transport and Technology is Converging Into a New Internet of Mobility // SIMON HO

62 64 67 68

The Rise of Senero: A Crypto Platform that Focuses on Community for Its Scalability Diary of a Trader // BRYAN MCGUIRE

Outlier Ventures Becomes Strategic Investor in Ocean Protocol Arbidex. Disrupting the Cryptocurrency Exchange Market // OLYA GREEN

Advisory Board SUSAN POOLE

BRYANT NIELSON

MARC KENIGSBERG

Founder, BlockBridge Advisory Co-Founder, Blockchain Training Institute

Executive Director at The Blockchain Academy & CapitalWave Inc. Speaker

Founder of BitcoinChaser.com

SIMON COCKING

BRETT KING

ANDREY GOLUB, PhD

Senior Editor at Irish Tech News Freelance for Sunday Business Post, Irish Times, The Southern Star, Dublin Glob

Speaker, Startup Founder, Bestselling Author, Radio Host, TV Commentator

Entrepreneur, CEO & Founder @ELSE Corp- a Virtual Retail company

SEAD MUFTIC

SERGIO A. FERNANDEZ DE CORDOVA

THEODOSIS MOUROUZIS, PhD

CEO at Blockchain Information Exchange Security Corp

Chairman – P3SmartCity Partners, Inc Private Sector Advisory Group, SDG-FUND, United Nations

Program Director of MSc in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics at Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM) Research Fellow at UCL Centre of Blockchain Technologies (London,UK)

MUKHTAR MUSSABETOV

EMMANUEL R. GOFFI, PhD

ALEX LIGHTMAN

Blockchain Entrepreneur, Founder at BlockSpace Labs

Associate doctor with Science Po-CERI Research fellow with the Centre FrancoPaix, at the Université du Québec à Montréal

Award-winning and Amazon bestselling author.

DECEMBER 2017

John McAfee and Other Keynote Speakers Will Attend the First Blockchain Cruise in Asia Blockchain Cruise Asia will feature global investors, government officials, cryptocurrency experts and business leaders such as John McAfee and Andrew ‘Flip’ Filipowski. by ICO CROWD

Blockchain Cruise Asia will take place January 15th through 19th, 2018, departing from Singapore to Phuket (Thailand) via Penang Island (Malaysia) and will be held on one of the Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas. In terms of its format, Blockchain Cruise Asia 2.0 has no equal anywhere in the world.

fluencers and will be covered by many different media outlets from print to streaming to major television networks. The event also expects to have over 700 industry professionals in attendance which will provide valuable networking.

Among the attendees will be the famed CEO of MGT Capital Investments and founder of McAfee Security, John McAfee. He claimed this summer via Twitter that the price of Bitcoin will reach $500 000. Thus, McAfee demonstrates his confidence in the future of the crypThe organizers of the annual blockchain tocurrency. cruise - CoinsBank announced: within four days the most discussed topics “Blockchain Cruise Asia will be the peron the ship will be about the developfect atmosphere for networking! At a ment of blockchain technology, trends typical conference there is barely enough of cryptocurrencies, regulation, invest- time to exchange business cards, howevments, security and ICO. The event will er, with our famous sunset happy hours, feature some key industry professionorganized fun events and VIP dinners als as well as relevant government auaboard Royal Caribbean’s luxurious Marthorities and attorneys. iner of the Seas, there is ample opportunity to meet potential partners and cusBlockchain Cruise Asia is a mecca for tomers. “We like to set ourselves interFinTech and Blockchain specialists, esting but difficult goals, perhaps someuniting over 50 of the industry’s top in- day we will organize a blockchain flight

to Mars or disembark to the moon”, says Event Coordinator Kristina Bliadze. On the third day of Blockchain Cruise Asia, all passengers will be transported to Paradise Beach in Phuket, Thailand to attend the private island event, Thai Blockchain Conference. Also, it’s a separate event and tickets are available for those who cannot attend the entire Blockchain Cruise Asia event. On January 18th, Blockchain Cruise Asia will have a full day of conferences on the way back to Singapore. Two conference halls will be featuring different topics: Blockchain and cryptocurrency, Investments and ICOs. The price of participation in the Blockchain Cruise Asia starts from $1800. CoinsBank took its maiden voyage when it held the first ever Blockchain Cruise aboard the Anthem of the Seas, through the Caribbean on May 25th, 2017. Full conference agenda including a list of speakers visit https://coinsbank.com/cruise-asia 5

DECEMBER 2017

CREDITS

A Very Fast Blockchain for Financial Technology Services

Today we are talking with Igor Chugunov, the founder of CREDITS, a new blockchain platform.

by IGOR CHUGUNOV CEO & Founder CREDITS

TELL ME BRIEFLY, WHAT IS YOUR PROJECT? CREDITS is the open blockchain with autonomous smart contracts and an internal cryptocurrency. The platform is designed to create services on the blockchain using smart contracts and a public data registry. Users of the platform will be able to create completely self-contained and independent financial technology services and other applications that work within the network without the involvement of third-party systems.

On our platform, users will be able to conduct a very large volume of operations from the very beginning, to be more precise, more than a million. And most of all, it's very fast: a fraction of a second per transaction. The speed itself will depend more on the quality of the Internet. And since we can handle a large amount of data, we're ready to offer a very low transaction costs. In some situations, the transaction may be free of charge. I mean, that's the perfect thing for the Internet.

Imagine: financial and credit services, trade, medicine, identification, exchanges, Internet of Things and others working on the same blockchain in autonomous mode.

HOW CAN YOUR SYSTEM HANDLE UP TO 1 000 000 TRANSACTIONS PER SECOND? We have a new technological architecture that includes the following: a completely new blockchain architecture with a consensus algorithm, a system for storing information, with built in encryption, the ability to compress data, and no mining.

WHAT PROBLEMS DOES YOUR PROJECT SOLVE? First, we solve the problems of low blockchain capacity. It is no secret that Bitcoin handles 7 transactions per second, Ethereum can perform 100 to 500 operations.

WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR SYSTEM IS BETTER? Because we're superior to competitors on many points: volume of transactions processed, speed and price. Our system is more secure and more stable than other competing platforms.

WHAT'S THE FUTURE MARKET FOR YOUR PROJECT? WHO ARE YOUR USERS AND HOW MANY ARE THERE? We can say that CREDITS is the platform for creating blockchain and smart contract services that are based on price and speed. Now, despite the popularity of Ethereum, this network has many disadvantages, including its speed and price of transaction. This platform is used primarily to issue tokens, ICOs, and to create services with one-time operations that do not require high speed. Whereas our platform is perfect for creating products on a blockchain: financial and payment services, the Internet of Things, gambling, banking services such as loans and funding, accounting of the exchange transactions and many others. We're capable of conducting transactions in about 0.01 seconds. We are making the platform valid for a wide range of users. WHY ARE YOU SURE THE PLATFORM WILL HELP FINTECH SERVICES TO SHIFT TO A BLOCKCHAIN? It is possible to say that quick and inexpensive solutions in the banking and financial sphere have not been presented until the recently. And, you

DECEMBER 2017

need a fast blockchain to carry out your micropayment. You're not going to be able to make a $1-dollar transfer and pay $10 with a Bitcoin? It's not real. In CREDITS network, such transactions will cost approximately 0.001 dollars. There can be any number of users on the platform. In a few years, the platform will be able to handle up to 10 million operations per second. That's a lot. The technology allows you to maintain a good capacity of transactions having millions of users within a network.

product development since the end of 2016. We can meet the demand from users quite quickly. Our first users are scheduled to register already in March and we'll continue to issue the finished full-featured version until about June next year.

There can be any number of users on the platform. In a CAN YOU GIVE AN EXAMPLE few years, the platYOU LIKE BEST? form will be able to Imagine a loan service built on handle up to 10 milour blockchain and smart contracts, which, through the internal lion operations per algorithm, automatically process- second. es loan claims and grants them. And it doesn't care where the borrower is. It can be anywhere in the world. Without borders and bank licenses. It is a global service for the world's inhabitants. The deposit services also work in this way. They automatically accept funds, accumulate and issue them as loans, or work as stock products. Yes, it's going to take years, but it will happen. WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF YOUR PROJECT? We have the MVP today and we'll be ready for the Alpha version soon. We've been working on

We'll have the ICO in January 2018. Collected a small sum at pre-ICO: 700 000 USD, as of the beginning of December. WHAT ELSE IS TECHNICALLY NEW BESIDES SPEED AND TRANSACTION PRICES? Perhaps the biggest innovation that CREDITS platform offers, is its new truly complete smart contracts. It is not everyone's knowledge that the capabilities of Ethereum network, which were pioneering in smart contract development, are limited, and there is no way to implement everything that users may want to do. For example, you cannot make regular writeoff payments or set off a specific payment date. WHY DID YOU GIVE UP MINING? To ensure there is a fast and stable operation within the network. In any blockchain, it takes a long time to validate a transaction and add it to the chain. In the case of Bitcoinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s network, for example, 1 to 30 minutes is required for a single transfer, and a user pays a good commission. Regarding CREDITS transactions, it is from

0.01 to 3 seconds. In addition, users will no longer have to spend huge sums to constantly upgrade their production equipment. IS YOUR SYSTEM CONSIDERED DECENTRALIZED? Of course, it is. It is a blockchain project after all, with a public registry, independent nodes, consensus and the strongest private key. CREDITS platform security is guaranteed by a hybrid consensus algorithm. We've upgraded the platform and made it more secure. HOW DO CREDITS TOKENS DIFFER FROM OTHER TYPES OF CRYPTOCURRENCY? As a cryptocurrency CREDITS technically have the same characteristics; our coins are of the same makeup as in Bitcoin. However, we have a limited number of coins. Internal cryptocurrency CREDITS (CS) is an internal means of payment, but can also be used outside the platform and can be exchanged for other currencies. TELL ME, WHY ICO? WHY NOT VENTURE FUNDS? Not everyone understands that but nevertheless, crypto projects have to be developed through an ICO. These are investors and future users of our project and of the cryptocurrency as well. Some venture funds are surprised with the fact that the project has no profitability. The project has no income. Well, there is some, but it serves for maintaining the network owners. That is, all commissions are distributed to node owners, those who support the network as other blockchain projects. The CREDITS ico is scheduled for January 2018. 7

DECEMBER 2017

Blockchains: The Next Generation? In the beginning, there was “the blockchain”. Fast forward to 2017 and suddenly an entire marketplace has developed containing a range of public, private and consortium blockchains. And now a swathe of new contenders are also promising to bring us “next generation” blockchains. Unpicking which of these platforms does what and how they all work, however, is not always easy.

The Granddaddy of blockchain remains, of course, the Bitcoin blockchain – it was the first, it remains the largest, and it has famously never been hacked. But existing blockchains nevertheless have their downsides and detractors. The most common criticisms are high by transaction fees, the need for greater HELEN DISNEY speed and, in the case of Bitcoin, criticism that the energy consumption required to power the network through bitcoin mining is environmentally unsustainable. Indeed, according to the Bitcoin energy consumption index, Bitcoin already currently consumes 0.15% of the world’s energy, and far exceeds the electricity consumption of Ireland or of most African nations.

coin has grown with recent prices soaring over $10,000, many more people want to get involved and use the network. This has led both to an increase in centralisation of the mining process that powers the network, and also a rise in user fees. On Ethereum, the creation of the ERC20 smart contract standard - which allows for the launch of token sales or so-called ICOs - has led to such a growth in users that on certain occasions when particularly popular coin offerings like Bancor and Status launched, the network almost ground to a halt. Security has also been a major concern. No surprise that Co-Founder, Vitalik Buterin, recently unveiled the roadmap for Ethereum 2.0 which intends to address issues of privacy, as well as fixing speed and scalability problems through a process known as sharding.

Both of the most well-established blockchains – Bitcoin and Ethereum – are currently involved in intense debates about transaction speed and scaling. In fact, to some extent, both systems are becoming victims of their own success. As mainstream interest in bit-

Yet while these debates continue to rage intensely on Twitter and Github and at Blockchain conferences, over the past year a series of newcomers have entered what is becom-

IOTA’s key goals are getting rid of fees, and increasing speed and scalability. Hashgraph’s performance speed appears to be unmatched, and its founders say that it is currently the only “banking grade” consensus algorithm in the market.

ing a more crowded Blockchain marketplace, each offering distributed peer-topeer platforms which promise solutions to some of the existing roadblocks. To simplify, the consensus mechanisms being used can broadly be grouped into 3 different categories: Proof of Work Blockchains (e.g Bitcoin, Ethereum), Leader-based Systems (Hyperledger Fabric, R3 Corda, Quorum), and Economy-based (IOTA, Casper, EOS), also known as Proof of Stake. One such new generation distributed system is IOTA. Its innovative potential comes from a technology known as the Tangle, which is not strictly-speaking a blockchain but rather a directed acyclic graph (DAG) or, in slightly more user-friendly terms, what its founders call a peer-topeer ‘blockless distributed ledger’. IOTA’s key goals are getting rid of fees, and increasing speed and scalability. The platform is particularly aimed at becoming the backbone for data being generated by the Internet of Things (hence, the IoT in the name) and most recently, they

DECEMBER 2017

launched the first publicly accessible data marketplace for the Internet of Things, aiming to demonstrate a proof of concept for a tamper-proof data marketplace. Also, rising up the agenda since it recently emerged from stealth mode is another DAG-based protocol called hashgraph, which on first glance appears to have some technical similarities to IOTA’s Tangle. Hashgraph is also not a traditional blockchain but instead is based on a consensus algorithm and data structure that is asynchronous Byzantine fault tolerant. How does this system work? Every node in the network communicates to two other nodes what it knows about the current state of the network, as well as which node it heard from most recently. This process is known as “gossip about gossip” and gives all nodes insight about what and when other nodes know about transactions. This then allows them to determine how other nodes would vote on the ordering of those transactions, in a process called ‘virtual voting’. Hashgraph’s performance speed appears to be unmatched, and its founders say that it is currently the only “banking grade” consensus algorithm in the market. The company’s biggest announcement so far is that CULedger, a US-based credit union consortium has selected hashgraph technology as a key component of its permissioned, distributed, shared ledger platform. EOS meanwhile describes itself as “the most powerful infrastruc-

ture for decentralized applications” and is inAll of this activity shows us that real-world tended to be a blockchain for use at commerblockchain implementation is getting sericial scale. EOS hinges on the concept of horious. Once enterprise gets involved there is less zontal scalability – in other words, the partolerance for delays and no room for security allel execution of smart contracts and the sibreaches. We are now well into the next wave multaneous processing of transactions so that of blockchain innovation. Rather than “one transactions are no longer stuck in a queue. Blockchain to rule them all”, will we now inInstead, EOS incorporates CTO stead see a flowering of multiple Dan Larimer’s delegated proof-ofblockchains suitable for different stake (DPoS) consensus protocol uses cases and the growth of in– akin to a kind of republic where teroperability between platforms? members of the community delAnd, as such platforms compete egate the responsibility of verifyfor dominance as the “trust laying transactions to elected ‘deleer of the internet”, perhaps the gates’. Supporters call it ‘the new most important question should Once enterprise Ethereum’; others want to see be, when it comes to the next gengets involved there eration of innovators, which trust more proof of how the platform is less tolerance for platform convinces us the most? and code work in detail.

delays and no room

If that were not enough, these for security breach- NOTE FROM ICO CROWD: are not the only “new kids on the es. We are now well block(chain)”. Other new platIOTA has recently been misrepinto the next wave forms include Waves (an openresented in the media and has of blockchain inno- therefore, decided to issue a pubsource blockchain platform that allows users to launch their own lic statement setting the record vation. custom cryptocurrency tokens) straight. Please visit https://blog. which is promoting its speed; Bancor (an upiota.org/iotas-data-marketplace-setting-the-regraded functionality standard for Etherecord-straight-576fbf0b4513 to view the truths um tokens which allows smart contracts to and myths surrounding the IOTA project. be their own market makers) which focuses mostly on liquidity; Byteball (a protocol fo- Helen Disney is the CEO and Founder of Uncused on privacy and speed) and Universa (a blocked Events, a hub for Blockchain and Dis‘fully customisable blockchain”) with a focus tributed Ledger events, commentary and neton speed and safety. working.

DECEMBER 2017

The Internet of Tokens

Financial Industry Disruption:

Vaultbank

with ALEX LIGHTMAN

The Internet of Tokens is an ICO Crowd column that offers a broader longer-term view for both Blockchain industry professionals and for a wider audience interested in understanding the market, regulatory and other forces behind the prices that are making headlines, written by an award-winning and Amazon bestselling author.

Plans to Revolutionize Banking as We Know It

Recently Austin Trombley, president and chief technology officer of Vaultbank, had a conversation with Alex Lightman about the financial industry’s potential relationship with blockchain technology and the company’s upcoming initial coin offering (ICO), the presale for which opens December 13, 2017. What is your background? I spent a year-and-a-half as a consultant for Wells Fargo Bank working in the lending sector. Then I moved onto Prosper Marketplace where I spent two years running their data strategy. After that, I started a quantitative credit hedge fund. My experience working in traditional banking helped me to see many of its problems, primarily that fees are extraordinarily high and all of the that money is going to brokers. I realized that the blockchain could be used to scale a retail strategy, eliminating the need for middlemen. That’s when we started Vaultbank.

We are one of the first companies to offer dividends.

Tell me more about Vaultbank. Vaultbank is a cryptocurrency-based financial platform which is backed by our company’s assets and a portfolio of secured credit assets to provide potential stability and prospective income for investors. We have the presale of our initial coin offering starting December 13th, where we will offer one of the first private security tokens. The tokens represent actual equity shares (non-voting) in Vaultbank’s future revenue-generating business ventures. These include an exchange, a debit Mastercard, and the Vaultbank Fund, which will be comprised of an asset backed credit portfolio. We intend to build token value and pay quarterly dividends to our token holders. The presale offers a 15 percent discount to early investors until we have raised $20 million. Did you say you plan to pay quarterly dividends? Yes. We intend to pay quarterly dividends via Ethereum tokens, with re-

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maining yields being reinvested back into the underlying portfolio assets. We are one of the first companies to offer dividends. The U.S. government has been cracking down on ICOs. How does that affect Vaultbank? Unlike most crypto and blockchain companies that issue utility tokens, Vaultbank has registered as a private security token. Most companies are just using the Howey Test, but I believe that’s a bogus test and I predict that 90 percent of those companies won’t be around a year from now. We have four law firms in three countries and we’re doing everything to comply with the regulations in the U.S. and internationally. Our investment opportunity is only available to accredited investors per Reg D, Section 506(c) and Reg S, as an exempt offering. Also, potential investors will be asked for personally identifiable information upon creating an account on our exchange to participate in the sale. This information is to ensure compliance with various securities laws of the United States and foreign jurisdictions, as well as the Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements.

What other products are you offering? lio and providing for between 9:1 leverage of our Up until now, cryptocurrency has been very ICO enterprise equity. That kind of leverage will hard to use in the real world. Not many places result in our ability to build close to a $1 billion take crypto to pay for goods or services. We have book of credit assets (including a portion of cash partnered with European-based Volopa to ofand reserves of liquid tokens), that we project fer consumers a debit card to facilicould yield between 6.5-12 percent. tate purchasing everyday items using With a portfolio size of $1 billion, we cryptocurrencies at point-of-sale terexpect Vaultbank's team to grow to minals around the world. Beyond ofbetween 30 and 40 employees. fering crypto usability, the Vaultbank debit card will transact at highly comWhat is the future of the financial petitive foreign exchange rates on 17 industry and how will Vaultbank Vaultbank is a of the largest global currencies. change that marketplace? One day I see a world where all ficryptocurrenAdditionally, we are developing the cy-based finannancial products are on the blockVaultbank Exchange, a secure crypchain. You’ll be able to use it to incial platform tocurrency and ICO investing and vest in mutual funds, for examwhich is backed ple, without the need for brokers or trading portal that plans to offer low transaction fees, reliable cusmiddlemen. by our compatomer service and access to other ny’s assets and private security tokens, including a portfolio of se- We plan to disrupt all banks and exutility tokens. changes and create a world where cured credit as- trades happen for pennies. How much money do you plan to sets to provide raise in your ICO? potential stabil- I think you’ll be recognized as a pioWe hope to raise $100 million, which ity and prospec- neer in blockchain financial services will enable Vaultbank to obtain and wish Vaultbank great success. I around a $900 million warehouse line tive income for look forward to checking in on your of credit secured by our credit portfo- investors. company in the future. 11

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DECEMBER 2017

John Maxwell is the most prominent author on leadership. Maxwell claims that the highest standard of leadership, reached by only 1% of leaders is Level 5 leadership. Level 1 is based on your position. Level 2 is acceptance by followers. Level 4 is a leader who creates not just followers, but other leaders. Level 5 leaders are those who develop leaders who, in turn, develop leaders.

glimpse of a Blockchain industry organizer who keeps innovating in ways that allow new leaders to be seen, win prizes, get funding, and make friendships at cities all over the world. Here are Mike Costache's answers to my questions.

I think the success of any field Q. How many d10e events have you depends on the quality of leadorganized? A. 12 since 2014 of which six were in ership developWhen I think of this with respect to 2017. ment, and that the Blockchain ecosystem, I think ICO Crowd readof two partners the d10e conferencQ. What are the next ones? ers would enes, Brock Pierce and Mike Costache. A. d10e Calendar: Pierce has made investments in over joy and benefit 150 companies and is the chairman of Dec 9-12: d10e Ljubljana (13th edifrom a glimpse of Bitcoin Foundation. tion) a Blockchain inDec 14-17: d10e Bucharest (14th edidustry organizI have known Mike Costache since tion; 2nd in Bucharest) er who keeps in2001, when I hired him and his firm to Jan 23-26: d10e Davos (15th edition; assist with investment banking. Today 2nd edition in Davos) during novating in ways as I was completing this article I coWEF that allow new incidentally received a message from Jan 27-30: d10e Cayman Islands (16th leaders to be him in which he recounted the deedition) seen, win prizes, tails. He has a great memory and even Feb 9-13: d10e Whistler/Vancouver greater loyalty, in my experience. (17th edition) get funding, and Feb 15-19: d10e Silicon Valley (18th make friendships I think the success of any field deedition) at cities all over pends on the quality of leadership de- March 3-6: d10e Seoul (19th edition) velopment, and that ICO Crowd read- March 17-20: d10e Panama City (20th the world. ers would enjoy and benefit from a 12

edition)

March 24-27: d10e Tokyo (21st edition) April 7-10: d10e Astana (22nd edition) April 19-22: d10e Cape Town (23rd edition) May 12-15: d10e Malta (24th edition) May 26-29: d10e Tel Aviv (25th edition; 2nd in Tel Aviv) June 9-12: d10e Toronto (26th edition) June 23-26: d10e Bodrum (27th edition) Q. How many ICO/TGE pitches have you heard at these events? A. We usually receive 100 applications per event. We accepted 26 in Kyiv, 18 in Gibraltar, 23 in Davos and we'll have about 20 at each of the last two editions for 2017 In Ljubljana and Bucharest. These were the official pitches but everyone who buys a ticket comes to pitch me and everyone else they can. I get 100 requests per day via LinkedIn to hear someone's pitch. Q. How long is a typical pitch? A. 5 minutes pitch + 5 minutes for Q&A but the presenter is allowed to take the entire 10 minutes to pitch. 80% do.

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Q. Why do people come to pitch? A. Because everyone is doing it. No, just kidding. Well, people come to pitch at conferences to find investors, but before that materializes, pitching is a great way to fine tune one's business model from all the feedback received and there are often all sorts of business development opportunities that surface from folks with complementary business models. They get exposure on the website of the event producer for indexing in search engines. Pitching is essential to satisfy the standard question asked by investors doing due diligence: "Which events have you pitched at?" People who pitch can possibly win a title. Winning First Place always brings good PR value and injects energy into the team.

Pitchers get real feedback from real investors whom they may otherwise never reach

est member, a 44-year old Canadian who had a few nice exits from previous businesses and is now a philanthropic donor and super angel Q. How much money have you given to the investor. When I told him that I was so busy winners of ICO pitch contests? Is that the over the past two weeks since the Kyiv edimost of any conference organizers? tion and didn't get a change to ask members of A. 100 BTC in Kyiv (Sept 19) - 58 BTC out of BIC to chip in again for the prize money pool, that is my money he offered to put up $100,000 and take the to$100,000 in Gibraltar (Oct 31) kens in the top 3 winners at the pitch competi$250,000 in Davos (Nov 14) tion, which was coming up in two days. We have a guaranteed $100,000 investment pool prize for each of the next 16 editions from December until June 2018. But as each edition approaches, more and more of the 110 members of BIC decide to participate as judges and thus chip in 5-10 BTC each.

Now, what is interesting is that if you take 100 BTC + the $100,000 in BTC on the day it was sent to me and you take the $250,000 when it was sent to me and the $100,000 for each of the next two editions as we close 2017, well... you actually get $1.5 million at today's BTC value.

The reason that we did the first prize in BTC and the next two in USD is because I tried to see how the media and potential presenters react when I promote the final figure of the investment prize in BTC or in USD. A/B testing is a best practice.

So, from this point of view, d10e is no longer just a conference for finding out the latest about blockchain and ICOs, but a facilitator of investments and a PR machine for the top Pitchers can possibly win 1/3 of the investthree winners of each edition who now adverment pool prize provided by members of the tise that they have these well-known crypto Blockchain Investors Consortium (BIC) at each Actually, for the Gibraltar edition, I didn't have funds and individuals as part of their shortof our events since September, our 9th edition time to chase after investors like I did for the tail backers. This is a great stamp of approvsince 2014. Kyiv edition, so I advertised no cash prize and al and validation in the eyes of crypto retail instill had 100 apply just like when I advertised vestors. Pitchers can hopefully befriend and win the 100 BTC. hearts (and wallets) of the judges and other inQ. What does it feel like to give that monvestors at the conference and down the road At the Saturday night dinner (in Gibraltar on ey to the people who pitch? What sorts of secure an even bigger investment from them. Oct 28) for BIC's members, I met the newthings do they say to you? 13

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A. Firstly, we are not giving the money just because they pitched and received one of the top 3 scores. The presenter provides tokens at pre-ICO terms to our investors who are judging with their own money once or twice per month at our d10e events. As of February, it will be two per month. I envision the cryptocurrency market capitalization to surpass $1 Trillion in the next 6-12 months and I envision one edition of d103 per week for the second part of next year. So, we will close the year with 8 editions (14 over the past 3 years). Next year I predict 25-35 editions. And yes, we are hiring additional staff and preparing for such craziness where Brock Pierce and I will be giving our welcoming speeches via holograms. Q. What does winning a pitch contest do for the winners? A. Winners receive huge PR and the ability to say that they secured an investor from these well-known crypto funds. And the money is well-received as well, of course. BlockV, for example, had 224 media mentions with a potential viewership of 85 million eye balls as a result of the press release announcing that they won. Out of $22 million they raised over their 90-day campaign (pre-ICO and ICO), close to $2 million was raised as a result of this PR. Now, that's powerful. Q. How much money has been raised by people who pitched at your events? A. Over $750 million Q. What do the best pitches have in common? Steve Covey wrote a book entitled the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. If you replace "people" in that title with "ICO pitchers", what would those seven habits be? 1. Great CEO and team 2. Solving a big societal problem 3. Being original 4. Having first-mover advantage 5. Having the right advisors 6. Having enough personal capital or angel money raised to get the engines revving (it always takes money to raise money) 7. Timing is everything

Yes, of course you may reprint it. I have already made it public on my social media profiles. I am generous because I went to a Pepperdine University where we have a beautiful quote from the Bible (disclaimer: I respect all religions but don't practice any beside my own, which can be summarized in one word found in the dictionary: Karma) on the wall of the cafeteria high up in the mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean: "Freely you received...freely give!" Also, I am the president of Karma, a 12-year old business which did $32 million in sales from 400 events (tickets and sponsorship) and from the annual dues ($3,000) from approved members. We built a community of folks in 9 chapters around the world (planning to reach 50 chapters with at least 100 members each over the next few years). So, when you are part of a for-profit company, called Karma, you better live by the name of your firm. Q. You are doing your own TGE for Karma. What can you tell us about it? How is it going? What are you going to do with the proceeds? A. We originally planned a $5 million pre-ICO over a 10-day period and although the entire amount was committed in writing within this short period of time, three major things happen which made our team decide to postpone the $20 million ICO, which we had planned for 10 days only:

Karma's 300 members from 30+ counties needed more time to learn about ICOs, tokens and the whole blockchain space prior to understanding what they are investing in. The handful of investors who were the biggest part of the $5 million were 100% planning to dump their discounted tokens as soon as the ICO was over and we had liquidity on various exchanges. BTH increased so much lately that many investors chose to sit on the fence and enjoy the appreciation of their coin rather than risk it in new ICOs.

Q. Who should not do an ICO? A. ICOs are not for the light hearted

Q. What is TaaS? How's it going? Anything unusual that TaaS does? A. Token-as-a-Service (TaaS) is the first tokenized closed-end dedicated to investing in digital assets. TaaS is domiciled in Singapore while the operational office is in Kyiv, Ukraine where 24 of the hardest people in crypto create value each day by: - Daily trading the top 50 cryptocurrencies - Investing in the most promising ICOs ($4 million into 20 so far)

A. Sharing is caring. Period and without joking. 14

TaaS sold 8,146,000 tokens between March 27 and April 27, 2017 to 3,942 contributors and took on $7,569,373. Tokens started at $0.80 on the first day of the ICO and went up to $1 by the 30th day. The first fully-operational quarter (May 1 Aug 1) finished with earnings of 4,723,111 UST(D)and paid 50% to its token holders, which comes out to 0.28 UST(D) per token. This equated to a 61% ROA. The team took in 25% of the earnings while 25% were added back into the fund so that it grows in perpetuity.

Well, people come to pitch at conferences to find investors, but before that materializes, pitching is a great way to fine tune one’s business model from all the feedback received.

Q. Who should do an ICO? A. Anyone who wants the ride of their lives while raising capital through the most innovate financial instrument ever invented.

Q. May I reprint your KrowdMentor checklist? If so, can you tell us about it? It's very generous of you and your colleagues to make this available. Why are you so generous?

- Incubating ventures which bring efficiency to the crypto trading space

The second fully-operational quarter (Aug 1 - Nov 1) finished with earnings of 5,470,785 UST(D) and paid out 50% to its token holders, which comes out to 0.33 UST(D) per token or 73% ROA. This provides a cumulative ROI of 133% for those who contributed to TaaS ICO.

Q. Beside co-founding your investment banking & advisory firm (KrowdMentor) alongside your college friend, Brad Yasar, and co-owning / co-chairing d10e alongside Brock Pierce, what other organizations did you found to help the blockchain space prevail? A. Blockchain Investors Consortium (BIC) - launched officially on Sept 16 at the 9th edition of d10e which was hosted in Kyiv Blockchain Exchanges Consortium (BXC) - to be officially launched on Dec 14 at the 14th edition of d10e hosted in Bucharest Blockchain Events Consortium (BEC) launched officially at the 13th edition of d10e in Ljubljana Blockchain Advisors Consortium (BAC) - to be launched officially on Jan 23 at the 15th edition of d10e in Davos during the World Economic Forum. Q. What is the Blockchain Investors Consortium? A. It is a private network of the top crypto hedge fund managers and individual investors in blockchain. We meet twice per month at the various d10e conferences where we have a private dinner the night before the event starts. Minimum requirements to join are $3 million in digital assets for structured funds and $1 million or more for individuals. Anything else you would like our readers at ICO Show to know? LOVE! Create Value! Pass on the Wealth!

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Bitcoin 16,733,237 Bitcoins existed as of the time I started typing this. By the time I finished there were 16,833,249.5 There will be a total of 21,000,000 Bitcoin mined by the year 2130. Only 12.5 Bitcoin are mined every 9 to 10 minutes. Articles claim that 4 million have never traded and could be dumped. This is not entirely accurate. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I know that the addresses of over six million Bitcoin are lost. I know one person who lost over 500,000 BTC. So, the real total number of BTC is closer to 10 million, and only 4,267,763 more will be created. At least another two million will be lost. So, the total traceable supply of Bitcoin will not exceed 12 million.

Only 12 million people can possibly own one whole Bitcoin. But corporations will end up owning at least half. So, no more than six million humans can own one or more Bitcoin. Out of 7.5 billion people. 6 billion will have mobile phones with wireless broadband access by 2020 and all will have heard of the fastest rising investment and fastest appreciating currency of the entire decade 2010-2020.

But wait...there’s more. As of October 2017, there were fewer than 750,000 individuals who owned one or more Bitcoin. So now the number is 750,000 out of 7,500,000,000. Over the last four years as of September 2017, the amount of fiat going into Bitcoin increased 1.1% a month. But the price increased 9% a month.

I won a vote by the entire world (200 countries) as the innovator behind the “innovation that would most radically change the world during the decade 2011-2020”, as the first recipient of the Economist Reader’s Award on behalf of 4G wireless.

So, the ratio of demand to price is 9x or 900%. And corporations are going to put in at least 10x what friends and family have put in to date, which translates into a 9000% increase.

If I ever meet Satoshi Nakamoto, I will give him my trophy and say, “You deserve this more than anyone”.

If you own one BTC, you are statistically one in TEN million. One in ten million owning the best performing currency or security of the decade. You have something that many people would kill for, and some will.

Because in 2020, a person who owns one whole Bitcoin or more will be literally one in one million. Just the fact that a person with my legitimacy says this is going to increase global demand over the years to come and there are thousands of similar statements posble. Bitcoin’s legend will grow.

si-

So, my advice to you, dear friends, is: 1. Own at least one whole Bitcoin. 2. Get the ten people you care about the most to also own one whole Bitcoin. 3. Put the address in a special place you won’t lose it. 4. Ask to be paid in Bitcoin. Switch jobs if you have an option and all things are equal but one pays in Bitcoin. 5. Share posts like this that inform people of the supply and demand. It’s the limited supply and the ability of humans to crunch numbers that will continue to drive demand over naysaying. 6. Buy before Dec. 15 or other dates and be sure that you get the forks. Any questions? 15

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The Latest From the SEC Regarding ICOs On November 30, 2017, I had the great pleasure of participating in a panel discussion with representatives from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission at an event sponsored by Blockchain at Berkeley (https://blockchain.berkeley. edu/). This was the first time that the SEC has ever agreed to participate in a public cryptocurrency event, so I thought it was important to share a quick rundown of some of my takeaways from the discussion. THE SEC RECOGNIZES THAT AN ICO CAN PROVIDE A FAIR AND LAWFUL WAY TO INVEST. Given all the fear and uncertainty surrounding how the SEC eventually intends to address the ICO funding model, it was refreshing to know that they by acknowledge the fact that ICOs can be CHRISTIAN FERRI a completely legitimate (and useful) means of raising capital for legitimate blockchain-based projects. THERE IS NO SURE-FIRE WAY TO DETERMINE WHETHER A TOKEN WILL BE DEEMED A SECURITY Consistent with the opinion of most analysts on the subject (including my 16

own), the representatives from the SEC who participated on the panel confirmed that there is no simple bright line rule that can be followed to determine whether a token is a security for the purposes of U.S. securities laws and regulations. Instead, each token will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis following the Howey Test and other applicable rules and guidelines (see my article on the subject here) THE SEC PROVIDED SOME GENERAL GUIDANCE TO HELP WITH THE SECURITY ANALYSIS Although repeating the fact that every token will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, the SEC representatives did share some general pointers on what they would be looking for, including: 1. Transparency – Do investors have access to all the relevant information about the token and the project?

They acknowledge the fact that ICOs can be a completely legitimate (and useful) means of raising capital for legitimate blockchain-based projects.

2. Disclosure – Related to transparency, is the ICO actively communicating all relevant and important information about the token and the project to prospective investors? 3. Communication – Has the ICO actively reached out to the SEC for guidance on their ICO and any related projects? 4. Registration – Has the ICO registered its trading platform with the SEC? 5. Segregation – Are the assets of the customers kept separate from the company accounts? 6. Investor Sophistication – Is the ICO only raising funds from accredited/ sophisticated investors or the public at large? 7. Marketing – Is the ICO privately communicating with accredited/sophisticated investors to raise funds

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or is it marketing the ICO to the public at large? 8. Record-keeping – Is the ICO keeping detailed and easily auditable records of the funds being raised as well as information about the investors? As previously stated, none of these points are definitive but are meant to highlight some of the criteria the SEC uses when attempting to determine whether something qualifies as a security for regulatory purposes. SUBSTANCE OVER FORM Related to the Howey Test mentioned above, the SEC will thoroughly review tokens and ICOs brought to their attention and consider the substance of a token’s actual utility as opposed to simply what it’s called. Once again, transparency and disclosure are two of the critical components to helping an ICO “stay out of trouble.” CRACKDOWN ON SCAMS AND FRAUDULENT ICOS The SEC recognizes the unfortunate trend of significant fraudulent activity and poten-

tial for scam artists to hijack the ICO and blockchain space and will actively pursue these bad actors as part of their overall mission. CONCLUSION Although there weren’t necessarily any groundbreaking pronouncements made by the SEC at the Blockchain at Berkeley event, the information presented was very useful and it reinforced what many of us in the ICO advisory field have been saying all along: When planning your ICO, you ignore the SEC at your own risk. BONUS: DON’T TRY TO MASK A UTILITY-LESS TOKEN FOR WHAT IT’S NOT You think “they” will not figure it out; when the mouse is away, the cat will play. So, you packed your white paper with a list of utility purposes the token will have. Or better still, you spread out and disseminate different utility value across your white paper, mar-

I leave you with a simple but effective principle that will help you navigate the ICO regulatory grayish area, and Crypto in general: if it doesn’t feel good, it probably isn’t.

keting docs, website, etc. Let me be clear with you: “they” will find out. Always act as if everyone will know about what your doing, and when that happens, it will not be pretty. Crypto is a small community still, and what you don’t want is your name and reputation crushed under the weight of a lawsuit or worse yet, a government-led enforcement action. If the token does not have real utility, first thing first is to just acknowledge it. Then decide whether you want to pivot to a model where there’s some real and exclusive utility, or just use some of the avenues that are Government compliant (e.g. Reg. A+, Reg. D, Reg. S). Check out my previous article on the subject here. I leave you with a simple but effective principle that will help you navigate the ICO regulatory grayish area, and Crypto in general: if it doesn’t feel good, it probably isn’t.

Christian is a big believer in the power of decentralization, and the remarkable impact it can have on our lives. He’s a consultant, advisor, investor, connector, writer and speaker in Blockchain, ICOs and Cryptocurrencies. Fortunate enough to have lived the transition, he brings two decades of traditional business experience coupled with the new decentralized frontier. Find him on his blog or LinkedIn. All content created in this article does not represent advice nor is considered an official representation of the law or of the governing authorities. Use it at your own discretion.

DECEMBER 2017

ExsulCoin Uses Blockchain Technology to Help Refugees Every minute, 20 people are forced to abandon their homes because of violence or persecution. If we put all 65.6 million of these people in one place, forming their own country, it would be larger than the United Kingdom. This is the refugee crisis—an immense and unimaginable suffering on a global scale. Refugees often find themselves in strange, uncomfortable situations that could be relieved with a tiny bit of help. For instance, a newly resettled refugee in the United States might not by JAMES SOWERS be able to understand how to apply for a driver’s license. In this instance, just a half-hour of help can lead to tremendous benefits, since having a driver’s license means being able to access more services and job opportunities. Existing online solutions are inadequate since they’re not available everywhere and often involve broken communities and scammers. ExsulCoin is solving this problem by building a blockchain technology platform for refugee-led projects. This platform is accessed through ExsulCoin, a cryptocurrency which allows the holder to nominate, vote for, and fund these projects. Users of the platform can also earn ExsulCoin by completing needed tasks, such as delivering drinking water or supplying a medical clinic. In this way we are developing an ecosystem that empowers refugees through finan18

cial inclusion, and massively scaling the efficacy of current relief efforts.

find local or remote programming work through the platform. Compensation and payments, too, can be made over both the marketplace and platform, and value can be converted to local currencies using existing Ethereum ERC20 token-to-debit card solutions.

WHY IS THIS NECESSARY? Wars, violence, and persecution have driven more people from their homes than at any time in modern history. Blockchain technology can solve many of the critical challenges faced by refWHAT IS NANOWORK? ugees today. Via the creation of an onExsulChain is also a marketplace for line marketplace and community, Nanowork: small tasks which are esmatching refugees with supsential to the completion of porters, and driven by a suite projects. Through nanowof smart contracts built on ork requests, project leadthe Ethereum network, can ers have on-demand access improve outcomes by cutting to a diverse, global, and scalacross agencies to produce able workforce, thereby immeaningful efficiencies while proving the odds of project encouraging regulators to co- Every minute, success. Additionally, Nacreate solutions. Additionnowork and ExsulChain ofally, the creation of a mobile 20 people are fers users flexible work opeducation platform to deliv- forced to aban- portunities that are not necer personalized and specialdon their homes essarily dependent on geoized content to refugees, to because of vio- graphic locations or contract help them overcome critical Nanowork is broad lence or perse- lengths. integration challenges and in nature and may include access key services. The mar- cution. Mechanical-Turk-human inketplace and platform will be telligence tasks, as well as linked and work together to temporary human-intensive create value across the comwork such as “come to the munity; for instance, refclinic with me and translate ugees can take specialized what the doctor says,” or courses in computer pro“help me move a heavy regramming on the education frigerator.” These nanowork app, link their programming requests are listed alongside achievements with verified projects on the ExsulChain identity documents, which platform, and users may can help meet requirements convey their interest in takfor employment and then ing on the nanowork task by

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commenting on the project. The project listing may request a fee in XUL from interested parties to comment on the project, which will serve the purpose of commencing the hiring process while simultaneously dis-incentivizing non-serious requests. Project leaders compensate nanoworkers for tasks completed using XUL tokens. XUL, therefore, also acts as a cryptocurrency and depending on market value may, in the future, be denominated in smaller fractional units to accommodate user needs.

be sent. In contexts where contact information is not available, Exsul will deploy high-touch onboarding teams to help new users create and record wallet information. Previous experiences in refugee camp contexts suggest high-touch onboarding will lead to substantially higher sign-up rates, user adoption, and user retention. Further, high-touch onboarding, as in-person help that addresses a new user’s special challenges to using the technoloProject leaders will be able to rate nanowork- gy, will create the trust necessary ers upon task completion. These ratings will for user pictures to be taken and be linked to the nanoworker’s ExsulCoin Wal- linked to ExsulCoin Wallets, which let, creating an immutable, transparent réwill help meet the minimum standsumé” of the user’s practical skills and abilard of personalization necessary to ities. Over time, ExsulChain will incorpobuild community trust around prorate machine learning technology to reduce ject listings. Through agency partsearch times for both nanoworkers and pronerships, the ExsulCoin Wallet will ject leaders, by presenting only those individ- also link user identity documents, uals or tasks that are most likely to be select- RSD, biometric data, emergency ed by the user. Machine learning can also im- health records (e.g., blood type and prove market efficiency as task compensation any allergies to medicines), educacan be mispriced. The transparency of blocktion achievement information and chain allows ExsulChain to track demand of other needed data to meet identask types. By doing so, compensation pricing tification verification (IDV) and can be made dynamic, actuating according know your customer (KYC) standto supply and demand. The ExsulCoin Walards, creating efficiencies in refulet is a free, standalone, Ethereum-based wal- gee identification and delivery of let that works primarily with the XUL token, aid. Linking this additional inforbut may also work with other ERC-20 compli- mation is optional, but users who ant tokens. Anyone is free to create an Exsul- do not provide sufficient informaCoin Wallet, which requires only a name and tion for verification will be excludcontact information, where wallet details will ed from certain activities, depend-

ing on the legal obligations Exsul and ExsulChain must meet in various jurisdictions.

Users of the platform can also earn ExsulCoin by completing needed tasks, such as delivering drinking water or supplying a medical clinic. In this way we are developing an ecosystem that empowers refugees through financial inclusion, and massively scaling the efficacy of current relief efforts.

Users access the ExsulChain platform using their ExsulCoin Wallet, which is represented primarily as an “address” on the Ethereum blockchain. Linked to the ExsulCoin Wallet are the wallet owner’s name and contact information, as well as any information the user has allowed to be attached. Because the ExsulCoin Wallets are built on blockchain, user reputations can be linked to special wallet addresses, allowing stakeholders on the ExsulChain platform to verify one another. User reputation can consist of meeting IDV and KYC standards, RSD, nanowork ratings, and XUL transfer history. The mutual verification of stakeholders on the ExsulChain platform encourages stronger collaboration between users, along with improved user behaviour. Users who repeatedly do not fulfil agreed-upon terms or try to game the system would have their actions recorded on the blockchain, which will then act as an immutable deterrent against future bad behaviour. Learn more https://www.exsulcoin.com

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Disclosure: The author is an advisor on the project.

DECEMBER 2017

Realising a Greater Mission for Crypto The private space industry is a rapidly-growing market, projected to be worth trillions of dollars in the near future, according to a recent Goldman Sachs (2016) report. A new vision of space is beginning to emerge. Once only accessible to governments and large corporations, it is now open to small companies and events for public participation. Exciting projects involving new space missions, the Moon, Mars and asteroid mining will all bring considerable opportunity and economic value for future generations.

by PAVLO TANASYUK CEO of BlockVerify

Those resources will not only change ly Spacebit is designed to benefit socithe course of humanity, but also proety as a whole, with the aim of becomvide an avenue for investors to meaning a decentralised space agency. Spaceingfully participate in our next great bit will be structured as a Digital Auadventure. Blockchain alone gives us tonomous Corporation (DAC); howevunprecedented capabilities er, in contrast to former atto create and trade value in tempts to create autonosociety. As the foundationmous organisations, we plan al platform of the Fourth Into have strong strategic guiddustrial Revolution, it can ance from astronauts, promihelp to create and distribnent economists and experts ute new values to be gained from both the Space and from exploring the final Blockchain industries. The “..if this techfrontier. Tokenisation of plan is to implement a botnology is to missions and space assets tom-up approach, automatwill help to create and meas- have profound ing certain low-level techimpact on the ure new value to humannical processes using varikind, whilst appreciating in- planet, then it ous DApps and then move creased liquidity and public needs to be, or up in complexity. Such an apparticipation. proach will help us to better it should be, control the execution of the everywhere and initial missions and provide SPACEBIT VISION widely distrib- an opportunity to test variSpacebit is embarking on the world’s first open source com- uted in terms ous DApps that are currently mercial space exploration proof different use being developed by our team. gram. Its purpose is to idenEven before full automation cases” tify and explore the critical is possible, we plan to engage space resources necessary for the public by means of pollJOSEPH LUBIN, economies of the future and 2017 ing, in order to allow them human expansion, from our to choose from pre-selecthome planet into space. Uned space projects. This will like all previous governmental or private also involve a new blockchain-powered space missions, the Spacebit mission is model of collaboration on the system designed so that all participants and con- design, management and financing of tributors who devote their time, monspace missions. ey or IP, will be able to benefit from the space program. “..if this technology is to have profound impact on the planet, then it needs With the emergence of new economic to be, or it should be, everywhere and models - boundaries between fund and widely distributed in terms of different a company will fade into one. Ultimate- use cases” (Joseph Lubin, 2017)

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Thus, the original DAO concept aimed to act as a digital jurisdiction, making it a friendly and easy way for organisations, entrepreneurs and investors to operate (Cuende & Izquierdo, 2017). At Spacebit, our aim is to implement a hybrid approach with several ‘tethers’ into different jurisdictions, which would allow us to function globally. For this reason, we will focus less on decentralisation of strategic management and more on decentralisation of control and automation of various organisational processes. Don and Alex Tapscott (2017) emphasise that a distributed ecosystem need not be a disorganised one and improved governance need not imply formal governmental legislation or regulation. A cooperative process of multi-stakeholder dialogue and stewardship can go a long way towards improving trust and helping new technological systems to develop in a socially beneficial manner. POWER OF AUTOMATION We are at the beginning of a forth industrial and technological revolution which will fundamentally change the way we work. In its scope, scale and complexity, the changes will be unlike anything humankind has seen before. Blockchain technology will play a significant role not only in the processes of automation, but also in empowering people to become involved in various information flows and to take part in important decisions which will undoubtedly benefit humanity as a whole. Space exploration is an area in which every human being is a stakeholder. One of the reasons why the US moon program was successful and the Soviet program failed lies within the key concept of free-flowing information. The Soviets kept their information largely unavailable and fragmented, whereas

The US freely communicated with multiple organisations involved in the Apollo Project. At Spacebit, we believe that unobstructed information flows will play an integral role within the Fourth Industrial Revolution, especially with regards to working on distributed space projects. Smart contracts will undeniably help; not only to optimise processes to increase efficiency, but also to create new economic models. Blockchain is a unique technology, which is why it is crucial to innovate at both the technological level and within economic models which can be developed with the assistance of this technology. In the past, space missions were owned exclusively by governments and large corporations. Our aim is to change that in order to allow everyone to participate in and receive the benefits of space exploration, either financially or by collaborating and working on the projects. Mankind’s 21st century thrust into space would herald in the world’s next industrial revolution, which may even be called the ‘Space Industrial Revolution’ (Dr. APJ Kalam, former president of India). SPACEBIT MISSIONS The first missions will involve various low orbit (LEO) experiments in order to test equipment and prepare for the resource exploration of the Moon and later of asteroids. In the first stage, we plan to generate revenue by selling tokenised data to various public and commercial actors. We are already partnered with a number of companies to design a new ‘IoT from the space’ traceability platform that will bring a new level of transparency into supply chains and provide more granularity into the movement of physical assets on the surface of Earth.

The main mission which we plan to commence by 2020 will involve sending a robotic probe to the moon that will scan the lunar surface in search of Helium 3 and water, while the lander will physically assess and test the presence of those elements on the moon’s surface. Those steps will then be followed by missions to other planets and ultimately, interstellar missions. Some of the options open for public consideration and decision making will be: • Moon Relay for communication for the benefit of future moon missions and water prospecting. • Building of a new international station utilising low cost technologies such as inflatable modules and 3D printing. • Telescope/relay on the back/far side of the moon for the first step involving asteroid prospecting and deep space communication. • Creating the first orbital power station with the prospect of delivering low-cost high-power electricity to the Earth’s surface. ROLE OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IN SPACE INDUSTRY We believe that a new space age is coming, an age of direct, and distributed participation of citizens in future space projects. There are multiple aspects why blockchain technology can be appropriated by the space industry, they include economic, such as new funding and profit redistribution models, technical where such technology can help to facilitate and improve technical capabilities of the mission and finally future legal/governance models of space exploration. 21

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In both the Outer Space Treaty and Moon Treaty it is clearly stated that for the private exploration and appropriation of space resource to take place, consensus of "all mankindâ&#x20AC;? is needed. We believe that blockchain technology can help to develop a fair consensus mechanism that will benefit humankind in its entirety. That will involve processes for establishing claims, profits, and equitable sharing, and blockchain technology will play an important role in a new governance model and may facilitate collaboration and tracking of various transactions and interactions within this innovative and revolutionary new space industry. MAKING A BIGGER LEAP FOR CRYPTO Identity is a reflection of a complex relationship between the social and the personal. The Crypto community is a social system comprised of a diverse set of actors. Whilst there is a perceived connection between people in crypto, based on overlaps of intent, identity, interest and experience, it 22

remains vaguely undefined. Norms and values of the crypto community are questioned by society and receive a lot of negative press coverage. For this reason, it is important to have a grand vision which goes beyond simple speculation and ultimately forms a foundational step towards the creation of a new and more transparent economic system and society. Fluctuations in markets, the fork crisis and contentious, highly consequential token sales combined with a rise in Bitcoin price has meant that 2017 is an inflection year, the year we must and will decide whether the crypto community has the ability to solidify our interests and collectively enable the token economy to expand, by pursuing a visionary approach and supporting projects outside the closed community â&#x20AC;&#x201C; projects which truly matter to humanity. It is time to think outside of the box. We firmly believe that now is the correct time for implementing the way forward for leading the world in space explo-

ration. In (figure 1), it is shown that the crypto economy is already capable of supporting large-scale space missions. The risk profile and benefits of crypto currency itself are very alike, with the risk and potential benefits associated with space exploration. It can also bring a different level of liquidity into space projects in the future, making public, direct participation in space programs a reality. This in return can drive valuation of tokenised assets and crypto currency to a new level, whilst creating a positive image for the crypto community itself. Spacebit is set to be a pioneering force, and this is where its competitive advantage comes into play. Collaboratively, we should reaffirm the value of crypto currency and demonstrate our engagement in important and visionary projects such as the space industry through establishing projects which connect with a real-world economy. The sooner we make these commitments, the more likely we are to succeed as a group and the quicker we will all benefit from the extraordinary returns. Spacebit has already attracted substantial interest from the space industry with a large number of collaborators around the world. We invite everyone from the blockchain community to participate in the future of space exploration together.

DECEMBER 2017

Novum Coin

Your Eye on the Future

Novum Insights is the future of in depth market data. Our market reports are compiled by researchers and data scientists, mixing information and data, analysed by people and by algorithms, to create the next level of insight and knowledge. Our first report, into Blockchain, identified the top 20 Blockchain start-ups to watch. We have complied the largest list of ICO companies, and are the top source of information in a rapidly changing and new space. Novum Insights is for bankers, analysts, investors, by consultancies, hedge funds, traders and TOBY LEWIS Novum Insights large corporations. In keeping with our own interest in Blockchain and ICOs, we are issuing a Novum Coin as a way to access our research. This digital currency will allow holders of the coin to access our reports and information resources at a discount to regular users. By pre-selling subscriptions using a crypto currency, we are able to forward fund our research work in a way that has not been done before. The token will provide access to the best information on this frontier technology market, as well as the wider markets.

Legacy information providers are failing to serve the decentralised economy, and so there is a pressing need for tokens to take the place of research subscriptions or paid terminals. The fear and loathing surrounding initial coin offerings and handwringing around frauds and scams is because there is a deficit of information. Crypto hedge funds who are in the know refer to the ICO market as like the equity market in the 1980s. The Novum Coin will democratise this market like the rise of fast public information data providers transformed the equity and the bond markets, with the rise of companies like Bloomberg and the world wide web putting all share information online.

Novum Coin with our advisors, and will be issuing details of it in our forthcoming white paper.

This is important to ensure the cryptocurrency market avoids becoming an insidersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rigged economy and instead is democratised, allowing for new money, new ideas, and new companies.

Our data product is in private beta, but will be available to token holders the moment our sale launches.

The Novum Coin is an access token providing users with the utility of accessing research from our big data analytics engine, which is becoming the best information resource on the token economy, but also the wider innovation, venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystems. We are designing the structure of the

We are raising our token with the best advisors in London and globally spanning both the cryptoeconomy and the venture capital worlds. We will be running the Blockchain Invest conference in mid-March in London, to help the community better understand what the cryptoeconomy can really become. You can secure access to the pre-sale by filling in your details on our website. We will look to raise the coin relatively quickly as we are keen to be focused on building the best data business in the world.

We have a team of data scientists and data analysts, and are always on the lookout for the best coders and business minds globally. Looking forward to having you join our pre-sale. To find out more visit www.novumcoin.com 23

DECEMBER 2017

The Initial Coin Offering and the Future of Finance The entrepreneurial and investor worlds are in a frenzy to create tokens and invest in them. You should begin paying attention to this sector now. Entrepreneurs with massive visions are working on raising huge sums of capital, and it is not uncommon to meet initial coin offering hustlers jabbering about how we are getting a chance to live through something akin to the dot.com era: the blockchain era. Initial by coin offerings have now raised $3.2bn TOBY LEWIS Novum Insights this year, Novum Insights data shows, which seemingly puts a new sector on course to take a decent chunk of the wider venture capital industry. The excitement is driven by the ability to raise coins instead of equity to finance ideas, with the coins generally having some form of utility as well as fluctuating value. This is leading to greater funds being raised by entrepreneurs than would typically come from angels and venture capitalists as well as the likelihood of entrepreneurs retaining greater control of their companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations. There is much talk of grandiose ideas and the use of smart contracts based on Ethereum. In some cases, these contracts are working, but in many others they are a work in a progress. Yet like in the early days of the world wide web, there is strong hope ICOs by status

Dollars raised in ICOs by month in 2017 YTD

ICOs by amount raised by registration country

Category by month 2017 YTD

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ICOs by category

This vision of an internet of value has been a driving force propelling cryptocurrency led by Bitcoin and Ethereum to repeated new highs this year

Benartzi responded in a highly upbeat way, to an audience member challenging her on the relatively poor performance of the token, which has slid significantly against Ethereum, despite it having raised more than $150m in an ICO.

The crypto world is certainly not for the faint of heart.

that some of the tokens being used today will dominate a new “internet of value”. The concept is that your online activity and identity will lead to cryptocurrency rewards, generating a better valuation of all our actions. With many sold on this vision, entrepreneurs, which are at the seed stage, who only last year may have raised £500k to £1m to prove out their project, are attempting to raise tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars, as crypto fever sweeps the investment and entrepreneurial worlds.

This vision of an internet of value has been a driving force propelling cryptocurrency led by Bitcoin and Ethereum to repeated new highs this year – with their current valuation pegged at more than $515bn, according to CoinMarketCap. In turn this has led to holders of crypto assets looking to diversify their holdings. This interest is booming because the entrepreneurial community is warming to the idea of an internet of value, as well as the huge funds available for winners. Investors are attracted by the huge gains made by those in the sector

and for those with cryptocurrencies already, in part because they are keen not to pay capital gains tax on their huge gains, which they would have to do if they converted the money back into fiat currency like the dollar or the Euro. Because of this cryptocurrency holders have diversified their crypto assets into other lesser known tokens. This has often proven a great trade to make, although at some stage there will likely be a crypto crash. It was enjoyable and interesting watching one of the co-founders of one of the biggest new tokens Bancor, Galia Benartzi, present twice this month, in Amsterdam at the e/d/t Global Foundation launch and at Davos in the D10E ICO event. With the great energy and confidence of being a frontier entrepreneur, Benartzi responded in a highly upbeat way, to an audience member challenging her on the relatively poor performance of the token, which has slid significantly against Ethereum, despite it having raised more than $150m in an ICO. She explained much of the funds were being used to stand behind the currency and also made the case that by raising the funds in a token the group was going to the people and its users rather than the venture industry, which she argued had been a poor allocator of capital. The audience was certainly more sympathetic after hearing her present, although most observers of particular ICOs have significant questions. The crypto world is certainly not for the faint of heart. Its boom at some stage will be followed by a crash, although there is huge momentum behind the cryptocurrencies at present. The ability to remain anonymous using some exchanges mean that there is significant criminal interest in the sector for money laundering to illicit activities. The organisations running tokens themselves severely lack the kind of reporting and governance, which you would expect from groups managing millions of dollars of others’ money. A worrying number of tokens are also scams, which will doubtless damage the sector’s reputation, although while investor paper profits are booming this is being overlooked by many. Yet the money is coming to cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings because the returns have been eye-popping and the technological vision for the use of funds is often huge. For this reason, at Novum Insights we are keeping a close eye on all tokens, and are on the lookout for those which can stand out from the rest. Novum Insights is the data provider for complex technological sectors, with blockchain the first area we have mapped, and artificial intelligence the next sector on our radar. To download our blockchain report’s first chapters, and receive intelligence updates, as well as request a demo of our upcoming software product, go here. 25

DECEMBER 2017

CROWDMACHINE Unshackling the Cloud

You have just completed a successful Initial Coin Offering (ICO): you have the funds and are now looking to roll out your products and services. But where is the talent? Given the fast-rising number of ICO projects underway, new ventures are struggling to find the by skilled labor they need to deliver on CRAIG SPROULE Founder and CEO their promises. In the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry there is a dearth of experienced developers. Compounding the problem, each developer is building the same app foundations from scratch, with limited reusability across the industry.

ternet of Things (IoT), as well as traditional markets like healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, mobile and retail. Across all sectors enterprises rely upon apps. Yet the fact remains that there are insufficient, skilled resources to sustain the current engineering demand. The need for apps is already outstripping supply.

A lack of developers is one constraint on business growth: another, when it comes to app development and execution, is the requirement for cost effective computing power. Consider for a moment the public cloud whereby enterprises can buy and utilise computing services. These services range from Now, let’s say your start-up is happily advertising, infrastructure-as-a-service generating above-the-line revenue and (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and you’re ready to take it to the next stage. software-as-a-service (SaaS) as examWhat kind of technology should you ples. This public cloud is capital-intendeploy to run and expand your growing sive and resource-intensive: to compete, business? These are critical issues faced a new provider must commit to a sigby enterprises both large and small in nificant amount of investment and emnew markets such as blockchain and In- ploy a legion of talent. No wonder, given 26

such high barriers to entry, that the top four public cloud companies control 65% of the market. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the undisputed leader, followed by Microsoft, IBM and Google. But what is the reality of the public cloud? Free and infinite as it may sound, the cloud relies on global siloes of centralised data storage and processing facilities – a “shackled cloud”. Take a look at the maps of how AWS, Microsoft’s Azure or Google’s Cloud spread their infrastructure and networks around the globe. You will note vast, unlit tracts of distribution – mostly in emerging markets and places that would not provide a return on investment. DECENTRALIZED CLOUD AND APPS AT 45X THE SPEED The full potential of device memory and processor capacity – vital for executing apps at speed - remains largely underutilised. Crowd Machine plans to meet the surge in demand for apps and,

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at the same time, harness globally underutilised computing power through the creation of a Crowd Computer. Planned for release in Q3 2018, it will be a peer-to-peer computational network that pays device owners to participate. Any type of device can be utilized, including mobiles, desktops, data centers and IoT devices, all acting in unison as a global processor. In effect, the Crowd Computer will act as a highly powerful, decentralized cloud, designed to execute blockchain smart contracts and run decentralized apps built in Crowd Machine’s Crowd App Studio, an app creation platform embedded in the network. Crowd App Studio is a zero-code environment where virtually anyone can quickly and easily create apps. Apps can be built on top of any blockchain - Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and more. Apps are constructed and distributed as fragments, otherwise known as ‘Patterns’, which define a desired behavior. Patterns are themselves composed of Activities, which represent subsets of instructions. By combining Patterns, an app is formed. There is no requirement to understand any form of computer language or the intricacies of app development. Through this new, streamlined approach to app design, developers can create blockchain and decentralized apps at speeds of up to 45X conventional approaches. Additionally, they will be able to share their creations via Crowd Share, a GitHub-like repository which includes a method for Crowd Machine’s community of developers to monetize their work. The business model of Crowd Machine is relatively simple. Access to the Crowd App Studio and Crowd Share is free, with Crowd Machine

In the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry there is a dearth of experienced developers.

Crowd Machine plans to meet the surge in demand for apps and, at the same time, harness globally underutilised computing power through the creation of a Crowd Computer.

No wonder, given such high barriers to entry, that the top four public cloud companies control 65% of the market. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the undisputed leader, followed by Microsoft, IBM and Google.

customers only paying for use of the Crowd Computer network. As apps are executed, device owners are rewarded through payments in Crowd Machine Tokens (CMT) in proportion to the amount of resources required to execute the app. Community developers who place Patterns or complete apps into Crowd Share, which are then consumed by customers, are also rewarded in CMT when that content is executed. MARKET-READY APPS Crowd Machine’s technology, developed by Metavine Labs, has already been battle-tested by many Fortune 500 companies, including General Electric, AON Hewitt, KONE, Anthem and Pacific Western Bank. First versions of the Crowd App Studio and Crowd Virtual Machine (CVMs run on devices and are the basis of Crowd Computer’s peer-to-peer network) were released in 2017. Crowd Machine, by packaging together scalable computation, file storage, external data, monetization, and payments, provides all the critical pieces of a decentralized app development stack. Crowd Machine’s new approach to decentralized app creation and execution will unshackle the cloud, empower a whole new generation of app developers, and disrupt the dominance of centralized infrastructure companies. So, whether you have just completed your ICO, or whether you are about to expand into new global markets, Crowd Machine provides a mechanism to quickly and cost effectively deliver your goals. Crowd Machine’s Token Sale is planned for Q1 2018. 27

DECEMBER 2017

GazeCoin GazeCoin is the core building block of the new attention economy. On the traditional internet, advertisers purchased Googlead words. In the new decentralised blockchain VR/AR economy, they will purchase attention or ‘Gaze’.

had cut between $100 and $140 million from its digital ad budget because of brand safety concerns and ‘ineffective’ ads.

AR campaigns, collect consumer behavior data and evolve the ad format from interruptive ads that obstruct immersion towards more native, engaging formats. GazeCoin also solves copyright tracking issues for content rights holders in VR/AR, allowing owners to track content throughout its lifecycle For too long, VR/AR as it is consumed, changed (remixed, versioned, admonetization has been constrained by dended), licensed, transferred or sunsetted. last-century mod-

They’re not the only ones. Last month, Uber announced that they are taking legal proceedings GazeCoin allows advertisers and brands against Fetch Media for alto create their own branded tokens. legedly squandering tens When consumers look or ‘GAZE’ at of millions of dollars on content / ads, they are rewarded with non-existent, non-viewabranded tokens for this precise engage- ble or fraudulent ads. ment. Our Gaze Exchange Technoloels that work for web gy allows audiences to exchange tokens In fact, the sheer scale of “For too long, VR/AR monby earned with no transaction costs allow- the problem was highlight- and mobile, but miss etization has been conJONNY PETERS the mark terribly in ed in March in a report strained by last-century Founder and CEO ing anyone to join for free. VR/AR, where liter- models that work for web on ad fraud from a WPPally everything you The GazeCoin wallet allows people to backed research agency, and mobile, but miss the exchange Ethereum tokens without which estimated that the mark terribly in VR/AR, see, or touch can be fees. could this be the killer app for cost of bot fraud could be where literally everything monetized.” crypto user adoption? as high as $12.48 billion you see, or touch can be or roughly 20 percent of JONNY PETERS monetized.” continued Gaze Coin founder Gaze Coin founder, Jonny The signs of trouble for the old order what’s spent on digital adhave been coming thick and fast of late. vertising globally. Surely Peters. In August, shares in WPP, the world’s this is a sign for change. largest advertising company, dropped “Gaze Coin has been designed to bridge by 10 percent after boss Sir Martin Sor- The Ethereum-compatible GazeCoin to- the gap between the promise of virturell said that consumer goods comken, or GZE, and larger platform, solve al worlds and the ability for brands and panies had reigned in their advertismany of the major hurdles for advertis- content owners to capitalize on it, at ing spend. This news followed Procers in VR/AR, including the ability to the heart of how the medium is actualtor &Gamble’s announcement that it calculate precise ROI on branded VR/ ly consumed.”

DECEMBER 2017

Using patent-registered technology, Gaze Coin calculates the exact amount of time users spend either looking at or immersed inside content. Blockchain technology makes it possible to create a micro-transaction whereby advertisers incentivize users for the time they spend immersed in content and where all user interactions with content are tracked and monetized. The transactions are handled seamlessly and securely in real-time using decentralized, immutable blockchain technology. The blockchain-related patent application protects the company’s ability to audit and provide provenance of gaze measurements and virtual content to create micro-payments based on gaze eye-tracking measurements. GAZE INTO THE FUTURE GazeCoin has already made its GazeCoin tokens (GZE) available at a discounted rate on SAFTLaunch. The GZE is advertised as a unit of exchange based on the ‘gaze control’ measurement that exists in VR/AR worlds, deployed on the GazeCoin platform which allows advertisers to receive precise metadata on how audiences interacted with their ads and then incentivises audiences to engage. The main token sale, starting on 10 December 2017 and accepting Ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrency in payment, has a finance target of US$12m and a hard cap of US$35m. Gaze Coin works by taking gaze control measurements, which can calculate the amount of time users spend immersed inside specific content, and combining them with the distributed ledger technology of blockchain. The result is a platform that can seamlessly handle millions of micropayments in support of VR/ AR advertising, copyright tracking and a user reward system. So, for example, in a VR and augmented reality (AR) world where content ownership rights are complex, advertisers can pay for the time a user spends engaging with their branded content, starting from the point where their gaze control is first locked and focused. Compared to the problems that plague advertising in traditional digital media, where ads may turn out to be ineffective, non-viewable or even non-existent, the blockchain-based model behind GazeCoin is both trustworthy and transparent.

Gaze Coin has been designed to bridge the gap between the promise of virtual worlds and the ability for brands and content owners to capitalize on it, at the heart of how the medium is actually consumed.”

As blockchain technology continues to impact across every industry, it’s very imporWhat is more, by establishing a VR-appropritant for Gaze Coin to protect our technoloate monetization platform, Gaze Coin is at last opening the full opportunity of VR - a kill- gy, especially as commercial opportunities begin to evolve” er app for content providers and advertisers. In VR, the way that audiences transition from viewer to active participator makes it uniquely exciting: suddenly, audiences become protagonists, thrust into making decisions that affect the narrative outcome. As they ‘gaze’ to trigger where they want to take the story, this opens numerous possibilities for immersive advertisers to immerse themselves into the journey.

Gaze Coin has outlined a roadmap of innovations that it will pursue, depending on the amount of finance raised. These include a GazeCoin wallet, to store transactions and/ or GZE associated with immersive interactions; the Gaze Coin API can integrate with any VR/AR content (experience, environment or world) and features a developer toolkit allowing monetization through advertising and gaze-triggered audience engagement. Further targets include a navigation system that allows users to teleport themselves from one virtual world to another, by means of the Wormhole Transport System (WTS), and an epic mixed reality game that will act as a testbed for developers. Ultimately, GazeCoin’s development target is to create a mixed reality platform, connecting the real world and the immersive world as seamless environments, where all interactions are measured and monetized through GazeCoin in a decentralized, attention-based VR/AR economy.

“As blockchain technology continues to impact across every industry, it’s very imporJONNY PETERS tant for Gaze Coin to protect our technology, Gaze Coin founder especially as commercial opportunities begin to evolve,” said Gaze Coin founder Jonny Peters. Gaze Coin Token Sale Starts 10th December 2017 Ends 21st December 2017. 29

DECEMBER 2017

Transforming A $500B Professional Services Market with Blockchain Technology

by MICHAL BACIA Director, The Software House www.tsh.io

CURRENT SITUATION: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER SERVICES My work background is in construction, renewable energy and most recently, software development. I noticed that clients tend to work with suppliers/ subcontractors they already know unless these suppliers do something terrible or run out of the capacity to do additional work. Only then does anyone think about hiring someone new. The buyer asks for offers. Each offer has a price and a potential value as perceived by the buyer. Before engaging and working with a supplier, the buyer does not know the actual, real value of the offer. So, buyers pick the best offer based on the perceived value to price ratio. The seller has problems of competing with others and pricing based on the perceived value of competitive offers. In simple terms: good software developers in a client’s eyes might look and sound like mediocre developers who speak the jargon. Both parties would be better off researching verified, detailed informa-

tion about each other, and the quality of the services offered, in a transparent and tamper-proof environment. VISION OF THE CO-OWNED, DEMAND DRIVEN MARKET FOCUSED ON QUALITY I believe that with blockchain technology and properly designed token economics, we can create a market that will be demand driven, self-regulating and focused on quality. It will minimize the risk of engagement for both parties and lower the costs of discovery (shared by the buyers) and marketing (shared by the sellers). FROM A BUYERS’ PERSPECTIVE, THE MARKET WOULD LOOK LIKE THIS: There is a website that gives buyers access to a database of suppliers. Each supplier is rated and ranked based on their previous and current interactions with other buyers. Each transaction and interaction (comment, rating, value of the job, time of completion, feedback) is recorded on a blockchain, so it’s tamper-proof.

These evaluations would create abundant specific data with a very fine level of granularity, giving a more in-depth profile of the supplier’s quality and the real value provided. This way the issue of trust is solved. The buyers don’t have to trust the suppliers and their marketing materials. They can trust other buyers because their needs are similar. For every comment, rating, and piece of information the buyer provides to the system, they are rewarded with tokens representing a share of the market (let’s call them Market Coins or MC for now). The buyers can also recommend the platform to other buyers and receive MCs for this also. Finally, buyers can ask suppliers to deposit some MCs into their escrow account as a performance guarantee. FROM THE SELLER’S PERSPECTIVE, THE MARKET LOOKS LIKE THIS: The seller must deposit some MCs into the market escrow account to offer its services on the market. The number of deposited MCs is reflected in the sup-

DECEMBER 2017

plier's score and rank and visible to the buyers. Score and rank is determined by: 1. the number of MCs deposited (this reflects commitment to the market) and 2. feedback received from clients (this reflects the quality). Suppliers are also rewarded for introducing new clients to the market. This means they get paid a referral fee even when they don’t make a sale themselves. Marketing efforts and budgets can be focused on promoting the market itself. This is much easier to communicate to potential clients. A message about a supply driven market that is designed to promote quality is much more interesting to clients than a message saying, ‘my company is the best and you should just trust me even though I have no way of proving this to you’. Finally, suppliers are rewarded in MCs for the quality of the service. Once a month, the quality score for each supplier will be calculated. Companies with the highest score and biggest project value will receive the highest reward. Companies with a negative score will have to pay the deficit with their MCs deposited in the market escrow account. MARKET COINS There will be a finite number of MCs issued. Hence, MC is a deflationary token that is designed to increase in value over time. The total pool of MCs will reflect the total value of the market. Increased value of the MCs will reflect the increased value of the market. Suppliers must get a hold of and deposit MCs into the market escrow account in order to offer services on the market. The earlier they join, the easier to buy a significant share of MCs.

MSc are NOT meant to be used for payments between buyers and sellers. In specific cases, they can be used in transactions (like with a performance guarantee or incentives paid by suppliers to team members) but by no means are they designed as a replacement of current payment systems. The software development industry, in general, doesn’t struggle with issues of liquidity.

Both parties would be better off researching verified, detailed information about each other, and the quality of the services The value of MCs ultimately comes from the offered, in a transparent and tamper-proof fact that they are needed by suppliers wanting to access the market. With a limited supply of environment. MCs and growing numbers of companies entering the market, its value will go up.

This idea can be a model for building markets for many services. Every time where a service is expensive, and purchases are infrequent, this model can be used.

Liquidity of MCs also helps to increase the value. Each month suppliers will be charged a fee equal to a percentage of the revenue generated on the market. (Say 5%). This money will be used to buy MCs from the market and redistribute them among the actors helping the market and the operator, to cover the cost of running the market. This creates liquidity and a demand for MCs. Both promote an increase in value. Model for Service Markets in General This idea can be a model for building markets for many services. Every time where a service is expensive, and purchases are infrequent, this model can be used: management consulting, specialised tax advisors, house builders, construction subcontractors, solar panel installers…The market for professional B2B services alone is $500B a year. Please get in touch with me if you would like to know more or be a part of making this idea a reality. michal.bacia@tsh.io 31

DECEMBER 2017

LALA World:

Financial Services for Economic Migrants and the Unbanked

Though blockchain technology originally emerged as a platform for Bitcoin, in the past few years, we’ve seen an explosion in the applications of the new technology. Everyone from entrepreneurs to techies to government bodies from around the world have found by ICO CROWD a way to seize the opportunities that blockchain technology offers: security, transparency and efficiency.

exciting prospect it is to see that companies are using blockchain as a force for good. WHO IS LALA WORLD HELPING? According to the World Bank, approximately 2 billion people do not have access to basic financial services such as bank accounts. In other words, over 25% of adults remain unbanked today. This is the segment of the population that LALA is aiming to help by providing mobile-based banking services.

nomic migrants, these transfer fees and conversions often mean that they remain trapped in the same situation even after years and years of work. LALA World is working to change the plight of economic migrants and the unbanked in a quest to make the world a fairer place for everyone.

WHY IS LALA WORLD BANKING THE UNBANKED? The founder of LALA World grew up in a region of India that was full of migrants. LALA seeks to allevi- He witnessed first-hand the In addition to this group, ate the troubles of eco- suffering of migrants who LALA also seeks to allewanted nothing more than nomic migrants who viate the troubles of ecoto improve their lives, but constantly need to nomic migrants who concouldn’t because of the dire transfer money back stantly need to transfer financial situation and into their families across termediaries in those armoney back to their famborders. One such company is LALA World. ilies across borders. Just eas that prevented them With the arrival of this blockchain think about how tedifrom [bettering] their situStartup that focuses on providing fious it is to transfer money ation. Migrants work hard, nancial services for economic migrants across borders; you often and the worst part is that and the unbanked, we’re witnessing the have to go through intermediaries such their kids will most likely end up gopoint at which blockchain and social as Western Union, which offer limited ing through the same hardships. LALA entrepreneurship intersect. What an services for a costly price. But for ecoWorld was born out of this frustration Beyond these industries, blockchain has the potential to achieve social goals that are often rooted in issues relating to security and transparency, such as poverty and corruption. In recent years, social entrepreneurship has been on the rise, and we’re beginning to see the practice spillover onto blockchain as more people are becoming aware of the advantages of the technology.

DECEMBER 2017

and a desire to improve the lives of the less fortunate.

By providing these services to the migrants An added bonus is that since LALA uses and the unbanked, they will have access to fiblockchain, NGOs and aid organizations will nancial services at the tip of their fingers. They be able to use the platform without havIn the past, banks have stayed out of these will be provided opportunities for ing to worry about money being markets because they are not able to adequate- micro-lending by LALA investors lost to corruption because blockly assess risk due to lack of IDs and unreliaand peer-to-peer loans from LALA chain transparency provide an ble credit scores, intermediaries and financial Community. By using LALA, comeasily auditable distribution of data. This not only means that the unbanked munities will also be able to create funds. don’t have access to bank accounts, but also grassroots ecosystems to contribthat they miss out on financial services such as ute to furthering projects that will LALA WORLD USES Migrants work hard, BLOCKCHAIN AS A FORCE loans, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty. benefit everyone. and the worst part FOR GOOD is that their kids will As for economic migrants, having access to a LALA Transfers will finally alThough tourists and expats who low cost banking service at the tip of their finlow economic migrants the libmost likely end up go- do have access to financial sergers, they will be able to more easily send mon- erty that they need when sending through the same vices can use LALA World, it was ey abroad and ensure that their money makes ing money home to their famideveloped with a different pophardships. it to its desired location. The LALA World platlies. These transfers will be manulation in mind. LALA has creform will provide higher levels of security and aged by users themselves and will ated a system that best serves NGOs and aid organi- the migrants and the unbanked transparency than ever before, meaning that provide cheaper, more efficient remigrants and the unbanked won’t be at the mittances globally. Since migrants zations will be able to as a way to help provide the help use the platform with- they need to help them improve mercy of expensive intermediaries. will no longer have to go through intermediaries, they will no longer out having to wortheir living conditions. ry about money beUltimately, the team behind LALA want to have to pay exorbitant fees for provide the tools that will allow these popula- transferal services. ing lost to corruption Providing financial services to tions to pursue viable economic futures. all is a step in the right direction because blockchain There are also many other servictransparency provide in providing better opportuniHOW IS LALA WORLD HELPING? es offered by LALA’s platform that ties to individuals worldwide. an easily auditable LALA World will change all of this through its will simplify financial transactions Without companies like LALA distribution of funds. World, that have a vision for a decentralized, peer-to-peer mobile banking for the unbanked. These range platform. Each user will have a LALA Wallet, from credit cards that will allow better world and use technology which contains a digitized ID in addition to for more liberty, to streamlined in pursuit of their mission, the basic banking services such as transfers, loans, bill payments for all. For more details on these poorer populations in the world will continbill payments, and crypto or fiat cards. services, check our LALA World’s white paper. ue to suffer. 33

DECEMBER 2017

Trading Smarter How many times have you conducted a trade after checking multiple platforms and doing your due diligence, only to find a better deal on another platform right after? It can be frustrating and exhausting to try to find the best price to trade cryptocurrencies, especially because of the volatility of the values of these currencies.

What if I told you that there is a blockchain-based start-up that has found a way to solve this problem, and better yet, that their product can be used by all exchanges, including online and traditional brokers. This company, called Loopring, offers an open source protoby ICO CROWD col that can bring better prices to individuals trading cryptocurrencies. This protocol will run in the background of exchange platforms to create a network of exchanges to complete trades. In this way, Loopring does not replace existing exchange platforms, but rather aims to enhance them in a way that benefits everyone. As more people are beginning to ask, “why trade cryptocurrency?”, having highly efficient and interconnected platforms is becoming more important. Looping offers the freedom and the flexibility required to trade crypto with ease, including ensuring that traders are getting the best deals.

ORDER SHARING: SPLITTING ORDERS TO GET THE BEST PRICE The Loopring protocol, or code, allows orders to be broken down into small pieces. This is a process known as ‘order sharing’. Once an order has been broken down, the protocol will be able to locate the best prices and times at which to exchange on all of the exchanges that run Loopring’s protocol. For example, if you were to put out an order to buy 10 ETH, the protocol would be able to find the best buying prices across all participating platforms, even if it means buying 1 ETH from Coinbase, 7 ETH from Kraken, and 2 ETH from Bitstamp. Believe it or not, no other exchange allows traders to split orders in this way. By working this feature into their protocol, the team at Loopring have found a way to greatly optimize trading results. Traders will no longer have to be

DECEMBER 2017

at the mercy of liquidity levels and order sizes; small and large orders alike will have the same advantages within the Loopring exchanges network. SMART CONTRACTS: PUSHING THE DEAL THROUGH Though order sharing is a central part of Loopring’s innovation, smart contracts are the silent heroes because they allow trades to be pushed through automatically. Without smart contracts which self-execute once the terms of the contract are met, agents would have to approve trades which would cause delays and potentially, the loss of the ‘best price’. By combining the use of smart contracts and order sharing, Loopring eliminates the risk of losing the best prices because once the order has been shared and the best prices found, the smart contract can carry out the necessary actions to complete the trade. Therefore, despite the volatile nature of cryptocurrency, Loopring smart contracts will automatically complete trades when the terms are met further reducing the risk of losing the ‘best price’. RING MATCHING: MULTI-TOKEN TRANSACTIONS The Loopring protocol also includes a multi-token transaction feature that allows users to make circular trades. Here is an example to help illustrate this concept: ‘Investor A puts an order out to sell BAT tokens for USD. Investor B wants to buy BAT and is selling XRP. Investor C is buying XRP, and selling MIOTA, and so on and so forth until it gets back to Investor A in the desired currency.’

This protocol will run in the background of exchange platforms to create a network of exchanges to complete trades. In this way, Loopring does not replace existing exchange platforms, but rather aims to enhance them in a way that benefits everyone. If all exchanges were to use the Loopring protocol, there would be interconnectedness across the network.

It’s an interesting feature because it will allow for matches to be made at the best possible price even if the seller of the cryptocurrency that you want is not buying the one that you are selling. This means that even if your buys and sells don’t match up, you can still have access to the ‘best prices’ because this circular trading feature ensures that at some point, everyone will get payed in their desired currency. WHY TRADE CRYPTOCURRENCY AT ANY OTHER PRICE THAN THE BEST PRICE With decentralized currency, we need exchanges that will work for us, not against us, and the answer lies in the network that Loopring has created. By integrating order sharing, smart contracts, and ring matching, the startup has developed a protocol that ensures that traders have equal access to the best prices. The team at Loopring has managed to create a code that overcomes the constraints of traditional exchanges that inhibit traders from having access to the best prices. If all exchanges were to use the Loopring protocol, there would be interconnectedness across the network. Individual traders, brokers, and investors would no longer have to waste their time trying to find the best prices because Loopring would do that automatically through its signature features increasing profits all around. Make sure to follow the progress of the blockchain Startup that is finding you the best prices on your crypto trades by joining their reddit. 35

DECEMBER 2017

3 Ways Tron Can Use Blockchain to Transform

The Universe of Digital Entertainment The market total for digital entertainment products is currently valued at a cool trillion dollars. And as you read this, the industry is underway for a multitude of radical solutions through the implementation of blockchain technology. Some major services blockchain provides are facilitation of copyright law – which helps everyone, big and small, as well as fair content monetization for artists, gamers and musicians.

Many of them may soon earn a liveable wage off their craft for the first time due to the booming technology’s employment. Wrapped up in one convenient package, Tron is a blockchain-based digital entertainment system, and here are three avenues by by ICO CROWD which it can use blockchain to revolutionize the industry. 1. ONLINE GAMBLING Online gambling is the first online entertainment sector in need of a radical shift towards transparency. Through the use of blockchain, Tron could solve major trust issues users have with the industry, which is estimated to be worth $60 billion by 2020. There have been concerns floating around about fairness of game results and transparency in regard to payouts since gambling was introduced to the Internet in 1994. A user’s winnings are unverifiable with online casinos. Blockchain utilizes an automated, inalterable public ledger to record data. With cryptography, payments and game results are automated and free from control by a central power source. A transparent computation done on the blockchain proves fairness. Smart contracts can set game rules, record bets and pay applicable winnings. Technological self-regulation

will supersede 3rd party-verification of casino game legitimacy, which will save money for the casino. By removing the need weary users have long had for trust, players will have greater confidence in a system that’s infamous for the ‘house’ beating them. Players will also no longer get scalped by huge hidden transaction fees. Users can gamble anonymously and no longer have to wait around for two to five days to receive their winnings, nor do they have to deal with the intriguing fact that deposits to the system take five seconds and withdrawing earnings is intentionally designed to be a difficult process. With online betting worth about $50 billion in 2017, it’s long overdue for hushed algorithms and company practices to be made transparent to the gambling public. 2. MUSIC The digitization of music has long eclipsed the financial opportunities of a once-booming music industry. With the birth of the internet’s cataclysmic streaming and P2P services, the music industry was turned on its head and record labels have been floundering for a decent solution ever since. Fortunately, labels, licences and streaming platforms all intersect on the block-

DECEMBER 2017

chain and for the first time, we could see widespread, principled distribution of the money generated by digitized music (Factmag). Traditionally, labels, talent scouts, producers, songwriters and retailers or streaming companies have taken a massive piece of the pie, leaving musicians with the leftover crumbs. But with blockchain and a meritocratic marketplace like Tron, artists could take the reins of their projects and keep the majority of revenue. Software can be designed, opened, and tinkered with for user-innovation on items like creative licensing contracts. Anything licenced can receive instant remuneration. One example of ledger storage and smart contracts in practice would be if a sample, say, a sultry riff on the bari-sax is input to the registry and it gets used in 50 songs, and one of those songs becomes a hit. The creator would then be consistently wired micropayments, as per auto-execution of the smart contract. Blockchain’s appearance in the music industry could also disentangle the legal snafu of copyright bots and fight fraudulent copyright claims, the likes of which are seen nonstop on YouTube. A registry of samples and ownership would curb dust-ups between artists and their labels, like Paul McCartney’s fight with Sony that took place earlier this year, or the $150 million worth of lawsuits currently on Spotify’s hands (HBR, DMN). “It doesn’t take much of a leap of faith to suggest that this new paradigm, in which records of ownership are decentralised rather than siloed into individual private databases, could herald a major change in the perceptions of intellectual property”, writes Josh Hall of FactMag. ‘Peer 2 Peer’ interaction between musicians and fans is something that’s been missing for far too long. I think this would bolster feelings of connectedness and perhaps incentivize fans to put money directly in the pockets of our fa-

vourite artists, rather than pay for some conglomerate-controlled subscription service like Google Play or ITunes, knowing that after a year of tenacious streaming we wouldn’t even be giving them the change from our wallets. 3. ESPORTS eSports, known otherwise as online gaming, is worth about a tenth of the total digital entertainment value at $100 billion. It’s had a history of financial malpractice, in one example, withholding video game tournament winners’ prize money, and this problem harkens back to the once-centralized, now timeworn industry intermediaries (Medium). Well, gaming no longer needs a power source with the rise of blockchain’s automated smart contracts, which ensure payments will reach players prior

Wrapped up in one convenient package, Tron is a blockchain-based digital entertainment system. eSports, known otherwise as online gaming, is worth about a tenth of the total digital entertainment value at $100 billion.

to investing their time and money practicing for and marketing tournament events. Blockchain also eliminates trust and resources that were once required to distribute prize money in team tournaments amongst geographically diverse team members. Convertible digital assets like crypto-tokens have the power to transform user interactions and in-game functionality, too. The use of a secure, regulated marketplace for buying and selling earned digital goods, like rare in-game items, has already granted gamers the ability to liquidate their items (cash out) for the first time. Live Streaming and gaming go hand-in-hand. User-filmed gameplay and test videos help developers immensely by way of working out bugs and offering feedback. These videos get billions of hits a year on YouTube and on the Tron network they could earn a significantly higher portion of revenue without the corporation getting a cut. Tron’s entertainment ecosystem offers its user base the tools to develop open-software games and apps. Unlike proprietary software, the best minds can collaborate on ‘democratized’ open-source coding, which maximizes intellectual diversity and blockchain eliminates the need for lengthy paperwork when changing hands on the source code. With cross platform sharing, Tron offers users interconnectivity and currency convertible between online casinos and sports betting, gaming, social networks, live streaming and so much more. With its seemingly limitless applications, it’s no wonder Tron has surpassed Bitcoin and Ethereum to become to the first smart-contract blockchain protocol with 10 million wallet users globally. To read more about Tron and what’s on the horizon for this ground-breaking non-profit, visit their website at tronlab.com. 37

DECEMBER 2017

The Rise of the Decentralized Organization We’re hearing a lot about Bitcoin right now. It’s gaining attention because of its unfathomable price increases, its entrance into the mainstream financial system, and its everlasting debate about whether it’s a bubble or a bona fide new financial vehicle.

by KIRBY DARCY CEO & CTO and Pay Per Growth

But this article isn’t about Bitcoin. It’s about the incredible technology that powers Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. More specifically, it’s about the decentralized ethos that begins with Bitcoin, but that’s spreading across virtually every sector of business and commerce. As The Brookings Institute notes, “Bitcoin, the digital currency, has attracted both attention and controversy. But the most potent innovation is not the currency itself. Rather it’s the technology that undergirds bitcoin.” It’s known as the blockchain, and its applications are seemingly unimaginable. The blockchain is a decentralized computer network that is accounting for and securing the most valuable cryptocurrencies in the world. It’s distributed ledger technology is compared to the founding of the internet, and its use cases are as many, as developers can conceive. On the subject of the blockchain, The World Economic Forum notes that “Unlike the internet alone, blockchains are distributed, not centralized; open, not hidden; inclusive, not exclusive; immutable, not alterable; and secure.”

They may be the best thing happening to the internet at a time when the internet might be the best thing happening to us. One of the blockchain’s most notable features is smart contracts. These contracts are escrow-like services that are executed by computer code based on pre-determined stipulations. Tangentially, the blockchain enables the security and tokenization of information, only exposing a unique digital identifier. These two factors are dynamic features that allow for unbridled development in the digital age. More specifically, the blockchain is enabling a new type of organization that is tangibly equipped by the blockchain, but that is also philosophically aligned with the technology. Decentralized Organizations are arising as a new method for structuring and implementing a business. Decentralized Organizations, also known as Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), are organizations based on the blockchain and that rely on smart contracts and tokenized assets. While DAOs take many nuanced forms, DAOs are generally transaction-based organizations that depend on the blockchain to facilitate and secure financial or data transactions. Because of its many benefits, companies are finding creative and unique projects that can be implemented in a DAO structure.

THE BENEFITS OF DECENTRALIZED ORGANIZATIONS EFFICIENCY For many businesses, growth and expansion are continually hindered by slothful business practices. Seemingly mundane tasks like developing contracts, executing services, or conveying vital personal information can take days or even weeks to create and process. With the blockchain’s smart contracts and tokenized information, these actions become instantaneous. For example, a DAO performing income verifications for renting agencies could instantaneously complete this task and relay the information to the company with an automatic process using tokenized information and a smart contract. Before, this process could take days or weeks, but a DAO could complete it much more quickly. OPPORTUNITY When developing an organization, there are several limitations that can cause a project to fail. While some of them relate to the projects efficacy or the skill of its developers, many have nothing to do with the project at all. For example, oppressive government regimes can curtail organizations for arbitrary and unnecessary reasons. Moreover, this year has seen shocking displays of physical conflict around the world, which, if they happen to occur around an organization can destroy or diminish the organization’s capacity. DAOs give anyone with an internet connection an opportunity to develop and deploy an organization regardless of location, culture, or economic cir-

DECEMBER 2017

cumstances. When an organization is decentralized, it can stand on its merit and without the unhelpful influence of the world around it. INNOVATION The past year has seen tremendous intellectual and financial investment in the blockchain. Everyone from Microsoft to J.P. Morgan Chase are throwing their resources at this technology, and it’s likely to play a significant role in technological development in the next ten years. Therefore, DAOs are on the front lines of innovation, and as blockchain platforms continue to emerge and mature, they will be the most prepared to embrace the future of business and commerce. In short, today’s forward-thinking initiatives are tomorrow’s best practices, and blockchain technology along with decentralized organizations are characterized as such. GROWING PAINS Inevitably there are tradeoffs when making sizable shifts from traditional organizational philosophy. The blockchain is still a relatively new technology, and many of its problems have either yet to be discovered or are still without a wide-scale solution. Moreover, because DAOs are a disruptive force, there is a natural resistance to wide-scale adoption. Since it’s being compared to the early days of the internet, it will have to be embraced with its many flaws or shortcomings. Despite the growing DAO ecosystem, The Economist reports that “The technology today is nowhere near being able to support many of these applications.” Major ef-

forts are underway, particularly by the Ethereum project, to address issues with scalability, and, as with any emerging technology, it will take time before it is as robust as its possibilities promise. A CASE STUDY Aragon is a decentralized organization serving other decentralized organizations. Meta, I know. They are a community governed DAO that provides jurisdiction for DAO disputes. Operating on the Ethereum blockchain, Aragon utilizes smart contracts and community consensus to develop best practices and to resolve issues. The ICO, which launched the Aragon Network Token (ANT), raised more than $25 million, according to Reuters. With just a simple internet connection, companies

can provide employee oversight, execute payroll, and complete accounting. While Aragon is a compelling platform on its own, it is also noteworthy because of what it represents: a community of decentralized organizations striving together to proliferate the capability and functionality of the DAO structure. As more companies participate in this initiative, the DAO structure can become increasingly capable. It’s a cyclical pattern in which popularity produces capability again and again. Of course, it’s difficult to predict precisely how capable or wide-spread DAOs will be in the future. However, they are already ensuring that Bitcoin isn’t the only blockchain initiative demanding everyone’s attention. For more information on the Aragon Project visit www.aragon.one. 39

DECEMBER 2017

Blockchain For Humanity

with MELINDA WOOLF CEO Future of Humanity

With a background in entertainment, Melinda has developed content for industry greats and cutting-edge innovators globally in advertising, films & television as well as integrated platforms. In contributing her creative skills to use in service to the future of humanity, Melinda enjoys imagining the greatest ‘what’ that is possible, in applying real world, practical and actionable solutions in contribution to humanity and our planet’s greatest challenges. Melinda is a founding partner of FutureofHumanity.io, Contribution.Network, UHAI.io, 300x2050. org, Leaping.org and Blockchain for Impact.

Sovereignty, Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy –

Blockchain Solutions and the SDG’s for the Future of Humanity Blockchain and the emerging movement as the way forward for the future, brings with it even greater challenges that we could not have comprehended. How do we define sovereignty in a world where most people have given up so much of themselves, one small piece at a time that they don’t even realize or recognize that they have done so? This brings forward the challenge of imagining a culture which empowers an autonomous future while creating systems that support humanity as we wake up to our own sovereignty. The principles of Autonomy and Sovereignty as the way forward for the future is made possible by the promise of blockchain. The capacity for peer-topeer value exchange and transparency in establishing and enforcing agreements, are foundational elements for building strong communities. These are also foundational in establishing systems as social commons, that are ‘for the people by the people’ at a local and planetary scale. ‘Social commons’ existed in cultures like Ancient Rome and Greece, and there is now the opportunity to reevaluate and build a new collective common, not only the expected areas of art, culture and governance, but to also include health, media, technology and finance. UNITED NATIONS SDGS There is also the opportunity to create a shift in context in the way we address social impact and charitable organizations, such as the NGO’s and non-profits that focus on the UN Sustainable Development goals and the challeng-

“It died gradually, the victim of a thousand cuts. Representative democracy has been repeatedly harmed by corruption, corporate influence, media manipulation, ideological perversion, power of lobby groups, cronyism, erosion of transparency, and so much more until what we now live with is a shadow of its former self and a world away from its stated intention – to represent the will of the people. All the people. All the time.”

es they are looking to solve for humanity. If the move can be made away from the perspective in thinking of social impact as strictly charitable, ‘as a handout’, and instead begin to focus from the mindset of what’s sustainable as in business and as also financially sound, then ‘doing good’ begins to just make good business sense. Ultimately applying this ‘sustainable mindset’ also provides an invaluable addition to a future ‘social commons’ that can work for everyone as an integrated approach that might yet unify the desperate sectors and thinking. The tokenization of communities and community exchange combined with the application of sovereignty and autonomy of data, can also establish a thriving economy that builds towards a future universal income in a way that can positively impact the bottom line and ultimately the entire global economy. There is a plethora of emerging projects that are looking to solve the many facets of what’s possible and needed for blockchain, to truly be the way forward. In addition to solving the more obvious needs of technological advancements in speed and capacity, the need to address privacy and security concerns, there are also projects that focus wholly on the principles, ideas and systems that democratize our governance structures. Getting outside of focusing on the strictly financial models that is all the rage with cryptocurrencies for currency exchange, and instead really looking at the social and human aspects of what we need as new systems to support hu-

DECEMBER 2017

mans for the future. These address the questions of; with whom are we exchanging, what’s our voice and opinion within this process (as in voting) and ultimately the WHY we exchange especially in the context of how we engage collectively. All this tie directly into a topic that directly impacts all of our future.

MiVote is absolute in this way. My conversations with founder Adam Jacoby have been mind-blowing in just how far he stands in the space as a purist in democracy.

MiVote, is the not for profit side of Horizon State, which was previously featured as a follow up to the United Nations General Assembly THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY week in New York, is a unique decentralized deTrue democracy is not comprised of politics and cision-making platform, using blockchain techpolitical parties, but instead represents people nology to inform, empower and represent the as a way to have and use their voices towards voice of the will of the people. what and how we collectively want as governance and to be governed. Looking at democracy from this perspective of autonomy and sovereignty, brings forward the importance of the individual in relation to community, nation states and the world. The sovereignty of who we are as individuals and that as sovereign individuals we together make up sovereign communities. As sovereign communities we again together make up sovereign nation states, and ultimately our sovereign collective globally, in both physical and digital/virtual form. Continuing from the perspective in conjunction with solutions towards the United Nations SDG’s, a project that is a ‘purest at heart’ when it comes to democracy and the democratization of governance for all.

According to MiVote, genuine democracy is dead, or at least it has been on life-support for a long time now by the sounds of things… “It died gradually, the victim of a thousand cuts. Representative democracy has been repeatedly harmed by corruption, corporate influence, media manipulation, ideological perversion, power of lobby groups, cronyism, erosion of transparency, and so much more until what we now live with is a shadow of its former self and a world away from its stated intention – to represent the will of the people. All the people. All the time.” Adam Jacoby, founder of MiVote, refers to democracy as a 200-year failed beta test. Adam defines his vision of the future of democracy as; “A system where every voice is heard equally. Communities make better decisions driven by solutions orientation, rather than ideology. The majority position of an informed constituency determines policy. Politicians are again civil servants with a primary focus on the will of their constituency. Only when every voice is heard equally, people have self-determination by being part of the decision making conversation and our governmental system is held accountable to the peo-

DECEMBER 2017

ple they serve will humanity be best positioned to address our greatest challenges and deliver the greatest good. Genuine democracy is our birthright. Self determination is our birthright. Not the broken, dangerous and divisive version we have now but the next iteration built for the world we now share.” SPEAKING OF FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR ALL PEOPLE Democracy directly impacts all our futures. Our voices and voting rights are how we determine who leads our governments, what policies are voted into law, and ultimately a lot of how we live our lives locally, in our communities, nationally and as an international human family. Adam is a radical in standing for these principles. He and the board of MiVote made the decision to export the CTO and the entire Technical team who built MiVote into a new company, Horizon State, as a tech company that develops, expands and commercializes the technology of MiVote in support of democratizing businesses and institutions in the world. And because he did not want to mix up the sovereignty of MiVote with being a for profit business, Adam and team imagined and empowered this new company as the tech team to create a completely autonomous for profit blockchain company at arm’s length to the movement of MiVote so that the integrity and values of MiVote are never at risk and could retain their purity. They went as far as to ensure that Adam and anyone on the team at MiVote does not hold shares in Horizon State, and no one is allowed to be in a decision-making role in both companies simultaneously. NOW LET’S LOOK AT MIVOTE AND HOW IT APPLIES TO THE SDG’S. Both MiVote and its technical partner, Horizon State are closely aligned with SDGs 4,5,10 and 16. It’s honorable to witness projects that have a strong focus on any of the SDG’s much less four of them, especially when addressing such a key issue as democracy in relation to the future of government, voting and justice for all. Here’s an insight into how MiVote applies the principles of democracy to the SDG’s it is most aligned with, picking up where we left off with the SDG most related to democracy, SDG #16, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

SDG #16 Better decision making built on fact based consensus, reduces tribalism as well as adversarial and fear based politics. This makes for more harmonious and stable communities.

It helps to have a big imagination with a focus on looking towards solutions and collaborative partnerships that can apply the best of the principles of Blockchain technology to provide open sourced platforms as solutions. It’s a matter of imagining the solutions and agSDG #5 gregating the resources together in a way that The underlying values of MiVote include Equal- can create success. If we come together with ity of Opportunity and Meritocracy. This enthis context of looking at what is possible in sures that every person has equal opportunity this way, the future of humanity looks bright! to control their destiny and every person has an And this is the promise of what blockchain can equal say on every issue. bring towards establishing sovereignty and autonomy in establishing social commons and SDG #10 true democracy for the future. In addition to SDG #5, MiVote has built a world’s best practice policy formation process, THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY that includes minority constituencies in every AS A CROWDFUNDING GAME? policy position rather than just those that diDEMOCRATIZE.ME rectly relate to them. There is no government The Future of Democracy must surely be inclusystem that is more inclusive, empowering and sive of and engage more people than those who representative to every citizen than MiVote. are currently participating in politics. It must engage the vast majority of people who have SDG #4 not or do not vote or participate in the current Mivote looks to better inform and educate governmental structures worldwide. everyone on the information relevant to their individual and community decision making. In their ploy to establish the context of democracy into the everyday lives and social SDG #17 vernacular for more people, MiVote designed, CREATING STRATEGIC developed and recently launched an interacPARTNERSHIPS FOR SUCCESS tive Facebook crowdfunding game, DemocIt’s going to take a collective movement to ratize.me. The first of its kind, it was built tackle something as large as the future of Debased on the MiVote technology and prinmocracy, much less create solutions and equal- ciples as a fun way to engage people so that ities for all 17+ SDG’s. Partnerships towards they can begin to experience democracy and these goals are key. Strategic and collective ac- the impact it has on their everyday lives in a tion in pooling and sharing of resources is key. fun 7-day play experience.

ICOCROWD.FUND

DECEMBER 2017

Empowering Growth by Enabling Investment by CHRIS GEORGEN Chief Architect and President

In the world today, over 600 million people live in countries where the average daily income is less $3.10. For comparison, someone in the US working at a minimum wage job would earn that amount more than 18 times a day. Not only does this illustrate nearly unbelievable inequality across different countries, but this income discrepancy also represents perhaps the greatest opportunity for economic growth in the 21st century. Even increasing the average daily income to $10 a day across the world would grow the global economy by $6.6 trillion a year. And to put it simply, we created Topl to empower and help drive this growth. At Topl, we’re working to build the financial infrastructure necessary to power growth around the world. We believe that a key barrier to economic and therefore income- growth across developing countries is a shortage of well-placed investment in young and vibrant new enterprises. Right now, there are large amounts of excess capital held by investors and funds in wealthy countries that has for years have been seeking access to improved returns. While their enormous potential for broad-based economic growth should make developing countries more than attractive enough to garner sufficient capital, such investment has for the most part failed to materialize. Why is this?

In short, investing in developing countries is challenging, and investing in young, innovative companies in developing countries requires a level of expertise and experience that very few individuals or firms possess. Instead of robust, well-designed infrastructure to support sourcing, due diligence, and fund transfer, those seeking exposure to the most vibrant opportunities in developing countries must rely on ad hoc processes and a confused patchwork of connections. This state of affairs results, not only in an extremely high barrier to entry for investors, but also in excessive borrowing costs for businesses in these markets, with annual interest rates easily exceeding 40%. Now, it’s one thing to believe that the goal of facilitating investment into developing countries is one worth pursuing; it is something more to think that this goal is best achieved using a blockchain protocol. However, this is exactly the belief behind Topl. While it may seem bold to argue that the course of economic development across more than half the world can be substantially altered by a single technology, the blockchain, we gain confidence from the fact that our vision for Topl is an ideal use of this incredibly powerful new technology. This fit between Topl and blockchain technology becomes apparent when we look to Bitcoin. In this original vision of the blockchain, we see the creation of financial infrastructure that can remain trusted and secure without any centralized (or state) authority

or any prior relationship between participants. Conveniently for us, this, at a high level, exactly describes what is needed to facilitate low-cost and effective investment into developing countries where there are rarely clear enforcement mechanisms and trust is hard to come by. We began development of the Topl protocol seven months ago and in this short time our team has already made great strides. During this time, we have, among other things, developed an operational testnet, designed and implemented a robust smart contract system specially designed for investments, and built a strong network of partnerships to connect our protocol to investable businesses across countries like Colombia, South Africa, Ghana, India, and Fiji. If you’re interested in Topl’s goal of enabling low-cost and effective investment anywhere in the world to support the next wave of inclusive economic growth, I invite you to follow our progress on Github or join our Slack channel and let us know what you think. More importantly, watch out for announcements regarding our token presale, organized and supported by the amazing team over at Iconiq Lab, so you’re ready to participate in Topl’s Divine information markets, which we expect to be the first ever successful use of prediction markets to provide risk assessments for investments. For more information about Topl, visit www.topl.co 45

DECEMBER 2017

ASTON

Dreaming of a Paperless World

by KIM DONG HO <Aston Ecosystem> Reporter

The history of documentation began with the dawn of humanity. Mankind recorded information by painting drawings on cave walls or using hieroglyphs, after which it started printing them on paper, and now electronic documents have come into being with the advent of the Internet. Mr. Seung-gi Kim, CEO of CERTON, decided to take this one step further and launched ‘ASTON,’ a decentralized document verification platform that taps into advanced blockchain technologies and cutting-edge security solutions. Through their original technology,’the X-Chain,‘ Aston addressed the shortcomings of the traditional linear-structured blockchain by enabling stributed storage of documents using a multidimensional block structure. As such, Aston is now recognized as a global document verification platform that blurs existing regional and industrial boundaries. BACKGROUND Mr. Kim first built his business model around ‘electronic IOUs.’ An IOU, or promissory note, is a document written between the debtor and creditor when a monetary or non-mone-

tary loan takes place. As the document proves the exchange of cash or physicals, verifying or ensuring the credibility of the contents therein is critical. As he was seeking ways to acquire third party trust, Mr. Kim came across the blockchain technology. On a blockchain, transactions of cryptocurrencies are verified, the transaction history is disclosed to all participants, and cross-references are made every time a transaction takes place to prevent forgery or modification of information. For these reasons, the blockchain is referred to by some as a ‘public ledger for transactions.’ Drawn by such properties of the blockchain, Mr. Kim developed a proprietary technology named ‘X-Chain’ and unveiled the document verification platform created with that technology, Aston, to the world. FAST AND CREDIBLE DOCUMENT VERIFICATION PLATFORM Aston is a blockchain-based document verification platform. It was born from the idea that although a wide variety of electronic documents currently exist, verifications for the bulk of them are taking place offline. The goal is to verify

all of these documents online through Aston eventually. By utilizing the ‘XChain,’ the volume and speed of data processing have been substantially enhanced. ‘X-Chain‘ only asks for a consensus among related blocks in verifying information in a new block, which is a much advanced technology compared to that of the conventional blockchain which requires all blocks to reach a consensus. This new technology greatly enhances efficiency across the entire process of saving, accessing, issuing and transferring electronic documents. Another upside is that the technology can also be applied to a wide range of systems, making it easy to deploy and commercialize. Moreover, Smart-Pass-On, a security solution based on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and biometrics authentication (FIDO), provides unparalleled security to Aston users. A PAPERLESS WORLD Thus far, the engagement of a trusted third party was necessary for ensuring credibility in all transactions. Govern-

DECEMBER 2017

ment offices vouched for birth/death certificates, hospitals for prescriptions and diagnoses, and corporations for employment/retirement certificates. However, the conventional method of document verification that we took for granted is slowly being replaced by a process where all participants partake in the verification through an innovative distributed ledger technology, namely the blockchain.

Aston is a blockchainbased document verification platform.

Users can verify their identity and request documents via the ‘Aston Wallet’ app on their smartphones, whereas government offices and corporates use the ‘Aston Business Wallet’ to settle all the document-related requests.

The paper documents that people would issue from or submit to schools, hospitals and government offices will soon disappear off the face of the earth. People will no longer have to prepare something in advance to verify information when they go to see the doctor, a job interview, or register a newborn baby.

Certon has experience of developing Durian, a service for issuing and saving personal IOUs. Furthermore, it has forged a strategic partnership and consortium with 4C Gate, a developer of medical information-specialized solutions, and is currently building a platform for verifying medical information with around 90 large domestic hospitals involved. Alongside these efforts, it is also set to open Coinlink, a global crypocurrency exchange equipped with top-notch security solutions, by the end of November.

All the information is stored on the Aston platform, and a simple verification is all you need to ensure the credibility of the information. The entire process will take place on the Aston platform, and people will be able to access, use and modify the information whenever they wish, regardless of where they are and which device they use.

ASTON’S ECOSYSTEM Aston is largely comprised of 3 parts: Aston Gate, Aston Factory, and Aston ITP. Aston Gate is a software solution for collecting data stored on the database of institutions and corporations, and recording them on Aston. The OS will be compatible for both Windows and Mac, and is a cloud-based service

designed to be easy-to-use online. Aston Factory is an API access tool that enables users of corporations and government offices to share documents and access necessary information. It is a comprehensive infrastructure solution that covers the end-to-end process from verification to billing. Aston ITP is a global trade protocol sharing solution that compiles data on the format of trade documents for different countries to provide tailored services that best fit the system of each country. The system analyzes the language and terminology used in diverse industries and recommends the format for necessary trade documents via smart devices, safely and securely. TOKEN SALE The ‘ATC Token’ that will be sold during the Aston token sale will be used to cover all fees incurred on the Aston platform (facility fees, issuance fees, storage fees, etc.), and can also be traded on global cryotocurrency exchanges including Coinlink. The pre-sale will be held from the 6th to 10th of December, and the crowdsale from the 11th to 17th of December. 47

DECEMBER 2017

BEZOP

A New Breed of E-commerce

BEZOP E-COMMERCE, WITH BLOCKCHAIN BAKED RIGHT IN Bezop is an E-commerce company with blockchain baked right in. We’re an E-commerce company that’s built from the ground up with five key components - decentralized order by management (DOM), the Bezop netDERYCK JONES CTO work, our proof-of-order system, our proof-of-delivery system, and our Bezop smart contracts and promises. Bezop is based on the same proof of work system as Ethereum, which will be further upgraded to our full proofof-order system. Miners won’t need to spend computation time to mine blocks; instead, they will confirm orders on the network. At Bezop, it is our mission to bring an elegantly designed, easy to use, E-commerce system to the masses enabling anyone to go online and sell their wares through the use of blockchain technology; and, doing so with the comfort of knowing that their business transactions are safer, faster, fully transparent and more secure than anything before. The Bezop market runs on blockchain with a native erc20 protocol token called a Bezop. Bezop works as an incentive layer on top of the blockchain which computes the proof-of-order for any transaction. 48

Bezop is especially useful for decentralizing payments, building and running distributed E-commerce portals and implementing smart contracts. THE POSSIBILITIES OF BLOCKCHAIN Bezop E-commerce is built from the ground up with blockchain baked right into our program. This offers powerful new promises to the user – the promises of blockchain. On the blockchain, users can opt into sharing their data willingly while collecting cryptocurrency every time their data is bought or sold. Through the use of Bezop smart contracts, if information isn’t used for its stated and intended reasons, violators can be punished. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies will end up doing for ecommerce and advertising just as much as the early Internet did for commerce and advertising. With blockchain built right into the fabric of our system, Bezop will change the world in terms of E-commerce and advertising.

2 Payment protections and decentralization; Only when an item has been delivered and the delivery company sends the confirmation message, only then is the money released to the merchant’s wallet. 2 End-to-end security; development of new encryption and cryptographic methods 2 End-to-end transparency

BLOCKCHAIN POSSIBILITIES ARE BOUNDLESS – THINK OF… 2 the disappearance of the typical 2.9% credit card transaction fees 2 envision brands being able to directly reward their loyal customers with digital cash that the customer can spend on anything anywhere. 2 picture the customers being able to earn a few pennies for viewing ads, and then a few more for clicking on the ads, and finally, earn even more when they buy from the ads. 2 imagine a blockchain referral program where for every new customer referred to your site, programPROMISES OF BLOCKCHAIN IN mable digital money on the blockECOMMERCE chain could flow to those referring 2 Transparency you new customers. 2 Removal of the men in the middle 2 think of the possibilities for an af2 Distributed networks and end-to-end filiate program – like Amazon Assotraceability and visibility ciates or JVZoo where all of the re-

DECEMBER 2017

Through the use of Bezop smart contracts, if information isn’t used for its stated and intended reasons, violators can be punished. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies will end up doing for ecommerce and advertising just as much as the early Internet did for commerce and advertising.

Participants willing to support the development of the Bezop Project can do so by sending Ether currency to the designated address.

With Bezop E-commerce, merchants will usher in a new age of merchandising and advertising that is both robust and secure.

porting for publishers could exist out in the open and on the chain. Affiliates receive real-time money for every purchase they refer from your content, blogs, articles, and products, all baked in as part of a smart contract which means content providers get paid immediately. 2 think of the logistics in this system and the power it would bring to the whole process. THE BEZOP MISSION At Bezop, it is our mission to bring an elegantly designed, easy to use, e-commerce system to the masses enabling anyone to go online and sell their wares through the use of block chain technology; and, to do so with the comfort of knowing that their business transactions are safer, faster, and more secure than anything that’s come before and accomplished through the creation of our rainbow cypher. THE BEZOP CROWDSALE Pre-launch begins on December 20th and extends to midnight on December 22nd. At that time, the pre-launch will end and the crowd-

sale will begin. The crowdsale will run from December 23rd to January 23rd. The Bezop crowdsale and the corresponding token creation process will be issued by Bezop Blockchain Ltd, a UK Limited Liability Company, and will be organized around smart contracts running on Ethereum. Participants willing to support the development of the Bezop Project can do so by sending Ether currency to the designated address. By doing so, they will be rewarded with Bezop Tokens (BEZ) at the rate of 1929 BEZ per 1 ETH that are sent instantly to their wallet. THE SOFT CAP The accepted currency during the ICO is Ether (ETH). The token creation period will last sixteen (16) days if the softcap is not achieved sooner. If the softcap is achieved before the sixteen (16) day period, additional contributions will be accepted for 120 hours in case some contributors missed the short window for BEZ creation. FAILURE TO MEET CAPITAL GOAL If the Crowdsale campaign does not reach its minimal capital goal of $421,000 (fixed on

1400 ETH), then all funds will be returned automatically to the BEZ holders by the Ethereum smart contract. THE HARDCAP The token creation has a hard cap, which upon achieving, the token creation process will stop, and no further contributions will be accepted. The hardcap amount is 50,320 ETH. Any tokens that are not sold during the Crowdsale will be destroyed automatically by the smart contract. USHERING A NEW AGE OF E-COMMERCE AND ADVERTISING Bezop’s success in the marketplace will be defined by a new age of E-commerce signified by a torrent of new merchants able to realize their dreams on an intelligent system delivered on the blockchain where the user is able to quickly and easily configure and display their merchandise, securely sell to their customers with the comfort of knowing that the entire process is transparent and secure from end-to-end and completely unburdened by costly middlemen. With Bezop E-commerce, merchants will usher in a new age of merchandising and advertising that is both robust and secure. 49

DECEMBER 2017

BRAINCITIES Data forgery, The Biggest Threat to AI & the Digital Economy Today’s Biggest threat to AI and the digital economy is data forgery and Blockchain may help solve it. According to Vernon Turner, senior vice president at IDC, by 2025, approximately 80 billion devices will be connected to the Internet genérating over 180 zettabytes of data. by KAZÉ A. ONGUENE CEO

All the data generated by the IoT will dramatically expose private and sensitive information to attackers. The gap between the volume of data produced today that requires a certain level of security and the amount of data secured is huge, and this gap will grow 100 times. A major threat in an AI-powered world driven by data. Approximately 11 billion devices are connected to the Internet today. We are already familiar with digital assistants, self-driving cars are coming, humanoid robots are popping up in every bank, 4D factories are being built all

over the world relying on the data produced by their sensors and their environments. The figure should triple to 30 billion by 2020, before tripling again to 80 billion five years later. 90% of all data created by this interoperable and interconnected network of networks will require some level of security, but less than 50% will be secured (30% today). Here is the problem, how to create a trustful and sustainable society if the information used by people and machines is not 100% reliable? It is not only about securing data storage. It is about creating a secured stream for the data fueling AI and other autonomous systems to guarantee the integrity and the resilience of the data used for services, decision making, driverless cars, healthcare, energy production, manufacturing, education, finance, cryptocurrency analysis and many more...

“Current solutions focus on keeping hackers outside critical systems, but attacks like the one that took down the power grid in Ukraine clearly show that sophisticated attackers will eventually penetrate these systems,” said Bergerbest-Eilon. “Once attackers breach a system, they must blind the operators and protection mechanisms by falsifying data in order to inflict severe and long-lasting damage.” Thus we need to rethink Data Forgery Protection (DFP) as it is the key to keep autonomous devices and AI secured, accurate and relevant. WHY SHOULD IT BE A CONCERN FOR EVERY AI FOCUSED STARTUP? Well, AI eats data. Poor food means weak AI, irrelevant analysis and useless outcomes. Data integrity is key. In fact, IDC estimates that by 2025, nearly 20% of the data in the global datasphere will be critical to our daily lives and nearly 10% of that will be hypercritical.

DECEMBER 2017

We all agree that AI is reshaping the world in an unprecedented way as it leverages the power of the data contained in business siloed databases and peoples daily life, to uncover meaningful stories. It brings the why, the what and the when. What would happen if the data were falsified. Would a recruiter make the right choice? Would investors choose the right business opportunities, would the judges sentence the right person? Building a sustainable and trustful society requires AI and context-aware recommendation systems using data sources decorrelated from the current www soup. At BRAINCITIES Lab, we are developing a new generation of artificial intelligence. The first autonomous system with judging and empathy capabilities. BRAINCITIES is a predictive and subjective autonomous system that can identify a pattern within a context. Our technology relies on a live data streaming platform using Blockchain key properties to secure and retrace data integrity. Our DATACHAIN aims to fill a security breach in the data storage and data streaming industries. We provide a secured decentralized

data storage solution making data injection impossible, to ensure point to point data integrity. Our solution is designed for a data-driven world where AI will have to process Zettabytes of data in real time to provide accurate and relevant context-aware recommendations.

Current solutions focus on keeping hackers outside critical systems, but attacks like the one that took down the power grid in Ukraine clearly show that sophisticated attackers will eventually penetrate these systems” “Once attackers breach a system, they must blind the operators and protection mechanisms by falsifying data in order to inflict severe and long-lasting damage.” BERGERBEST-EILON

OUR MISSION: 2 Protecting the data used by AI from data forgery. 2 Shaping people and cities for the AI-driven data farmers era. 2 Making use of robots as a platform and alternative to the workforce global automation. ABOUT BRAINCITIES Founded in 2013, BRAINCITIES is a french startup based in Paris 9th. The company is specialized in Artificial Intelligence and Data science. BRAINCITIES bridges the gap between Humans and their ever-changing environments by making ecosystems like Cities and Companies Smarter With its Human-Supportive Artificial Intelligence. 51

DECEMBER 2017

Venture Financing 3.0: Startup’s Newest Opportunity

I’ve been there before, standing in front of a room of VC’s, pitching my business idea. I remember the uncertainty, the judgement and the anguish of every “no” I ever received. Attracting investment to any new business idea, even the very best ones, is a painstaking process for any entrepreneur. Luckily, new opportunities for financing are changing the game. 52

by PATRICK LOWRY MBA & CPA CEO Iconiq Lab

For decades, every entrepreneur has been told to “find a VC” as if it was the only opportunity for their business idea to succeed, even with the clear inefficiencies in the system. Crowdfunding recently began to change this mentality, but the newest alternative for financing, an Initial Coin Offering or Token Sale (“ICO”), presents the first real opportunity to disrupt the venture financing ecosystem by supplanting equity with tokens as the primary financing instrument for startups. I call this Venture Financing 3.0. An ICO is a means in which a startup issues a cryptocurrency, or token, as a source of capital in a crowdsale. Startups receive financing to develop, optimize or scale their businesses, and

crowdsale participants benefit from the utility of the coin or token issued. In 2017, ICOs have become the preferred method of financing for blockchain and crypto companies, with the total amount of financing surpassing the amount VC’s have invested in similar companies. It is clear to see why this has become the preferred fundraising method for many startups, with potential benefits including: 2 Access to financing through the deep, liquid pockets of the crypto markets with roughly $620 billion in market capitalization at the time of this writing 2 A more efficient means to raise funds, allowing for more time to focus on business development

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2 The ability to maintain strategic control over the venture 2 The empowerment, through a digital financing mechanism, of disenfranchised entrepreneurs who are geographically displaced or lacking the network and resources to fundraise on their own While the benefits are intriguing, an ICO is not for every startup. There must be a tokenizable aspect of the business model that provides some form of utility to the token holders. Aspects of new, innovative business models which can be tokenized include services rendered, access to exclusive content, enhanced community engagement or even profit-sharing rights in some instances. Startups should be encouraged to deepdive into their business models and assess if tokenization makes sense, then explore an ICO in parallel with traditional financing methods.

While the benefits are intriguing, an ICO is not for every startup. There must be a tokenizable aspect of the business model that provides some form of utility to the token holders.

Many startup management teams are skeptical of the ICO markets; scams and fraudulent ICOs have burned crowdsale participants in the past year. At Iconiq Lab, the overwhelming skeptical feedback we receive from startup applicants to our ICO accelerator program is they do not wish to be seen as potential scams or money-grabs, such as other â&#x20AC;&#x153;projectsâ&#x20AC;?. This is encouraging for us to hear, as viable, sustainable business models are beginning to explore this space and adopt tokens as a financing instrument. Coupling this mentality towards responsible fundraising through ICOs with the inevitable regulation of the crypto markets, we at Iconiq Lab are bullish on the ability of tokens to disrupt equity as the primary means of financing for early-stage companies, and the long-term sustainability of the crypto markets. 53

DECEMBER 2017

GOLDEA

Set to Revolutionize Investment in the Gold Mining Industry!

GOLDEA is a revolutionary Gold Mining Platform which solves the historic problem of how to democratize investment in an industry traditionally only open to major investors with high barriers to entry. Up until now this market has only been open to 0.5% of the world population, which considering it is a market of US$1 trillion with an annual growth of 2% in 2016 alone, makes this perhaps one of the most overlooked markets in the ICO sphere. We have of course all heard of paper gold investment or direct investment into bullion even via the use of online 'vaults' but this only enables investors to benefit from the increase in the price of gold or of an associated gold backed paper asset. By obtaining by ownership in a mine you are not only DRAĹ KO JOCIÄ&#x2020; Founder and CEO benefiting from the sale of the gold produced on the international market 54

but also of the ability to literally produce gold and as such to be in control of a proportion of the gold supply. This is literally the first crowd-funded gold mining ICO with the potential to act as a model for other gold mining projects to come. GOLDEA has already reached its Small Cap investment of US$1.5 million, and is set to reach the next target on time enabling implementation of the next phase of our roadmap. GOLDEA in accordance with the requirements of all mining companies operating in the Republic of Mali has carried out an extensive Feasibility Study, the scientific test results of which have been analyzed by two independent laboratories in Canada and Austria confirming gold deposits in the area in which we have mining rights which is located only 35km from Randgold's Morila Gold Mine one of the biggest mines in Mali, with over US $140 million invested.

GOLDEA has a team stretching from Dubai, Europe and Africa who include experts in their fields, geologists, lawyers, financial and legal specialists as well as some of the key players in the world of ICO funding. Our main geologist is Professor Dr.Uros Herlec an expert in the field of mine exploration having 27 years of experience in the exploration and implementation of mining projects in the African continent. GOLDEA is uniquely positioned among recent ICOs and was recently named as 1 of the Top Ten ICOs at Hong Kong's Crypto Bazar. By combining the best of fintech: Ethereum 20 Standard tokenized ownership enables Goldea to offer great deals for early investors and to implement its business plan on a phased basis. Ethereum unlike Bitcoin enables the use of Smart Contracts, a concept which has been fully employed at GOLDEA. Smart Contracts enable the investor to have voting rights on key decisions made by the company

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based on the number of GEA (Gold Exploitation Asset) tokens they hold, just as a normal shareholder would and to benefit from a share of the profits automatically. You can track your order and see your wallet in the GOLDEA Investor's Dashoard. GOLDEA combines hard assets with blockchain technology, uniquely minimizing the risk associated with both asset classes. If volatility were to hit Ethereum or Bitcoin for example, your risk would be hedged against the value of the gold produced and sold on the international commodities market. This is not simply an investment into a cryptocurrency but enhances its power to enable ownership of real assets. Taking part in the GOLDEA community also gives everyone the possibility to own a crypto-asset of value that cannot be zero, to democratize the gold mining industry and to contribute to the struggle against poverty, as part of the proceeds are reserved for our charity program enabling people in the local community in Mali to have jobs and receive funding in such projects as Hospitals or Schools.

GOLDEA combines hard assets with blockchain technology, uniquely minimizing the risk associated with both asset classes. If volatility were to hit Ethereum or Bitcoin for example, your risk would be hedged against the value of the gold produced and sold on the international commodities market.

GOLDEA recognises that investors need to be 100% certain that their investment is secure and it is for this reason that we have taken the step of registering as a business in the Ajman Free Zone of the United Arab Emirates, your investment is in turn 100% anonymous. Periodical reports from your GOLDEA Investor Dashboard, newsletters via email as well as Live Facebook Video Chats with our CEO Drasko Jocic, and social media postings will keep you up to date on our progress. You can also talk to us in real-time via our Telegram Group where our team of Specialist Technical Support Staff are ready to answer any questions you may have. If you are interested in investing you can start now from a minimum investment amount of only 1.0 ETH. The earlier you begin, the more extra GEA Tokens we will allocate to you as a bonus during our ICO phases. Go to Goldeo.io now to find out more and get started in the first blockchain based gold-mining ICO! 55

DECEMBER 2017

CRYPTONAUT Winning Ways: A Crypto-Investment Fund Led by Champions

by MAXIMILIAN VON WALLENBERG

Everybody wishes they had bought a bunch of Bitcoin a year or so ago. Don’t you? The cryptocurrency’s meteoric rise in 2017 has prompted some central bankers to start pointing at the tulips, warning of Dutch-style speculative mania. Many other central bankers, however, have embraced cryptocurrencies as part of a cashless, financial revolution. At the very least, Bitcoin (BTC) is now being accepted at the very highest level, after the Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) stated in September 2017 that central banks could no longer afford to ignore the growth of cryptocurrencies. In fact, suggests the BIS, central banks should even consider issuing their own digital currencies. Bitcoin may have its critics, often amongst those who have most to lose in a revolution, but most analysts would agree on just how difficult it is to value Bitcoin and other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH). It is simply not possible to say at present whether prices represent a bubble or not, and what is

the true, fundamental value of Bitcoin, Ethereum and the likes. The task is made all the more difficult by knowing how investors tend to move in herds. Stampedes, typically triggered by a few individuals and driven by base instincts of greed and fear, might destroy value as quickly as it was ever built: a phenomenon known otherwise as volatility.

and falling angels, but one thing is for sure: these markets are here to stay, and growing fast.

So where exactly do you invest? And what trading strategies should you deploy? In the more mature equity markets, there are any number of portfolio investment strategies. Institutional investors might choose to place some monTHE CHALLENGE ey with an ‘active’ fund Everybody If it is difficult to value high manager - one who offers profile cryptocurrencies like wishes they had a particular style of investBitcoin and Ethereum, how bought a bunch ment and is tasked to outdifficult must it be to value a certain benchof Bitcoin a year perform assets in the broader crypmark. Or they might play or so ago. to-markets? These marit safe, save costs and put Don’t you? kets embrace highly innomoney into a ‘passive’ fund vative start-ups that deploy - one that tracks the perforblockchain-based, corporate crypto-to- mance of a stock index like the S&P kens or crypto-coins to facilitate their 500. Or they might even invest in an business models. Located further away exchange-traded fund, which effecfrom the main street, the crypto-martively commoditises index-tracking kets already number over 1,000 listed funds into tradeable hedging instrucoins across 100 global crypto-exchang- ments. Retail investors have similar es, valued at over US$500 billion. There opportunities, through the range of will be winners and losers, rising stars mutual and retail investment funds.

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Either way, there are plenty of ready-made options out there, and plenty of news flow and data to construct and manage a bespoke portfolio. The crypto-markets are starting to develop similar tools, techniques and entry points as the stock markets: already, there are a handful of crypto-indices and crypto index funds to be found. But so far, institutional investors and hedge funds have shied away. A comparative lack of liquidity may be one thing keeping them away, but the crypto-markets also exhibit notoriously inefficient price-finding mechanisms, with very little history, news flow, or other helpful data available. For the moment, crypto-asset prices are driven more by market sentiment than by fundamentals or sustained trading strategies. CRYPTONAUT: A TOURNAMENT-BASED INVESTMENT FUND ECOSYSTEM Now is the time to establish a new kind of investment fund, equipped to take on the difficult challenge of investing in the crypto-markets: Cryptonaut. Cryptonaut is a fund whose investment approach will deploy the very best of active fund management, together with the very best of algorithmic-driven strategies. An investment fund with an in-house system that creates its own, unique set of trading data with which to forecast crypto-asset prices effectively. A system that incentivises market participants to reveal their true expectation of future current and future asset price movements, all based on trading tournaments and modelling chal-

lenges in which tens of thousands of traders and quants compete for rewards.

in-game features and a wealth of institutional data feeds. Traders and quants will compete in tournaments that are tied to a financial reward pool paying out monthly ETH stakes worth up to US$20,000 in rewards per contest. This reward pool will be financed by the proprietary Cryptonaut Flagship Fund, besides various cash flows generated by the Cryptonaut platform, all underpinned by a reserve liquidity pool.

Sounds ridiculously difficult? Actually, the tournament-based model for Cryptonaut has already been tried and tested through the creation of UpTick, one of the world’s largest, gamified stock market communities. UpTick’s mobile app launched in 2015 as a gamified social stock market, focused on competitive trading tournaments. UpTick’s user base has since grown to Actually, the include over 150,000 traders who tournamentcompete in a wide variety of conbased model tests. To date, over 2,000 stock trading competitions have taken for Cryptonaut place, typically involving 300-500 has already traders each. This trading behaviour been tried and has been analysed to predict traders’ performances, as well as supply- tested through ing data for the testing of an algothe creation rithmic trading strategy. of UpTick,

one of the

The proprietary Cryptonaut Flagship Fund and a variety of other tokenized funds which the Cryptonaut team plan to launch in the future, will make and manage investments based exclusively on strategies derived from the Cryptonaut platform’s various trading tournaments, modelling challenges and behavioural data. As such, the Cryptonaut Flagship Fund promises to be the world’s first ever investment fund to utilize a game-based investment strategy.

The same team which built UpTick is behind the Cryptonaut pro- world’s largest, ject. Valuable lessons learnt on Up- gamified Tick have been brought across to Cryptonaut has been accepted as stock market Cryptonaut: how best to approach one of the first partners of prestigcommunities. risk control, incentivisation, comious ICO incubator Iconiq Lab who munity-building and functionalihave been instrumental in ideating ty. Cryptonaut will comprise a similar, comthe token model, crafting the advisory board petitive platform to UpTick, but specifically as well as attracting lead investors to the prodesigned for crypto-trading, linked to an inject. vestment fund and all powered by a newly issued Cryptonaut Platform Token (CNAT). CNAT TOKEN SALE The CNAT tokens will grant access rights to The Cryptonaut Platform Token (CNAT) sale prize tournaments and challenges, premium commences on February 12, 2018.

DECEMBER 2017

DICE The Cryptocurrency ICO That’s Revolutionising ICOs

Unless you’ve been living under a centralised rock for the majority of 2017, you’ll be well aware of the recent boom we’ve seen in ICOs (initial coin offerings). by DAN J. ARMSTRONG

The trend, triggered by the remarkable success of the DICE DICE is a crypto startup that youthful cryptoprodigy Vitalik offers a cost-effective alternative to ICOs. Meet the In- Buterin’s itial Dice Offering: an IniEthereum, has tial Dice Offering (or IDO spouted a fierce, The success of the startups once they for short) is a new proposed unregulated, have passed their ICOs, though, is ansolution for the heavy upother story. Granted, plenty of startups front costs that entities face competitive are succeeding and thriving in the bull when running ICOs to fund battlefield The trend, triggered by the remarkable success of the youthful crypto-prodigy Vitalik Buterin’s Ethereum, has spouted a fierce, unregulated, competitive battlefield in which startups (some of which are terrifically unique, some of which are not so unique) are seeing tremendous funds being raised left, right and centre.

market we’re currently experiencing, but there are also plenty that aren’t doing so well running parallel to the victorious. From an investor’s standpoint, to heighten chances of healthy ROIs, you must identify the sheepdogs and weed out the herd of sheep. Finding startups with unique concepts and solutions can be a winning way to do so. So, let’s find just that: today, I’ll be introducing you to a forthcoming 58

under-development cryptocurrency that’s preparing to deliver one of the hottest ICOs of 2018 to crypto investors across the globe. One of its primary (and most intriguing) purposes ties into the concept of ICOs themselves.

their projects. The IDOs will run on DICE’s own network, an alternative split-ledger ecosystem which consists of DICE (Digital Certificate) units. Instead of forking out substantial amounts of capital to launch an ICO, startups will be able to enrol in a self-sufficient method for raising capital that the team

behind DICE are coining “Investment Mining”. As well as fixing the issues that ICOs present, DICE will also be used as a store of value — one that is taking promising steps in the direction of enabling widespread use and does not require any special type of digital wallet! A wallet in the DICE ecosystem can take any form of storage in which units are kept, i.e. a USB flash drive, an email inbox or a physical wallet as printed notes. Yes, you read that correctly — printed notes. This means the DICE cryptocurrency can be compared more closely to hard cash than any other cryptocurrency can to date, as it can be traded, stored and spent in a physical form as well as a digital form. INVESTMENT MINING Solving the upfront-cost issues of traditional ICOs

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would be a huge achievement. DICE looks to pull it off by allowing fundraisers to become an “Operator” of a cluster of miners. Each miner in the global DICE ecosystem is associated to at least one operator and requires each DICE unit it mines to be verified by an operator (subsequent to being verified by the miner itself) before it is deemed part of the global DICE ecosystem. The operator’s value increases as its cluster mines new DICE units. This means that DICE provides an opportunity for businesses (although operators can be any form of entity i.e. an organisation, a family or simply an individual) to generate value by creating their own form of money/DICE unit, which is how IDOs come about. HOW THE IDOS WORK Avoiding as much jargon as possible, let’s look at the IDO process from a simplified approach: an operator issues a currency (effectively a white-label DICE) and the clusters of miners associated with the operator are rewarded with this currency when they provide DICE units that are verified by the operator.

and there is no limit to how many operators a miner can invest in.

As imagined, this verification system makes the DICE ecosystem considerably tougher to penetrate than traditional blockchain ecosystems. Security is a big, big deal for DICE and their unique decentralised network.

DICE essentially turns every company into its own country — the cluster of miners being the citizens and the operators being the government. That’s perhaps an easier way to think FEES? about it. Each operator can even design the While the operator incurs expenses for supnote for their currency, how cool is that?! porting their cluster of miners, the users sending/spending or receiving DICE units TRANSACTIONS are not hit with any transaction fees. This is When a DICE unit is exchanged — either for a huge competitive edge over other cryptoservices, goods or other DICE units — the deal currencies and ecosystems. must be verified by the operator of which the unit was mined for. Slightly different to the £12 transaction fees Bitcoin is currently working to reduce, don’t Let’s see an example: you think? In this scenario, we’ll have a miner sending a DICE unit (let’s refer to these as coins) to a From the non-existent fees to the power user whom is providing a service to the miner. of investment mining and IDOs, this is all When the miner, who owns the original copy highly exciting stuff for the crypto world. of the data, sends the coin to the user, the op- I cannot wait to see what else 2018 has in erator oversees the transaction as a witness. store for us.

The operator and the miner both work collaboratively to update and verify that the user is now the new owner of the coin. Here, we should visualise the miner and user shaking The more DICE units that are mined on behalf hands and the operator acting as a witness. It of the operator, the dearer the capitalisation is only under this witness’ eyes that the deal of the operator becomes; the miners are gener- can go through as a verified transaction, leavating value for the business(es) of their choice. ing the coin in the user’s possession. The user Thus, the miners are investors in the operator is now the verified owner of the coin.

Information on DICE is limited at present during these early stages. The early bird catches the worm, though, so keep your eyes peeled for new information and updates. Hopefully we’ll get an ICO date soon. You’ll be able to find out more once the DICE website http://dice.foundation goes live. Stay tuned; stay decentralised! 59

DECEMBER 2017

TSIO

How Transport and Technology is Converging Into a New Internet of Mobility

As revolutionary as the move from horses to the internal combustion engine, technological advances are yet again set to transform transport beyond recognition. New flexible and sharing economy services are already blurring the lines between private and by public transportation. SIMON HO Artificial Intelligence and electric battery technology will drive down production, running costs of vehicles, at the same time making them more accessible to young people and those who cannot drive. As whole industries find themselves converging into the same space, new supply chains and business models are emerging. Venture Capital money is coming in, such as the $1bn raised to date by Ofo bike-sharing company, that is subsidising areas of our transport system that would typically be picked up by local government. Yet current infrastructure and data for travel booking, payment and information remains locked away in silos. It means little interoperability between modes of transport, across borders or between competing transport companies. For travelling customers, this means having to use multiple 60

apps and wasted time trying to “manually” sew together their journey, leaving the idea and desire for a seamless mobility experience a far-off dream.

Certainly, in

bility and travel through a single account, that is owned and operated by themselves – not by a centralised system giant (e.g. Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook etc).

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) the UK, we is a market valued at $1 tril- are seeing a This includes bringing the lion by 2030, that empowcustomer back into control combination ers users to make individof managing rights and acof Uber and eual journeys and/or overcess to their travel behavall mobility lifestyle choices bikes help many iour data. This mobility acthat involve combinations consumers ditch count isn’t passive either, of flights, ferries, private it automates the creation their 2nd car. car, shared mobility servicand execution of underlyes and public transport. It is ing multi-party commercial being driven by an observed trend for agreements for integrated service ofconsumer markets moving away from fers, aggregated directly to the customa desire to own cars to being in control er- across the full spectrum of public of their digitalised lives – a trend epit- transit, automotive, airlines and sharomized by the popularity of Uber in ing platforms. In a future where autoncities around the world. Certainly, in omous cars have their own legal and fithe UK, we are seeing a combination nancial existence, it enables the AI of of Uber and e-bikes help many conthe car to negotiate with surrounding sumers ditch their 2nd car. infrastructure for the services it needs to remain fuelled and roadworthy. TSio Protocol positively disrupts the transportation and travel industries Through engagement with the mobiliwith decentralised blockchain-based ty industry we have established the folmobility account infrastructure for lowing design objectives for TSio Propeople and cars. This will enable contocol. sumers (and in time, autonomous • Create inter-operability and roamcars) to manage and pay for their moing capability for mobility accounts

DECEMBER 2017

• • • •

between transport operators, modes and across borders. Reduce the costs for transport providers requiring real-time settlement of high volumes of low-value payments. Provide low network latency, fast verification and compatibility with low power devices. Prevent fraud, protects data and resists denial of service attacks. Manage the rights and responsibilities of highly portable personal data.

We are designing the TSio token to equate to a mobility account, that is at any point in time tethered to a user ID, a geographic location and holding device. This interaction between the digital and physical domain provides a helpful mathematical constraint for the intended use case of managing the movement of people and goods. It enables high volumes of low value transactions and fast validation processes in a secured network environment.

For wider eco-system support and adoption, we are supported by the TravelSpirit Foundation, based in Manchester, UK, who already have a membership of 50+ organisations and an emerging global presence in Portland (Oregon), Florida, Washington, Toronto, Turin, Cape Town, Singapore and Hong Kong. We are also applying to become associate members of the Hyperledger Project.

We are shamelessly ambitious – nothing less than an Internet of Mobility that challenges assumptions that the development of new There is now a vast array of new and developmobility models should be proprietary, moing variants of Distributed Ledger technolonopolistic, and closed to outsiders. Through gies, some being developed without specific TSio Protocol and TravelSpirit we are buildapplications or industries in mind, others deing a community that believes that an open, veloped for specific industry use-cases, with integrated, connected, multi-modal transport some risks of duplicated efforts and the devel- We plan to engage and help grow this eco-sys- system provides the path to sustainable and opment of new data siloes. tem through designing the TSio token to not equitable transportation for all. only function as a mobility account, but to As an industrial use-case led project, we plan act as an eco-system community token. We To find out more and engage please: to exploit, and influence the evolution of, exhave adopted a concept developed by Outlier isting low-level protocols. The TSio Protocol Ventures, called the “Minimum Viable Com1. read our whitepaper http://travellayer will be situated between the lower levmunity” (MVC) for our ICO. This means that spirit.foundation/resources/whitepael distributed ledger protocols and higher level the cash proceeds of our ICO will be dividper-6-tsio-protocol-the-internet-of-mobileco-system applications and services. ed between open-source development of the ity/ TSio Protocol and R&D by our MVC members To achieve the design objectives above we have to adapt their existing products to interface 2. register your interest https://tsioprotocol. identified an opportunity to run the “nodes” with the TSio Protocol and to pilot the techcom/ of our decentralised network on connected ve- nology on their customer base. Our MVC inhicles, fuel pumps, traffic signals and camercludes MVPs in personal data storage, de3. join an open dialogue and Q&A https:// as, local ticket validator machines and smartmand-responsive transport and wearable www.linkedin.com/pulse/tsio-protophones. technologies. col-whitepaper-internet-mobility-si-ho/ The success and scaled adoption of the opensource TSio Protocol core layer will be dependent upon achieving success for our eco-system partners, who will be building applications and services on top of our new global infrastructure.

DECEMBER 2017

The Rise of Senero:

A Crypto Platform that Focuses on Community for Its Scalability

With over 125 crypto coin exchanges with a total 24h volume of 1,344,489 BTC at press time, which one to choose from? Before giving an answer, let’s step back for a moment.

Now, when you get a $50 bill, the value of it is set because anyone you would give the bill to agrees that it is worth $50; that is how currency works. The government says, “this is worth $50,” enough people agree on it, other governments agree, and it becomes worth by ICO CROWD that amount. The key difference between a $50 bill and cryptocurrency is the fact that the bill is backed by a central government. In our example of the $50 bill, the United States government said that it is worth that amount. Cryptocurrency, instead, is about a network of users who have agreed on the value of that digital currency, without a centralized institution backing their statement. Let’s get back to our initial question related to which cryptocurrency to select for transferring money to another user or to invest in, and let’s introduce Senero. The soon-be-to-launched project – ICO and token distribution are scheduled for January 2018 – is a global digital platform not backed by any banking institution, whose goal is to build a decentralized Sapps economy. The Senero development team is currently work-

ing on the platform and Sapps development in parallel, planning to release storage nodes and mining in May 2018, and in July 2018 the first generation Sapps listed on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Also, with the Enigma release scheduled for October 2018, the team envisions a large number of third-party websites and apps taking advantage of their communication protocols integration. We have listed the main features that differentiate the Senero platform from those currently in the same vertical, as well as having highlighted the core values that the Senero team shares in their early communications related to their project. The sense of community that they inspire is, in my opinion, what makes this product really outstanding compared to their competitors. FOCUS ON COMMUNITY Unlike other similar crypto-platforms, Senero focuses heavily on acquiring users and creating a sense of community rather than just chasing investors; to give an example of this, the platform uses blind votes in order to select

DECEMBER 2017

which Sapps get funded. The platform is built for scalability, particularly with regards not only to users’ transactions, but also communications. Its blockchain is built to reach the scale of Facebook messenger, currently counting 347222 messages per second, thus exceeding (in terms of transactions) other platforms like Visa (1736 transactions per second) and Bitcoin (160 transactions per second). Even more, according to the Senero development team, the platform can likely accommodate the total crypto market transaction volume. In its initial phase, tokens will temporarily represent S coins, which will be exchangeable and untraceable. Tokens will allow holders to vote on capital allocation for the first generation of Sapps to be developed in parallel with the Senero platform in order to drive adoption, growth and wealth creation. The token allocation will be computed based on the percentage of the total fixed supply ownership versus the percentage of funds invested. CONVENIENCE In cryptocurrency terms, convenience is often associated with Smart Contracts. A smart contract in Senero is nothing more than a computer code built within the blockchain cryptocurrency network, having the nodes executing it and at the same time updating the ledg-

er. It follows the logic of “if this”, “then that”, ro uses the Ring Signature Encryption, meanprogrammed into the blockchain and updated ing to say that messages are encrypted at all into the ledger, so that the transaction gets re- times; that guarantees privacy to all the Seneflected for everybody. Examples of this transro users. action could be keeping money in escrow or executing a contract to That also applies to browser inbuy something. But, what is the big formation; web data are sent to deal with smart contracts? Let’s the Senero server that is encryptgive an example of its logic, let’s ed and, of course, de-centralized. say you want to buy a new car. You That basically means that there is walk into the dealership and you get no central power that can censor or The key difference a price, then you go to a bank and try to take down the website; this you write a guaranteed check. Then between a $50 bill is protected by the Senero network you take that guaranteed check back and cryptocurrency that hides it to outsiders. The platis the fact that to the dealership, they clear it, and form founders believe in “a truthe bill is backed you finally can sign a bunch of paly free internet with no intermeby a central perwork related to finally getting diaries, governments or big corpogovernment. In the car. This whole process would rations controlling it.” The Senero our example of the take at least a couple of days. Now, browser protects users by bounc$50 bill, the United ing communications around the instead, if you were to use a smart contract, all this information - such States government distributed Senero network of reas the car details, its price, its own- said that it is worth lays. Those relays are run by Senethat amount. ership, etc. - would have been upro nodes all around the world, preloaded to the blockchain itself, makventing anyone from getting acing the whole process way more efficient. cess to the web data of other users and learning what sites the other person has visited. SECURITY AND PRIVACY The Senero platform also prevents the sites Senero focuses on the security, privacy and visited by their users that need to know their un-traceability of all transactions including physical location and access to sites previousmessages exchanged on the platform. Senely blocked by the user. 63

DECEMBER 2017

Diary of a Trader

I’ve been trading in equity markets for the past four years, but I’ve only been in cryptocurrency for the last 5 months. I’ve picked up some technical analysis along the way, but I still have plenty more to learn. I watched the space on and off for a few years, but this summer some former classmates who worked in finance convinced me to take the plunge. Before I got into trading I worked in the food industry, and eventually that’s where I’d like to return. I used to work as a chef before I got interested in sustainable agriculture and food distribution. My main goal in trading cryptocurrency is to raise enough capital to by establish my own business in the field. BRYAN MCGUIRE In the long run I’d like to start a farm, a restaurant, or a vertically integrated food co-op. A common thread between the crypto space and sustainable agriculture that really resonates with me is the push towards the decentralization of large industries, and the search for more beneficial and accessible ways of doing business for everyone. 64

MORNING I’m a night owl, so usually I stay up until around 2AM, and wake up at 9. First thing I do is make coffee, then I check the chat rooms, my portfolio, and then look at the exchanges to see where I should focus my attention for the day. If I’m working from home, I usually check the markets and turn on Bloomberg. But if I have a meeting or an appointment later in the day; I’ll try to set up some orders before I leave the house. When I’m working from home my routine is usually: drink coffee, make breakfast, drink some more coffee, and then get some exercise, and run errands in the late afternoon/early evening. One of the things I like best about making my own hours is being able to avoid rush hour commutes. Unless I have a morning meeting, I can choose to reverse commute in the afternoon. I might go eat with my brother, or stop by my parent’s place to say hi. In the unlikely event that the market isn’t too crazy I can catch a movie, or a meet up with friends as they get out of work later in the day. In the

rest of my spare time I’ve been working with a nonprofit that advocates sustainable agricultural practices and public green spaces. Through them I’ve had the opportunity to work with a trade group for local agricultural businesses. I’ve also been looking into private equity deals in this industry for a life after crypto trading. I found trading from my older model phone to be more trouble than it’s worth, so I wound up bringing my tablet with me everywhere. I had to recently upgrade my phone, because it was becoming too much of a hassle. It’s been great to see the recent wave of mobile-friendly exchanges and trading apps. I’d like to be able to see which way the markets are moving first thing in the morning, and then running a corresponding algorithm from my phone, and maybe make some trades on the go. I’m hoping that this will not only make me a more effective trader, but it should also give me a little more control over how I spend my time. Just having the ability to quickly and effectively make some trades away from my desktop was a game changer for me.

DECEMBER 2017

What I’m really excited about however: is being able to run automated trading algorithms through an app and switch them up on the fly as the market conditions change.

business news network and market reaction to events can be unpredictable and extreme. This is why I spend so much time in chat rooms: for me they are the best way to get an idea of market reaction before it becomes a theme in the market.

AFTERNOON On average I probably spend about five hours a day watching the markets, looking for scoops I’ll be the first to admit I’m not an expert in and signals in the chatrooms I’m in, and trad- the finer points of TA, however there are a few ing my active positions. But there aren’t a lot indicators I always check such as the MACD of “average” days in crypto, so some days I & RSI. There are some chats where I reliably might spend 12 hours working, othfind good TA, or bounce my own er days it could be an hour or less. ideas off people who are well inThe more time I spend researching a formed. These are usually my first coin, and the less time I spend tradstops for TA research: one of them ing; the more profitable my trades is a paid group, but most of them usually are. I day trade conservaare free. I would say that most of tively, since I can’t fully research my strengths as a trader lie in anticThe more time I every project I buy short term. For ipating market psychology and pickspend researching my long term holds I’ll always look ing long term themes to build my at TA, market sentiment, and long- a coin, and the portfolio on. less time I spend term goals of a coin before decidThe themes around most of my retrading; the more ing to buy. cent trades are built around the core profitable my values of what cryptocurrency was trades usually are. My strategy both in crypto and in created to accomplish: private, fast, the stock market is to trade the and reliable transactions. Recentnews. For me this doesn’t mean ly I’ve been doing a couple swing chasing the movements caused by trades of coins like Verge or Stellar current events, but instead doing enough reLumen when they are volatile, and I try to acsearch before news happens so that when it fi- cumulate others such as Lite Coin, Monero, nally hits the markets all the action comes to or Zcoin whenever there is a dip. With recent where your positions already are. For exammarkets I might have been better off holdple: in the US stock markets over the last year, ing Verge long term, but I simply don’t like most of the trades I made were structured the odds of holding bags I bought after a more around the 2016 presidential election, and than 1000% rally for an extended period. the results of state ballot referendums. Some of those results were simple to predict, othAs the cryptocurrency space has grown expoers were not. However, with crypto there is no nentially larger in the last few months, I’ve

found that I spend more time researching and less time trading. There’s simply no way to cover everything that happens in a day that you want to know as a trader in this field. There’s just too much going on, and very little information is reliable or comprehensive. So ultimately, I have to spend time combing through three or four different platforms to get an idea of the market just for that day. Usually I spend a lot of time in chats trying to gauge market sentiment: figuring out what’s got people worried that day, what they’re excited about, what projects are they looking at and why are they watching them? If the information is time sensitive, I might do a quick search, look at the chart, and make a small trade. This market moves fast, so if the tip is hot and it looks like the volume is about to pick up I’ll throw up a small buy without doing more research. If I have time to dig deeper: I’ll try to research information I’ve gotten second hand for myself, then show it to others in my main chats and try to get a second read on whether I’ve found anything interesting. Many of the crypto groups on reddit, telegram, twitter, etc. aren’t very reliable. I was extremely lucky to get introduced to crypto by a former classmate who brought me into their group chat. By the time I joined they had already sifted through and found some real gems out of the sea of pump groups, trolls, and moon talk that is hard to escape in crypto. Having good people to talk to, bounce ideas off, and call you out when you’re wrong, are probably the most important parts of my success to this date. 65

DECEMBER 2017

One key strategy which I’ve found, is to make sure you bring the right resources to the right people. If an interesting project has failed to make a milestone on its roadmap, even the best TA expert isn’t necessarily going to know how bad the impact might be. Similarly, the people that have their finger on the pulse of the technology, the personalities, and the big picture behind many of these coins might not be able to help you find a good day trading opportunity, but they will probably know which long term coins to hold. There are coins I’ve held for months with losses of more than 50% that I only held onto because I listened to someone who understood the bigger picture behind the project, and followed it closely. I find TA very helpful for short term and day trading, while diving into deep research, readlike the volatility of the markets and the profing white papers, learning about the developits they can offer, they run 24/7 so I’m nevment team, and checking every social media post is what’s best for finding long term holds. er entirely off the clock. The more effectively I can use my time, the happier I’ll be. I don’t just want to learn TA just to be a NIGHT more effective day trader. Autonio is a proWhen I day trade I try to do it only with coins ject I was introduced to through their partthat I don’t mind holding long term. This way nership with Embermine back in October of if the trade doesn’t work out, I can keep it for a this year. Through this platform traders can few months and not take a loss. Almost every buy and sell trading algorithms to one another, and use the trading bot to automatically ex- single long-term coin I’ve held for months ecute these trades across several exchanges. In thinking it would never become profitable has proved me wrong at some point or another. the long term, I hope to develop my TA to the It’s much easier to do this with projects I bepoint where I can sell my algorithms for othlieve in, since it saves me from the temptation er people to use with the trading bot. While to sell too early. I try to focus on high volume the extra passive income from that would be nice, I’m simply looking forward to being able coins since their patterns are usually more reto check the markets in the morning, set up an liable. I’ll usually just do short swing trades on pairs like OMG/BTC, NEO/BTC, and until its algorithm based on what I’m seeing, and letting it run all day so I’m free to do other things recent rally USD/ETH. with my life. With this and a mobile trading On especially active trading days such as the app I should be able to accomplish a lot more BTC hard forks, I’ll spend easily eight to ten while I’m away from my computer. While I 66

hours working. If the market is more relaxed, or I need a break it might just be an hour or two. If I need to go out during the day, I usually get back home around 9PM. I’ll throw on some music or put on some Netflix in the background and check to see how my trades did during the day. By the time I get home Asia is usually waking up, so if things have shifted I might try to consolidate my positions or set another order and hope I wake up with slightly heavier bags. By 2AM I’m usually in bed, and ready to start the game all over again in seven or eight hours. Trading in a volatile field that’s growing this fast is not easy, it’s stressful, it’s time consuming, and “yes” there are times where I’ll find myself yelling at my monitors. But everyday I’m getting closer to reaching my long-term goals. and I’ve come across some amazing projects and great communities that I wouldn’t have found anywhere else, and opportunities like this don’t come around very often.

DECEMBER 2017

Outlier Ventures Becomes Strategic Investor in

Ocean Protocol Outlier becomes strategic partner to support Ocean in building Decentralized Data Exchange Protocol to Unlock Data for AI London (20 December 2017) -- Leading blockchain and Web 3.0 venture capital firm Outlier Ventures has today announced it has become strategic partner and investor in Ocean Protocol, the decentralised data exchange in development with the mission to unlock the by ICO CROWD power of data for AI.

a team of 20, they help pre-seed and seed stage startups navigate the emerging token space. Their venture platform which includes academic and corporate partners, offers strategic guidance on token design, their underlying economics, compliance, as well as marketing and technical development.

Ocean Protocol is a decentralized data exchange protocol that lets people share and monetize data while guaranteeing control, auditability, transparency and compliance to all actors involved. The protocol provides the underlying technical foundation that data marketplaces need to connect data providers with data consumers in a trusted environment. It nurtures a data ecosystem and community.

Their investment philosophy is based on the convergence of decentralised technologies like blockchains and distributed ledgers with 'deep tech' such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, and 3D printing primarily within the Industry 4.0, Smart Cities and Mobility markets.

Outlier Ventures has made a significant investment, and will use its platform of internal expertise and partner network of corporate and academic institutions to support the development of the protocol and its developer ecosystem. Jamie Burke, CEO, Outlier Ventures stated: "We have known and respected Trent and the team for many years and the work they have done at Ascribe, BigchainDB and IPDB. We are proud to join them in this next step in their commitment to building the critical infrastructure for the next stage of the internet. Not only are the team highly credible, Ocean is yet another European initiative that speaks directly to Outlier Ventures' 'Convergence Thesis'; this time combining decentralised ledger technologies with AI. Where Sovrin allowed for identity of 'things' and IOTA provided the infrastructure for securing IoT devices and their data, Ocean Protocol provides the market for individuals and organisations to share that data with artificial intelligence and be com-

pensated. It is no coincidence we see a very complimentary fit between the all three of these and the rest of our growing portfolio."

Having already backed IOTA, a highly-regarded crypto-asset focused on securing machine-to-machine payments for Industrial IoT, and more recentAs Trent McConaghy, Founder of Ocean Protocol states: "We've been col- ly Evernym and the Sovrin Foundation laborating with Outlier Ventures exthey plan to roll out a series of ambitensively in the past year and I'm very tious investments and strategic partpleased that they've placed their confi- nerships with their corporate and acdence into the team to deliver on an ob- ademic network. https://outliervenvious need to unlock the world's data." tures.io/ McConaghy continues: "Because data is quickly becoming the world's most valuable resource, creating ubiquitous access to this resource in a controlled manner is critical to prevent undesired behaviour. The Ocean Protocol team believes in the power of data, and the ability of individuals to decide how it should be used. Consequently, we are creating a data ecosystem that will incentivize all actors to participate and benefit from their data use. Ocean Protocol will unlock data from their silos for the common good." ABOUT OUTLIER VENTURES Outlier Ventures was launched in 2014 as the first European VC focused on blockchain technologies. Now, with

ABOUT OCEAN PROTOCOL Ocean Protocol aims to make data universally available for the benefit of humankind. The Ocean network is a decentralized data exchange protocol that enables the sharing of data while guaranteeing control, auditability, transparency and compliance for all actors. The network empowers developers and curators to create new and innovative data services, while protecting data owners. The Ocean Protocol Foundation is a non-profit entity based in Singapore, providing governance to build a thriving ecosystem and setting guidance for technologies that can power a new data economy.https://oceanprotocol.com 67

DECEMBER 2017

Arbidex

Disrupting the Cryptocurrency Exchange Market Unlike many other overhyped blockchain projects, it looks like the team behind Arbidex has already built an operating platform with a set of technical tools for an exchange arbitrage, that is interacting with several cryptocurrency exchanges accumulating by about 10 million US dollars in deposOLYA GREEN its. Technical architecture and the efficiency of arbitration strategy were tested over the 4-month period by the team with their own deposits. Arbidex aspires to minimize trading risks by accumulating liquidity from all major cryptocurrency exchanges and completely automating the arbitrage process for the user. It is basically a trading platform designed to aggregate in one terminal crypto-assets and liquidity from all major exchanges with a capability to search for arbitrage options and automatically implement them. The platform is able to analyze thousands of crypto-currency pairs and find the most favorable ones making up to 2–3% revenue. 68

Here’s an explanation of how it works. A trader signs up to the platform to start handling transactions with any amount he wants. Deploying a search algorithm for the most favorable exchange rates through multiple exchanges, the platform brings about the opportunity to buy cryptocurrency at a lower rate and sell at a higher. Also trading risks are insured by shifting to the platform. In this manner Arbidex is making trading operations on the cryptocurrency market way more convenient and profitable for each stakeholder. Any purchasing transaction with any tradable crypto-asset will be made at the most favorable rate, while the commissions charged by the platform are lower

than regular ones charged by crypto-exchanges at the moment.

The platform is able to analyze thousands of crypto-currency pairs and find the most favorable ones making up to 2–3% revenue.

A video displaying how the Arbidex MVP is operating is available here: https://youtu.be/ RsfITzxBv_A Arbidex PRE-SALE kicked off on December 11 with the ICO coming up on January 10, 2018. The product is already technically executed to function as a crypto-liquidity stabilizer and a framework for professional arbitrage strategies. The team is seeking to raise funds through an ICO to draw massive audiences and capital to the platform and to get more exposure on the market.

YOUR PERSONALISED DIGITAL CURRENCY PLAFORM

Technological platform based on a very comprehensive “Rule-book” of the Global Currency calculation methodology

The Platform will enable the launch of a customised currency baskets for a variety of uses. Currency baskets are portfolios of selected currencies with different weightings.

PRE SALE OPENS – 8th January, 2018 TOKEN SALE OPENS – 13th January, 2018 Terms and conditions apply. Please read our whitepaper for more information. Available on our website www.globcoin.io

SECURE LAYER PLATFORM

SENERO.ORG A decentralized private communications system