BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND
ISSUE 1
KNIGHT OF BLOCKCHAIN 28
WELCOME TO THE BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND 09
WHAT TO EXPECT 13
WHO’S WHO 91
SiGMA is the marquee brand when it comes to iGaming in Malta, making a name for itself as the go-to organisation for industry events. The revamped website now includes a Careers platform, connecting promising talent with great companies, and a strong media team committed to quality news hot off the iGaming press, as well as an array of glossy magazines. The flagship show will open its doors November 28th – 30th and is all set to carry on the tradition of excellence it’s become known for.
EDITOR Ivan Borg
DESIGN & LAYOUT Jessica Camilleri
PHOTOGRAPHY Aleksey Leonov
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Katy Micallef
SALES Denis Dzyubenko Laima Bobrika Sinead Byrne Sophie Crouzet Rebekah D’Agata
EDITOR’S NOTE There’s a special kind of courage that you can only find in the heart
Also, progress in blockchain is being matched by other very
of pioneers. Not every difficult or daunting thing is also new. The
exciting emerging technologies. The eventual interplay of
pages you’re about to read are heavy on this very particular brand
technologies that emerge from blockchain, AI and IoT is as
of courage. Just about everyone involved with this publication is
intriguing as the technologies themselves. We explore the chance
an early mover in a very young space, and that’s why it’s been such
for crossover in the first issue of The BLOCK.
a distinct pleasure putting it all together.
It’s time to say my thanks. Our fearless leader, Eman Pulis, gets
Blockchain has emerged as a very likely positive change-agent for
the first nod for handing me the reins to this thing, and for going
issues as diverse as financial market instability and the efficiency
with the name I blurted out within thirty seconds of learning of
of our power grids. It stands to change the way we do business,
The BLOCK’s existence. It takes some real oats to do that. Next
how we pay for things, how we securitise our intellectual property
up: Jessica Camilleri. Her fingerprints are all over this brilliantly-
and how we’re likely to capitalise on it. I’ll leave the more technical
designed first issue. She was really fun to work with, and her
aspects of it to the much keener minds featured later on in the
attention to the little visual details is a great complement to my lack
magazine, but we’re living through a special time indeed. The hype
thereof. Seriously, if I’d been left to my own devices, you’d be reading
is palpable, and more importantly it’s not just hype – as the first
this in a comic font. Last but not least, this magazine wouldn’t be
movers start to enjoy the company of the early majority starting
quite the same without the electric photographic talents of Aleksey
to move into this space, it’s clear that we’re not just building a
Leonov. So there we have it. I’ve distributed my gratitude. No more
monorail here.
puns, I promise…
The sheer potential diversity in application means that almost anyone has a reason to get excited about blockchain technology.
Enjoy the issue!
Ivan Jess
CONTENTS
09
36
28
INTRODUCTION
41
09
Dr Kristian Haehndel offers a refreshing outlook on blockchain’s potential societal impact.
Joseph Muscat addresses the success of blockchain in Malta, as the newly-regulated jurisdiction keeps up its promise.”
13
BLOCKCHAIN MEETS iGAMING
16
| Blockchain Island
Issue 1
41
18
Globiance’s Oliver la Rosa gives his take on the opportunities that come with blockchain and crypto.
Q&A
CHANGE AND EXCHANGE
Familiarise yourself with the floorplan of the upcoming Malta Blockchain Summit.
06
Q&A
A GLOBAL AMBITION
Meet the elite panel of judges, and the lineup of ICOs participating in one of the most keenly-anticipated events at the Malta Blockchain Summit.
FLOOR PLAN
36
Jonathan Galea explains why Malta is the best choice for The Blockchain Hackathon.
ICO PITCH
WHAT TO EXPECT
FEATURE
THE HACKATHON MAN
SiGMA is bringing back its blockchain-themed conference, where the gaming industry will continue to engage with the disruptive tech.
WHAT TO EXPECT
28
KNIGHT OF BLOCKCHAIN
WELCOME TO THE BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND
WHAT TO EXPECT
COVER STORY
David Pulis sheds some light on the crypto world and how Malta is the perfect place for blockchain to progress.
45
45
75
50
FEATURE
78
50
WE HAVE LIFTOFF
EVERYTHING THAT RISES…
Jan Sammut shares the experience he gleaned from the launch of his own ICO.
Angelo Dalli speaks about the recent surge of AI and how it complements other emerging technologies.
GALLERY
54
78
Q&A
TRADING UP
RELIVE THE MOMENTS
Olga Petrunina and Ira Erokhina are taking the tech world by storm with an alternative crypto exchange.
A collection of key blockchain events captured throughout the year, featuring some of the finest looking people in the industry.
Q&A
75
FEATURE
67
THE NEW RULES Christian Ellul and Karl Schranz talk about the recent legislation of blockchain and what it means for the industry.
91
WHO’S WHO
IN MALTA’S BLOCKCHAIN ECOSYSTEM Some key figures on the blockchain scene, all well worth meeting.
The BLOCK - Blockchain Island is published by Viking PC Health Ltd., Gaming Hub, All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without prior consent in writing. Opinions expressed in The BLOCK are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. All reasonable care is taken to ensure truth and accuracy, but the editor and publishers cannot be held
Judge Paolo Debono Str., Msida Skate Park, Msida. MSD2032, Malta. For information regarding promotion and advertising kindly call (+356) 7777 3093 or email sophie@sigma.com.mt www.maltablockchainsummit.com
responsible for errors or omissions in articles, advertising, photographs or illustrations.
Issue 1
Blockchain Island | 07
Harness the CRYPTO MARKET
www.zbx.com
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
INTRODUCTION
WELCOME TO THE BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND
M
alta’s unprecedented economic success is a result of
economic sustainability of the years to come. The Maltese
a collective effort - the political will of decision makers
Government has legislated three acts that will provide legal
but even more so the hard work of our enterprises, our
certainty to the space, involving DLT and Digital Financial
workers and our resilient institutions.
Products and Services, such as virtual currencies and ICOs.
We have a solid financial services sector and through innovative technologies we’ve vouched to enhance it even further. We are now leading the pack in emerging distributed ledger technologies, amongst them blockchain. This sector has been until now unregulated - with no peace of mind and serenity for both customers and business, with no checks and balances and no clear frameworks.
This environment has already attracted some of the world’s leading companies that operate in the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem towards Malta. Leading stakeholders are choosing Malta to host high level international events which will pave the way to further investment. One such important event is the Malta Blockchain
Over the last months, the Maltese Government has actively
Summit, this November 1st and 2nd. I look forward to
sought how to position Malta as a major hub in terms of
meeting you then and to strengthen our ongoing efforts
the digital economy which will play a central role in the
in making Malta the Blockchain Island together.
Hon. Joseph Muscat Prime Minister Keynote, Malta Blockchain Summit
Issue 1
Blockchain Island | 09
IT’S HERE
10
| Blockchain Island
Issue 1
INTRODUCTION
A
s I write this, we’re a short while away. By
with that purpose. That means that initiatives
the time you get to reading this, however,
like our ICO Pitch and our Hackathon are intended
the promised legislation will have come
to give the whole scene a boost. It’s not entirely
into force in Malta. No lesser figure than Tim Draper
altruistic. A rising tide lifts all boats – if we’re able
has given his endorsement to the efforts made, and
to project the immense promise of blockchain, give
the results achieved, by Malta. Indeed, the forward-
the best ICOs a lift, and attract the best developers
thinking nature of the laws themselves constitutes
to our burgeoning Blockchain Island, everyone
something of a competitive advantage for Malta as
will be better off, ourselves included. This tech is
a jurisdiction.
still at the stage where success and failure are
This means that blockchain-oriented enterprise can engage with legacy banking organisations, and operate with the peace of mind afforded by clarity. I must give a huge tip of the hat to this Maltese
neither fatal nor final, and a lot of lessons are being learned on the fly. Our goal is to help forge the right connections, and to provide the right talking shop to speed up that learning.
legislature, who passed the three specific bills that provide this legal certainty with exceptional agility. The first of the bills, the MDIA Act establishes the first regulatory body of its kind – it will supervise ‘technology arrangements’ such as smart contracts and DLT platforms. The ITAS Act shall establish a registration system for such technology
“ Our job is to shine the spotlight on others, not ourselves ”
arrangements that volunteer for that registration and subsequent certification by approved systems auditors. Finally, the VFIA shall classify DLT
Equally important to us is the possible interplay with
assets through a financial instruments test. This
other promising emerging technologies. Blockchain,
classification will determine how they relate to
AI and IOT look like they could mesh together very
national and European legislation currently in force.
well, and completely change how we conduct our human affairs. We’ll be exploring some of that
What I love about our Parliament is that when it matters most our politicians can rise to the occasion. This is how the Three Bills sailed through Parliament unanimously – with members of both government and Opposition voting in favour. This means that even with any future change in government, It’ll be business as usual for DLT in Malta. And this gives relocating companies that extra peace of mind.
through this publication, and throughout our show. Finally, it’s time to issue some thanks. We’ve experienced nothing but support from the myriad public figures who will be speaking at our show, or who have been instrumental in unseen ways. It would have been impossible to launch the Malta Blockchain Summit without their buying into its promise with faith and goodwill as the only currencies. Our gratitude is distributed, and immutable.
Now the ball is in our court. For our part, we’re committed to making the Malta Blockchain Summit the definitive event for this space. We’re cognizant of our role in the process. Our job is to shine the spotlight on others, not ourselves. Everything about the Malta Blockchain Summit has been designed
Eman Pulis Founder & CEO Malta Blockchain Summit & SiGMA
Issue 1
Blockchain Island | 11
000
| Blockchain Island
Issue 1
WHAT TO EXPECT
BLOCKCHAIN MEETS iGAMING IN SiGMA CONFERENCE
S
iGMA 2017 featured a vibrant blockchain conference,
The flagship SiGMA expo in Malta anchors an international event
as the two spheres came together for a very high-
calendar, which in turn underscores a year-round commitment to
level discussion of the emerging tech and its potential
the global iGaming community, with last year’s summit opening
implications for iGaming. Malta is the ideal incubator for the
its doors to over 8,000 visitors and featuring 200+ exhibitors – a
iGaming and blockchain spheres to come together. The island
record-breaking figure which saw 2016’s numbers doubled.
already hosts a thriving iGaming scene, and its government rapidly followed up on its declared commitment to effective blockchain regulation as it moved through the legislative process.
The fifth edition of SiGMA will take place from 28th - 30th of November at the MFCC, Ta’ Qali. Positioned at the cutting edge of a very competitive industry, it has evolved into the definitive
As Malta continues to stake its claim as the ideal point overlap
iGaming showcase. SiGMA 2018 will welcome over 400 sponsors
between iGaming and blockchain, SiGMA is the ideal event
and exhibitors, 200 industry-leading speakers and a record-
to focus that convergence – especially since it introduced a
breaking 12500 attendees.
blockchain themed conference to shine a light on the enormous potential of the technology when applied to the iGaming industry.
The blockchain-themed conference was a real highlight of the 2017 show, and was attended by the likes of Jon Matonis and the
The expo will also give twenty ICOs a chance to pitch their project
controversial but always topical Dr. Craig Wright. The 2018 edition of
on stage before facing a Q&A session from official jury members,
the SiGMA blockchain conference is expected to draw a great deal
investors and the audience. The ICO PITCH offers an invaluable
of interest as Malta cements itself as a primary iGaming jurisdiction,
opportunity to meet industry established investors, with the
and continues to be a global pioneer in blockchain. There is no
winner benefiting from mentorship and investment in their brand.
doubt that Malta is the ideal place for the two spheres to meet, and
The winning ICO is also granted a dedicated marketing video
the SiGMA blockchain conference the ideal event to explore the
about their ICO.
immense possibilities of blockchain applied of iGaming.
Issue 1
Blockchain Island | 13
www.cubits.com
Meet us @ Cubits Bar
if you liked us before, you will love us now. www.cubits.com
ICO PITCH WHAT YOU GET
WHAT YOU GET
•
10 min LIVE PITCH
•
•
Q&A session from the official jury members, investors and audience.
including cost of printing and furniture. •
•
10 ICOs on day 1 & 10 ICOs on day 2.
•
The judges’ decisions will be a blend based on the
A VIP invitation to premium networking events in Malta.
•
White Paper, the Pitch Deck, the Team & Advisors and ‘invest-ability’. •
A 2x2 metre booth at Malta Blockchain Summit,
website, email newsletters, interviews. •
Winners to be announced at the end of the conference.
Our Malta Blockchain Summit PR – magazines, Free office space at Microsoft Innovation Centre, Malta, to use for meetings, relocation of offices.
AWARDS •
Investors Award – selected by members of the Blockchain Investors Consortium (BIC). The investment prize is divided equally among the top three presenters receiving the highest marks from the investors.
•
Media Award – selected by the vote of the media jury (same 5 criteria as the BIC members).
•
Audience Award – selected by all voting participants at the conference, as well as participants from around the world via Facebook Live.
16
| Blockchain Island
Issue 1
WHAT TO EXPECT
Judges Day 1
Carlos Domingo
Joe Seunghyun
Lyuben Belov
Prashant Foneska
Ruslan Gavrilyuk
Yida Gao
Special Venture Capital
Marvelstone Group
LAUNCHub Ventures
Tuesday Capital
TAAS Fund
Divergence Digital Currency Fund
Judges Day 2
Amy Carr
Andrey Kolodyuk
Jamy Nigri
Mike Costache
Sunny Dhillon
⦁Tim Rehder
Distributed Labs
Ukrainian Venture Capital
BDXAlliance
d10e
Signia VC
Earlybird VC
ICOs
Issue 1
Blockchain Island | 17
FLOOR PLAN
TR
AN
CE
VENUE - INTERCONTINENTAL, MALTA
EN
2
10
9
REGISTRATION
18
15
9
24
15
28
15
15
34
15
40
15
6
14
4
20
25
26
32
9
38
4
47
46 4
4
47a 4
4
48
25
25
4
25 30
24
74
68
64
4
58
56
52
12.5
69 15
76
62
12.5
53
12.5
25
25
30
50
15
72
44
42
15
9
4
25
25
15
51
12.5
15
15
80 125
4
130
4
4
4
132 9
167 168
4
4
133 9
165
9
163
4
4
9
4
9
15
9
4
161
9
159 158
4
9
9
139 9
155
141 9
154
4
156
153
4
9
9
9
148
9
4
4
146
9
230
232
234
236
238
240
242
244
246
248
250
252
254
1 229 1
1 231
1 233
1 237
1 239
1 245
1 251
1
1
1
1
1
1 253 1
1 255
1
1 247 1
1 249
1
1 241 1
1 243
1
1 235 1
4
170 171 172
178 4
177
4
4
176 174
Issue 1
179 180 4
4
4
4
| Blockchain Island
1
200 201 202 203 204 4
4
181 182
188 4
187
4
4
186
4
4
184 4
190
189 4
4
191 192
4
198 4
197
4
4
196
4
4
4
194 4
4
4
4
92
4
4
4
211 4
210 209 208
228
4
94 4
9
145
1 227
4
96 4
213
9
9
9
4
25.5
7
144
149
4
151
100 98 4
4
142
150
260 222 223 224 225 4
4
226
1
4
15
106 104 102 49
138
90
15
4
4
136
160
88
108
4
4
135
164
4
166
111
118 116 114 112 110
124 122 120 4
86
ICOs
84
4.5
8.2
82
54.85
18
30
3
1
70
16
207
4
4
4
4
CONFERENCE
INVESTORS' LOUNGE
8
WHAT TO EXPECT
EXHIBITORS’ LISTINGS 1
VISTRA
98
GENKI
167
ZBX EXCHANGE
2
GTG ADVOCATES
100
NEUTRINO
168
NOUV CONSULTING
4
DELOITTE
102
PYXIS
170
AGOPOLIS
6
FLETA
104
COUNTRY PROFILER
171
ALMOND APP
8
MALTA ENTERPRISE
106
HBM
172
RESERVED
10
INTELLIBLOCK
108
BITEMYCOIN
174
IT LEGAL
14
DR.WERNER & PARTNER
110
COIN TRAFFIC
177
CENTRUMCOIN
16
DACONOMY
111
BITCORE
178
AVINOC
18
ICO MALTA
112
RUNCPA
179
BLOCKWISE CONSULTING
20
GOCHAIN
114
RISE TOKEN
180
USAVE.IO
24
COINCME
116
CENTRECOM
181
MALTA BLOCKCHAIN HUB
26
WASIHUB
118
SMARTSTUDIOS
182
MALTA BLOCKCHAIN HUB
28
ICONOMI
120
COINCODEX
184
KSI MALTA
30
KINANIS
122
CHRONOBANK
186
FINANCE MALTA
32
GENESIS
124
IOST
187
FINANCE MALTA
34
BLOCKCHAIN ADVISORY LTD.
125
QUIZANDO
188
GOZO TRAVEL
38
DIGITEX
130
B2BROKER
189
LISTING HELP
40
RESERVED
132
REITIUM
190
BSL LIFESTYLE
42
MAMOTCV
133
BITSANE
192
HYPERION
44
EUROPECOIN
135
KNOWMEHOW
194
NAGARRO
46
SUSHICHAIN
136
OPENLEDGER
196
NAGARRO
47
CORRIERI CILIA
138
NEWBTC & TAL RON, DRIHEM &
197
VODAFONE
47A
CSB
139
CO. CCTRADER
198
4PLAYVR
48
BAR / CRYPTONITY EXCHANGE
KYTE
200
EY
49
CUBITS BAR
201
RSM MALTA
50
BINOMO
144
RIALTO
202
SALAMANTE
51
CHETCUTI CAUCHI ADVOCATES
145
QLEAR
203
NOKU
56
GLOBIANCE
146
EXPERTSENDER
204
TRUSTPAY
58
DQR
148
FORESTALS
207
FLEXEPIN
62
TREOS
149
SOUTH RISK
208
ORMCO
64
FLETA
AVANZIA TAXAND
209
KRYPTO
68
DIAMAN / E2S
151
COIN GATEWAY
210
KRYPTO
69
ASIAN FINTECH
153
BITBAY
211
WESTERN UNION BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
72
TRIJO
154
CROWNTECH
213
ADVENDOR
74
E&S GROUP
155
ZETA
222
PAYMENT WORLD
76
DEMO STAGE
156
LARGILLERIE
223
BLOCK ASSET MANAGEMENT
82
IVYNET
158
HYPERCUBE MBS
224
COINWEB
84
BLACKMOON
159
AETOKEN
225
COINWEB
86
CRYPTOPAY
160
TALENTXD
230
CRAFTCHAIN
88
ECOLOOP
161
BITFURY
232
REPUTY
90
BDO
163
PRIMETRUST
235
HYPE
92
PRIFINANCE
164
SKYCOIN
239
FINHAVEN
94
BITSTARZ
165
ODEM
260
BLOCKCHAIN WORLD FORUM
96
BITSTARZ
166
PERFECTIAL
Issue 1
Blockchain Island | 19
1st November - InterContinental Malta
Conference 1 Blockchain for Regulatory Several prominent speakers join the Blockchain Regulatory Conference to tackle some of the most pressing issues concerning regulation of the blockchain sphere.
Hon. Joseph Muscat
9:00 - 9:10
OPENING KEYNOTE SPEECH
9:10 - 9:20
GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES FOR START-UPS
Keynote address.
9:20 - 9:50
HOW TO BUILD A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR BC
A panel discussion on the process of constructing regulatory frameworks for blockchain.
9:50 - 10:00
BLOCKCHAIN REGULATION
Keynote address focusing on the merits of Blockchain Regulation.
10.00 – 10.10
WELCOME TO THE BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND
Welcome note from keynote speaker, the Prime Minister of Malta, the Hon. Joseph Muscat.
10:10 - 10:20
MALTA ATTRACTIVENESS FOR BLOCKCHAIN
An intriguing look at the qualities attracting companies to Malta.
10.20 – 10.45
THE BATTLE OF JURISDICTIONS
Several prominent speakers join forces for a fierce panel debate on jurisdictional issues.
10:45 - 10:55
YOUR CODE COUNTS: AUTHENTIC CODE FOR ICOS
A fresh take on creating authentic code for ICOs.
10.55 – 11.05
MALTA - THE RIGHT COUNTRY TO SET UP YOUR BLOCKCHAIN BUSINESS. A TAX PERSPECTIVE
Speakers lend their know-how to a talk on crypto asset taxation.
11.05 – 11.15
FIRESIDE CHAT: THE NEW DECENTRALISED GLOBE
Industry veterans join forces for an enthralling conversation about the new decentralised globe.
11.15 – 11.25
CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN THE CRYPTO SPACE
An industry stalwart offers his vast experience in the hot topic of criminal liability in the crypto space.
11:25 - 11:35
LEVERAGING MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS TO ACHIEVE ICO NIRVANA
A discussion focusing on leveraging multiple jurisdictions for a smooth-running ICO.
11:35 - 12:00
TRANSPARENCY VS THE RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN
A group of speakers unite to discuss the relevant issues surrounding transparency and the right to be forgotten.
12:00 - 12:25
WHO RULES? SOVEREIGN GOVERNANCE, WILL BC REPLACE CONTEMPORARY GOVERNMENT
Speakers attempt to answer pertinent questions regarding sovereign governance and blockchain.
Eva Kaili
Hartej Sawhney
Mike Butcher
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WHAT TO EXPECT
15:00 - 15:10
OPENING KEYNOTE: YOUR MARKETING CHANNELS FOR BLOCKCHAIN
Opening Keynote speech considers the best marketing channels for Blockchain.
15:10 - 15:20
KEYNOTE: CRYPTO LAW AND MARKETING STRATEGY
A Keynote speech on law and marketing strategies as applied to the crypto sphere.
15:20 - 15:45
FRAUD DETECTION AND AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES
Panel discussion on fraud detection and avoidance strategies.
15:45 - 15:55
THE ICO SHOW: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
A Keynote speech gives insight into ICOs.
15:55 - 16:05
HOW TO PREPARE A BLOCKCHAIN STARTUP FOR TRAFFIC ACQUISITION
A Keynote speech on the best technique to prepare a blockchain startup for traffic acquisition.
16:05 - 16:30
DOS AND DONT’S FOR THE ICO MARKETING PLAN
A panel talk on the best strategies for an ICO marketing plan.
16:30 - 16:55
FINANCING INSTRUMENTS FOR BLOCKCHAIN
A panel debate on financing instruments for blockchain.
16:55 - 17:05
FIRESIDE CHAT: ‘REINVENTING HOLLYWOOD’ - HOW BLOCKCHAIN WILL DEMOCRATISE, DECENTRALISE AND DISRUPT THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY FOREVER
A look at the impact of blockchain on the entertainment industry.
17:05-17:15
JOINT SESSION: DEVELOPING AND REGULATING BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTO ACTIVITIES
A joint session takes on the development and regulation of blockchain and crypto activities.
17:15-17:40
BLOCKCHAIN AS A CATALYST FOR CHANGE
A Keynote speech on blockchain’s potential to bring about change.
17:40-17:50
JOINT SESSION: PICK YOUR INVESTOR
A guide to picking an investor.
17:50-18:15
PANEL : INVESTING IN BLOCKCHAIN
A panel debate takes a look at the pros and cons of investing in blockchain.
18:15-18:25
FIRESIDE CHAT: THE WORLD’S FIRST ICCO
The last talk of the evening takes on the world’s first ICCO.
Conference 2 Blockchain for Marketing and Investment The second conference on the agenda lineup takes a thorough look at the applications and implementation of marketing and investment in the blockchain sphere.
Christopher Obereder
Prashant Fonseka
Ronny Boesing
Yida Gao
Issue 1
Blockchain Island | 23
2nd November - InterContinental Malta
Conference 3 Blockchain for Developers The third conference in a great lineup, Blockchain for Developers brings together an all-star group of speakers to debate a plethora of topics ranging from AI to a highlyantipated talk by John McAfee on the dark side of the tech.
Brandon Smietana
9:00 - 9:10
CONSENSUS: WHAT LIES BEYOND PROOF OF STAKE
A keynote speech starts the conference off.
9:10 - 9:35
THE USE OF SMART CONTRACTS IN DAPPS DEVELOPMENT
A panel debate on the use of smart contracts in dApps development – crucial information for the Blockchain Hackathon competitors!
9:35 - 10:00
PERMISSIONED VS PERMISSIONLESS BLOCKCHAINS
A panel tackles the pros and cons of permissioned and permissionless blockchains.
10:00 - 10:10
BLOCKCHAIN, DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING AND THE SCIENCE OF CRYPTOGRAPHY
Scott Stornetta, Chief Scientist at First Digital Capital takes to the stage for a keynote introduction to the conference.
10:10 - 10:20
HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS FOR THE BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND
The Hon. Silvio Schembri, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economics, and Innovation gives a welcome speech.
10:20 - 10:30
FIRESIDE CHAT: THE BLOCKCHAIN OF THINGS
A discussion focusing on The Blockchain of Things.
10:30 - 10:55
MARRYING AI TO THE BLOCKCHAIN
An experienced panel tackle AI and the blockchain.
10:55 - 11:05
JOINT SESSION: THE DARK SIDE OF THE CHAIN
A joint session explores the less savoury aspects of blockchain.
11:05 - 11:15
TRANSFORMING INDUSTRIES THROUGH BLOCKCHAIN INNOVATIONS. CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
A panel discusses the opportunities and pitfalls of transforming industries through blockchain innovation.
11:15 - 11:25
FIRESIDE CHAT: QUERYING DATA EXTERNAL TO THE BLOCKCHAIN
A cosy chat looks at data external to the blockchain.
11:25 - 11:50
IS YOUR BUSINESS BLOCKCHAIN-ABLE?
A panel delves into the potential for businesses to adopt blockchain.
11:50 - 12:00
DECENTRALISED PLATFORMS
A keynote speech introducing the topic of decentralised platforms.
12:00 - 12:10
CENTRALISED VS DECENTRALISED EXCHANGES
A hot topic debate on the pros and cons of centralised versus decentralised exchanges.
John McAfee
Scott Stornetta
Silvio Schembri
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WHAT TO EXPECT
15:00 - 15:10
KEYNOTE: MEP ROBERTA METSOLA
MEP Roberta Metsola opens the conference with a keynote speech. 15:10 - 15:35
THE IMPORTANCE AND CHALLENGES OF TOKEN ECONOMICS
A panel talk takes a look at the complexities of token economics, and their importance in the Crypto sphere.
15:35-1600
INSTITUTIONS, BANKS, AND BROKERS: RISE IN CRYPTO TRADING
A panel discussion takes a good look at Crypto trading.
16:00-16:25
BANKING ON BITCOIN, CAN BANKS EVOLVE AND EMBRACE?
A group of industry veterans take on banking and bitcoin in this panel debate.
16:25 - 16:35
DIGITAL IDENTITY ON BLOCKCHAIN
A keynote speech exploring digital identity in the age of blockchain.
16:35 - 17:00
ICOS AND AML
A closer look at ICOs and AML.
17:00 - 17:25
TAXING ICOS, TOKENS AND COINS
A panel group discuss taxing ICOs, Tokens and Coins.
17:25 – 17:35
CRYPTO TRADING EXPLAINED
A keynote speech gives the audience a good grounding in Crypto trading.
17:35 - 18:00
TOKEN MODELING
A talk exploring Token Modeling.
18:00 - 18:25
POST-ICO, MILLIONS IN THE BANK: WHAT’S NEXT?
A half hour talk examining the lucrative future, post-ICO.
18:25 - 18:50
SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATE BLOCKCHAIN INVESTMENTS
A guide to understanding the complex world of blockchain investments.
Conference 4 Blockchain for Tokenomics and Cryptocurrencies The final conference in the agenda, Blockchain for Tokenomics and Cryptocurrencies gives insight into the complexities of tokenomics, touching on crypto banking, trading and taxation.
Jon Matonis
Miko Matsumura
Roberta Metsola
Yobie Benjamin For our updated agenda ad list of speakers log on to WWW.MALTABLOCKCHAINSUMMIT.COM Issue 1
Blockchain Island | 25
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Knight oF 28
| Blockchain Island
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BLOCKCHAIN STANDS TO BRING ABOUT WIDESPREAD SOCIETAL CHANGE. DR. KRISTIAN HAEHNDEL IS LEADING THE CHARGE ON APPLYING THE TECHNOLOGY FOR GOOD, AND SPEAKS TO THE BLOCK IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.
COVER STORY
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What is DQR’s genesis? Strangely enough, part of my answer is in your question because Genesis Mining, the world’s leading crypto mining company, cofounded DQR. Marco Streng, Dr. Marco Krohn – Genesis Mining’s founders – our other partners, and I share a common dream of bringing back the blockchain ecosystem closer to Satoshi Nakamoto’s original philosophy. The idea behind Bitcoin was formed following the 2008 crisis. It became obvious that letting a few hundred people – those running the central banks and the biggest financial institutions – decide the future of more than 7 billion individuals did not make sense. The decentralised technology known as the blockchain that was invented to support one of the first cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, holds in its DNA the promise of redistributing power to everyone. But like with the Internet, a few actors tried to take advantage of this technology for pure personal gain. We, therefore, felt that the market was in need of a group whose goal is to return to the core ethos of blockchain and its original vision of decentralisation and egalitarianism.
How is DQR bringing something new to the crypto ecosystem? Offering a cryptocurrency exchange is an essential piece of this puzzle as it is the one that generates income, and we need to create wealth before we can redistribute it. But if our vision is to empower people, we also need two other critical pillars: education and a foundation. Education is our first mission. We want to explain how decentralised technology may shift power back to the people and allow a more inclusive financial system. Giving back is more than a second mission for us – it is the heart of our project and the main reason why we launched the DQR group. It is true that extreme poverty has been radically reduced in 200 years. We have gone from 94% of the worldwide population living in extreme poverty to only 10%, but we still have so much left to do. We will, therefore, dedicate a significant part of our revenue towards reducing global poverty thanks to our blockchain-based foundation. Powered by decentralised technology, our foundation won’t be under our control, but under that of our customers, who will decide and vote on how to allocate the funds to the humanitarian projects they support.
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| Blockchain Island
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COVER STORY
“ Giving back is more than a second mission for us – it is the heart of our project ”
Where does your name come from? DQR means Digital Quantitative Research. The company was originally conceived by Dr Anthony Jefferies, Dr Torsten Frank and I to research cryptocurrencies and related technologies. We then broadened the scope of the company but the roots of our project are still deeply ingrained in this original company. I am fully aware that this name is not the most appealing one, but it is the name that explains who we are in the most honest way. And this is what counts for us. Honesty and transparency are part of our core values. It would, therefore, feel strange to take an appealing name simply because people would remember it more easily. We are German PhDs and engineers, so you can trust us on one point: DQR has a name which guarantees you a win at Scrabble! More seriously, we have great expectations for our services. To use Geoffrey Moore’s analogy, our sector is starting to cross the chasm of technology adoption between the early adopters and the early majority. This means that customers’ expectations are rapidly changing and we see a gap between the current market offer and what the general public is likely to expect from a trading platform. We intend to answer that need by offering a product that will empower everyone.
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“ Revolution is probably not the best word to describe the new balance that we are trying to build. Disruptive evolution would be more fitting, in my opinion ”
COVER STORY
Why do you think Malta is attracting the world blockchain ecosystem? Some people may think that it is merely a coincidence that Malta is
Furthermore, I believe there is a perfect alignment between the
currently becoming the biggest blockchain hub in the world. But let
blockchain’s core values and the Maltese culture. This might sound
me explain why, in my opinion, this had to happen.
strange, but I can actually see a lot of commonality between the Maltese Knights and us all, pioneers of the blockchain ecosystem.
The first point that needs to be emphasised is that both Malta and
We almost share the same DNA. We believe in freedom for everyone,
our sector are growing incredibly fast, because they are at the
and not just for a few. The Maltese order’s original purpose was to
forefront of technological evolution. Both are looking to write the
secure free access to spiritual well being. The blockchain’s purpose
future and they understood that they obviously have a common
is to secure free access to economic well-being.
interest to walk that road together. Our mission is to empower people. For many centuries, the Maltese History has proved many times that when a country is ready and
order protected the poor, the ill, and the weak. In my opinion,
willing to embrace a new technology or industry, unprecedented
blockchain technology was invented to give a voice to those
growth follows, and that benefits both of them. This is exactly what
excluded from the financial sector, the under-banked or potentially
is starting to happen in Malta.
the unbanked.
What is so specific about the blockchain revolution? There have always been people like us, people that dream to
managed to create a decentralised technology that gives people
change the world, to reshape it, to rebalance it, to leave a legacy
the option to peacefully change the world.
behind. But apart from very few exceptions, they did not manage to reach their goal. And for those who did, the road was always paved with a lot of blood.
I also believe that it is key that the blockchain community does not try to break the old world. On the contrary, we should work collaboratively with whoever wants to help – and this includes,
For the first time in history, weapons, guns, and bullets are no
of course, actors from the traditional banking system – to create
longer the only technology that may allow a new order. With
positive change on a global scale. “Revolution” is probably not the
Blockchain, like Arthur and Merlin the magician, intelligence and
best word to describe the new balance that we are trying to build.
consciousness can defeat brute strength. Why? Simply because we
“Disruptive evolution” would be more fitting, in my opinion.
You have been in Malta for almost a year now, do you feel at home? Malta is now our common home, and we will be leading this
like their sons and daughters. You may rest assured that the
“disruptive evolution” from here. On behalf of the entire
blockchain sector will be a loyal and long-term partner for Malta.
blockchain sector, I would like to thank Malta for treating us
Together we are making history.
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THE HACKATHON MAN 36
| Blockchain Island
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FEATURE
AS MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BLOCKCHAIN ADVISORY LTD., JONATHAN GALEA HAS CONTRIBUTED HIS EXPERIENCE TO THE MALTA BLOCKCHAIN SUMMIT’S UPCOMING HACKATHON. KATY MICALLEF PICKS HIS BRAIN IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.
J
onathan stumbled into the blockchain sphere almost by accident. As we talk, I’m struck by how his curious mind and thirst for knowledge has
shaped his life. He tells me how, as a young law student he took it upon himself to build a laptop from scratch. Needing a graphics card, but unable to find one that didn’t break the bank, he turned to the internet for advice. By lucky accident his online scrabbling turned up an article explaining that the shortage of graphics cards was, in part, due to Crypto mining. In the early days, from 2010 through 2013, graphics cards were a hot item when it came to Bitcoin mining accessories, with many suppliers frequently running out of stock. From there on, he was hooked. He started mining and before he knew it, a hobby had become a career. As a lawyer, Jonathan admits it hasn’t been easy. “Being a lawyer you are trained to analyse things in a certain manner, and when you are developing things there’s also a very strict regime to follow – they’re essentially diametrically opposed.” He goes on to explain that when giving out any form of legal advice, he follows one key rule - that is to keep in mind that law always follows technology. “It’s no use coming up with a legal framework which is synonymous to the law of the country if that same law is not compatible with the same tech it is trying to regulate.” Case in point: Take the infamous Bitcoin. It is almost impossible to regulate Bitcoin at its core as a technology, simply because you cannot regulate something that is decentralised, that no central authority has central control of.
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It is, in fact, Malta’s whole-hearted adoption of
The second type is a more hardcore version,
blockchain tech regulation, and the inevitable
from a pure coding standpoint. Coders,
slew of events that follow, such as the Malta
developers and programmers put their heads
Blockchain Summit Hackathon, that will lure
together for a couple of intense days so that
developers to the island. What advice would he
they can come up with a final product that
give Malta, which like many other countries has
works. It is the latter that will take pride of place
suffered from a deficit of talented developers?
at The Malta Blockchain Summit this year. “The
Malta, he says, cannot currently compete with countries such as the Ukraine and Russia. Mathematics and cryptography is ‘part and parcel of their syllabus’ when it comes to software development. The importance they place on these fields is what makes them such a hotbed for talent.
“ I can’t think of anything else which will attract developers and big businesses to the space as well as a Hackathon ”
“Having said that, Malta is not at a disadvantage compared to other jurisdictions trying to do the same thing, reason being is that it is a country trying to holistically regulate the space. A lot of companies will therefore try to settle somewhere that offers legal certainty and peace of mind. Because they’re
will relocate their whole team so they can keep a compact environment with the team in one place. Once that happens there will be a much deeper talent pool available for other companies to make use of. Companies that take the plunge and make the move will also attract other businesses to relocate here as well.”
| Blockchain Island
Jonathan says. The Hackathon has provided a carefully-crafted opportunity for developers to hone their talents. Companies scouting for talent and seeking to develop their products, looking to join the race, and make the best use of the blockchain
in it for the long run, there’s a good chance they
38
focus is purely on the core aspect of the tech”
revolution will find the Hackathon a natural fit. “Right now, the resource which is in most demand in the blockchain space is developers, I can’t think of anything else which will attract developers and big businesses to the space as well as a Hackathon.” As someone who straddles the deep canyon between technology and the more fragile human aspect, what is the biggest societal impact this tech can have on us? “There’s been a lot of focus on the value of these cryptocurrencies, on the speculative side of it, but I think we are being short-sighted if we just focus on that aspect. Blockchain solves one fundamental issue which has plagued human societies for the past few years, especially with the entry of the internet. The internet has connected us but hasn’t resolved
This is why social coding events, such as
the issue threatening to derail our technological
the Hackathon are so beneficial to Malta’s
evolution – a lack of trust. We still need
development. There are two types of hackathons
cumbersome third parties to conduct transactions
according to Jonathan. An ideas-focused
across the globe. Blockchain replaces those third
Hackathon consists not just of developers but of
parties and fills the position of trust. We can deal
people with marketing expertise, promotional skills
with persons across the globe without the need of
and so forth. The main purpose is to build up a
a trusted third party. It can take us to the next step
holistic product and make the sale to the audience.
in evolutionary terms.”
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FEATURE ARTICLE
And how does blockchain play with other technologies such as AI and the IoT in terms of the trust gap? “It’s a good thing you mentioned those other two technologies, as I think of these, along with blockchain tech as the holy trinity that will usher us into the next age of humanity. AI has been developing at quite a rapid pace, but when it comes to gathering info from the outside world, AI still hasn’t grasped that notion very well yet. When it comes to feeding info to AI you’re still limited to human input.” Jonathan goes on to explain that smart devices still rely on a trusted third party for communication and connection. This is where blockchain comes in. “Block tech in a vacuum is powerful in its own right, but it’s not revolutionary. Linking block tech to AI and IoT forms a golden triangle when that happens I think we’re in for interesting times.” And finally I ask him a question that is front and centre for anyone currently taking up space in the blockchain sphere. Why is it so hard to find the right advice in the blockchain zone right now? As someone who gives advice for a living, Jonathan is humble in his answer. “This is a new space and there are a lot of people claiming to be experts. I myself have five years experience behind me, my partner has four. We don’t call ourselves experts, but specialists, because you can’t have experts in such a fresh space. The trick is just to set the right expectations, be honest in your advice and think of the clients’ interests first, making sure their business model works with block tech.
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Blockchain Island | 39 37
take your coin
#tothemoon
Q&A
A Global Ambition ENRICO BRADAMANTE AND OLIVER LA ROSA BRING A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE TO ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING PROJECTS IN CRYPTO, AND SHARE SOME OF IT WITH THE BLOCK.
FROM iGAMING TO CRYPTO - WHAT IS YOUR
to be protected and providers to make longer-term
MOTIVATION AND WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT
investment decisions. This is exactly what happened in
YOU SEE TODAY?
Malta for the online gambling industry – when the first
EB: The “Crypto” space, covering everything from cryptocurrencies to Distributed Ledger Technology and blockchain, is still very new. The fact that regulation in this industry is starting to happen shows that we are at a very early stage of mass-adoption.
regulatory framework was issued. Now the iGaming industry is a multibillion industry worldwide, and in Malta it represents 12% of the GDP. This is the really exciting part for me. I have participated in the exponential growth of the online gaming industry,
Regulation will enable all stakeholders – users and
and I can see a lot of parallels and very similar patterns
providers – to operate in a stable environment with
emerging, both regarding the technology, the regulatory
clear rules and responsibilities. It will allow users
side and the business models.
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WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE IMPACT OF
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BASE YOUR
We are not only an exchange but strive
THIS CRYPTO REVOLUTION TO BE?
OPERATIONS IN MALTA? WHAT MAKES
to be the biggest and most successful
MALTA SPECIAL?
global bank without being a bank.
potential to disrupt the current ways
EB: I have lived and worked in Malta for
YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING IN THE
individuals and corporations pay for
six years. I appreciate the talent pool
IT SECTOR FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS,
products and services by providing a
available - with the right competences, the
MOST OF THE TIME WITH BANKING
much more efficient and secure way
entrepreneurial spirit, and a government
CLIENTS. DOES THIS EXPERIENCE
of moving money. Some even draw
that is “open for business”. Having
HELP YOU IN GLOBIANCE?
parallels with the impact that the ‘.com’
worked with the regulators here, I am also
revolution has had on society.
very confident that the regulations will
EB: This FinTech revolution has the
We have already seen how ICOs and other crowd-funding initiatives have created a new way of financing business ideas outside of the traditional Venture Capital and Private Equity model. This brings new investors into the equation,
the right compromise between rigor and enforcement, and a light bureaucratic touch. Malta is the Blockchain Island: a thriving hub where everything related to “crypto” is happening.
for Citibank in Frankfurt for over 8 years and from the HQ of our IT Company in Malta we provided IT support for the IKANO bank group for 7 European Countries. We did everything from the call centre to infrastructure and major incident management. So we
and takes them much closer to the
LOOKING AT THE CRYPTO LANDSCAPE,
already have experience for most of the
entrepreneurs and their business ideas.
MANY STARTUPS ARE TRYING TO
elements we need for an exchange and
CREATE SOLUTIONS FOR SIMILAR USE
the connected services.
As is usual in any industry, the incumbents will try to resist the change, and we expect this to cause some friction and adoption delays.
CASES. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE TO GLOBIANCE AND WHY DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOUR MODEL?
Ultimately, a combination of lower costs
OLR: First of all we believe in
and decentralisation of these systems
cooperation and do not want to reinvent
will make them emerge as successful
the wheel. The exchange software that
alternatives to the current, stale
we are using has been developed by a
financial industry.
software company based in Germany
WHAT ARE THE KEY BENEFITS OF THE GLOBIANCE SOLUTION?
42
provide the necessary framework with
OLR: Yes, definitely. I lead a shift team
and we also have strong partners for our KYC, payment, and banking services.
YOU ARE CO-FOUNDER OF THE EUROPEAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR DLT AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES – WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN THAT? OLR: Apart from the associations we are representing, we saw the need for a chamber of commerce focused on the crypto industry and its specific needs. My role as a Chairman is promoting DLT, cryptocurrencies, and Malta as
EB: Globiance has a great Management
The exchange will be live end of 2018.
the most important European Country
Team with a proven history of execution
Additionally we will start with a payment
for ICOs and crypto companies. I visit
excellence and the right mix of
solution based on our exchange which will
events around the globe to tell the
experience in the relevant sectors.
allow our clients to accept payments while
world about the successful ecosystem
On the product side, Globiance is
drastically reducing fraud and chargeback
we have built up here in Malta, and
developing an integrated solution
risks. Thanks to our CEO, Enrico
the great support that the industry
with the latest technology available by
Bradamante, who was Managing Director
receives from the government. We hope
leveraging both internal resources and
of NETENT for the last five years, we could
to build up a strong member base and
key partners. On the marketing side,
design a solution that is tailor-made for
represent their interest Europe-wide
Globiance will be leveraging the user
the gaming industry, providing payments
and globally. The initiative receives
acquisition and retention techniques
and KYC at the same time. We will round
interest worldwide and we plan to
that have been fine-tuned over the
up the product portfolio by offering IBAN
expand our partnerships and connect
years in the iGaming industry.
accounts and digital wallets.
with chambers in other continents.
| Blockchain Island
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Q&A
“ We are not only an exchange. We strive to be the biggest and most successful global bank, without being a bank ”
MALTA BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND - WHAT OTHER BENEFITS DOES MALTA OFFER APART FROM THE FORWARDTHINKING REGULATION? OLR: Everyone speaks English and it is an official language - that makes the island very accessible compared to other countries which handle business in their local languages. The financial services, gaming and now the crypto industry have brought a very powerful mix of business people to the island and most of the locations turn into constant networking meetings. This makes it easy to connect to people. The low-side employment costs and tax rates are very attractive to business owners. Having a fully-regulated market also makes it secure for investors to trust in projects incorporated in Malta, and will also allow insurance companies to issue policies insuring digital assets in own wallets or exchanges. We can expect more initiatives to prevent scams and increase credibility. In my opinion Malta is currently the best country in the world for ICO and crypto companies.
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Q&A
CHANGE AND EXCHANGE ZBX.COM CEO DAVID PULIS IS BRINGING THE LEVEL OF QUALITY WE’VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO IN FINANCIAL SERVICES TO A MORE FLEXIBLE SPACE. IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, HE SITS DOWN WITH IVAN BORG AND SHEDS SOME LIGHT ON HIS EFFORTS.
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“ Malta has made itself into the ideal place for blockchain to really hit its stride ”
46
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Q&A
HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR WAY INTO THE CRYPTO WORLD,
YOU’RE ALL ABOUT BRINGING A LEVEL OF QUALITY
AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO GET INVOLVED IN THE
AND LEGITIMACY TO CRYPTO. WHAT STEPS ARE BEING
ZBX PROJECT IN PARTICULAR?
TAKEN TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN?
DP: I was catapulted into the Crypto world in 2013. I had
DP: ZB in China has focused on quality at the expense of
attended a conference in San José with my previous
short-term profits. The same model will be adopted by ZBX
employer, where there were a number of today’s big names
in Malta. One such example is the listing of tokens on the
attending – such as the Winklevoss brothers, who now run
exchange. ZB is a top-5 exchange in spite of its refusing to
Gemini exchange, and many others who were start-ups at
list many coins on its platform. Its aim is not to reach the
the time, or people with ideas. I was lucky to have worked
highest volumes but deliver the best service for the ones
in a company that was one of the early adopters through
that make the cut.
a Bitcoin fund, where it registered the highest-performing fund performance of all time, thanks to the meteoric rise
ZB also gives its users a say as to what tokens are listed
of Bitcoin.
on its platform through a voting system. This could also be adopted under ZBX. We have put together a dream
MALTA HAS BEEN VERY PROACTIVE IN REGULATION FOR
team that is not just versed in Crypto but also possesses
THIS SPACE. WHAT IMPACT HAS THIS HAD, AND WHAT
extensive expertise in financial services. To this end, ZBX
IMPACT WILL IT HAVE ON YOUR OPERATIONS?
will up the ante by giving levels of service and transparency
DP: Malta could have easily taken a back seat and milked its existing sectors, but the government has embraced disruptive technologies and opted to work outside its comfort zone. Hon. Silvio Schembri works day and night in
normally associated with the ‘traditional’ financial industry. Last but not least, having a Malta licence will give the confidence to its users that the exchange is regulated by a serious leading jurisdiction, the Blockchain Island.
attracting the right companies to what we affectionately
HOW DOES THE MALTESE JURISDICTION SQUARE WITH
now call the Blockchain Island.
BLOCKCHAIN’S OVERALL DEVELOPMENT?
Operating in the world’s sole fully-regulated jurisdiction
DP: Malta went into finance about twenty years ago,
gives investors a level of peace of mind and service not
regulated the industry and managed to attract a lot of
normally associated with the financial industry.
key players. More recently, the Maltese Government took
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BIGGEST COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE? DP: I have been in the Crypto sphere for over 5 years. However I’ve also worked in finance for over 15 years. ZBX will bring institutional-grade services and products to its clients. The team behind ZBX is made up of a dream team of industry leaders including ZB.COM – formerly ChinaBTC, a top-5 exchange – that is very selective with the coins it lists on the exchange, EXX.COM, and Zillionbits AG, who provides the secure technology and the flawless track record that comes with never having been hacked. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE FIRM’S FUTURE PLANS? IS THERE ANYTHING IN THE PIPELINE THAT YOU CAN SAFELY ANNOUNCE?
a decision to go in and legitimise a grey area with the three bills that were passed recently. Instead of resting on its laurels, the Maltese government has chosen to be proactive on blockchain and DLT. There have been a lot of illegitimate players in the industry. Since the government has taken it upon itself to create a regulatory framework, the new Maltese legislation should help create standards by which the legitimate actors will be able to distinguish themselves. This is why Malta should be so attractive to anyone in the blockchain and DLT space. Instead of just inviting blockchain-oriented companies to come over, the Maltese jurisdiction is also offering legitimacy. Malta has a first-mover advantage – the industry is already responding, and a number of companies have already established a presence here. I think this trend
DP: ZBX will start as crypto-to-crypto and will offer pairs
will not only be sustained, but is also likely to accelerate
with fiat in the coming months. Various add-on products
quite soon – because Malta has made itself into the ideal
are in the pipeline which will be announced shortly.
place for blockchain to really hit its stride.
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EVERYTHING that RISES... ANGELO DALLI IS AN AI VETERAN WHO BELIEVES ITS TIME HAS COME. HE SPEAKS TO THE BLOCK’S IVAN BORG ABOUT THE RECENT SURGE IN AI, AND HOW IT COULD CONVERGE WITH OTHER EMERGING TECH, LIKE BLOCKCHAIN.
I
ntelligence means different things to
made his mark as an entrepreneur, with several
different people. No matter how you
winning exits already under his belt.
define it, there’s no denying that Artificial
Intelligence has somehow gone from the stuff of science fiction to a revolution that’s not only
of Artificial Intelligence I ask him how he defines intelligence, period. He explains that the picture
possible, but is looking increasingly likely. And
of AI created by popular culture isn’t always
there’s no better man to walk us through the story
helpful. “You hear a lot of misleading claims that
so far, and to give us a glimpse into what’s next,
we’re creating an artificial brain,” he tells me.
than AI luminary Angelo Dalli.
“There is this system called neural nets in AI. They
His jovial demeanour and the sheer breadth of his interests belie a true commitment to the cause
50
Before picking Angelo’s brain on the intricacies
are a crude approximation of how the brain works. There is a little inspiration and grounding from biology, but it’s very different from how the brain
of Artificial Intelligence done right, and a level of
works. Take a one centimetre cube of brain matter
associated expertise that very few can match.
and try to join it to another similar size cube by
Angelo Dalli has been sinking his teeth into
tracing all the connections between them – there
innovative tech since 1995. His work in the fields
isn’t enough computing capacity in the world yet
of search engine technology, intelligent transport,
to do it. I think we are very far away, although I do
big data, online gaming – and even language – has
believe that at some point computers will be on
left him with an enviable track record. He’s also
par with human intelligence”.
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“ Once you have a certain amount of data, all of a sudden you get interesting behaviour – this is what has driven the new wave ”
FEATURE
That particular level of AI is more specifically referred to as Artificial
In essence, this is why Angelo feels like his time has finally come.
General Intelligence, or AGI – and it is still a way down the road.
He’s spent a large part of his life waiting for technology to catch up
“There are few things in life that are built over night,” says Angelo.
to his ambitions, and now it’s a matter of seizing upon a hard-won
“People work on individual problems, and bit-by-bit a lot of
opportunity to be part of the next watershed moment in human
solutions are created which will eventually be ‘chained’ together”.
history. To Angelo, the emergence of AI will be equally as seminal as
I ask him how he decided to invest his energy in AI in the first place. “It was circumstantial that I got into AI,” Angelo explains. “The University of Malta offered an AI degree – a rarity in itself for that time. With the hardware available at the time we could still do facial recognition, even in 1998. The problem back then was that there wasn’t enough data. While I learnt all the fundamentals, the application areas of AI were still very limited. There weren’t many smart phones, you couldn’t download much and there weren’t many digital photos. They were a little ahead of their time”.
the impact of the steam engine or the plough. He emphasizes the importance of an ethical approach towards artificial intelligence, however. The immense power that stands to be harnessed ought to be deployed in the right way, freeing human beings up so they may achieve their true potential. However, Angelo concedes that AI could cause a great deal of harm if used carelessly or maliciously. “I am completely convinced that AI is going to change human
“There was quite a negative attitude towards AI though,” Angelo
society – the next industrial revolution will be powered by it,” claims
elaborates. “No one really wanted to work in it, in fact. A lot of this
Angelo. “This is why I believe research needs to be done in an
stuff you hear about deep learning started off in Switzerland and
ethical way that impacts society positively. I believe AI in its current
Canada, there was a small group of people who kept it going, and
form should focus more on assisting people rather than replacing
it survived. It had a bad reputation because it was over-hyped. A
them. I am very much in favour of light regulation. What I would be
lot was promised that wasn’t delivered. The difference now is that
uncomfortable with is any weaponised use of AI, without human
it can deliver.”
control. I think it is vital that an ethical framework should guide AI
I ask him which factors have changed over time, enabling AI to go from tall order territory to the realm of accelerating likelihood. Angelo highlights two primary factors that held back AI in the 80s and 90s, but have since tipped in its favour. These are processing power, and the availability of data. The usefulness of processing power is relatively clear, but less obvious is the impact of data. Angelo explains that intelligent behaviour doesn’t manifest artificially unless and until a critical threshold is reached, in terms of the availability of a suitable ‘learning environment’ made up of critical data.
research, as one bad apple could spoil the whole thing”. I ask Angelo if AI plays well with other emerging technologies, like IoT and blockchain. Based on what’s already been established about the usefulness of data, there’s an obvious overlap between AI and IoT. With blockchain the overlap is less obvious, and Angelo seems to think the two technologies can develop in parallel. “AI will use blockchain mostly as a useful tool, whenever it needs to record something immutably,” Angelo tells me. “If you have really
“In order to ‘train’ AI you need to have a lot of data, but no one
sophisticated systems, how will you pay the AI if it starts charging
knew the minimum limit beyond which it becomes superhuman,”
you? I think this will become more common, and it will enable
Angelo explains. “The problem was that the guys in 80s and 90s
transactions to happen more efficiently. I think as the amount of
got it right but didn’t have enough data. The most cutting-edge
transactions grows you will need AI algorithms to help you sort out
systems are using algorithms invented in the 80s, and are more or
the mass of data – to help people make sense of it”.
less unchanged. What has changed is the amount of data. It took us twenty or thirty years to realise this. Once you have a certain
As AI continues on its ascendancy, Angelo Dalli is poised to be in the
amount of data, all of a sudden you get interesting behaviour – this
thick of things. While it is not the only exciting emerging technology
is what has driven the new wave”. For instance, the amount of
out there, it will certainly have a say in how we’ll live our lives in the
images that populate the web is far greater in 2018 than it was in
nearer-than-you-think future. Also, just as AI had to bide its time and
1998. That massive increase truly is useful if you’re trying to get a
wait for processing and data innovations to occur, it now stands to
machine to recognize human faces and tell them apart. While it’s
enhance other technologies and in turn enable further technological
hard to say exactly where the ‘magical data threshold’ is, it’s there.
leaps – for everything that rises must converge.
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rel ive the moments MALTA BLOCKCHAIN SUMMIT LAUNCH WEEKENDER 15 JUNE The Malta Blockchain Summit kicks off its weekender launch with an exclusive dinner for VIP guests at the elegant Verdala Palace.
PROOF OF STEAK 16 JUNE A select crowd of blockchain elites graces our Proof of Steak pool party at Hugo’s Terrace, with the inimitable Olaf Carlsson-Wee.
FIRECHAT WITH BROCK PIERCE 21 AUGUST Brock Pierce holds court with a carefully curated crypto-minded crowd at the Sheer Bastion.
THE KNIGHTS OF BLOCKCHAIN 10 SEPTEMBER Palazzo Parisio hosts a meet-and-greet featuring Artem Tolgachev and 150 selected VIPs from the blockchain scene in Malta.
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MALTA BLOCKCHAIN SUMMIT
LAUNCH WEEKENDER
Olaf Carlson-Wee, Polychain
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15 JUNE - VERDALA PALACE
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PROOF OF STEAK 58
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Olaf Carlson-Wee, Polychain
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16 JUNE
POOL PARTY
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Brock Pierce, Bitcoin Foundation
FIRECHAT WITH
BROCK PIERCE
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21 AUGUST - THE SHEER BASTION
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THE KNIGHTS OF BLOCKCHAIN 62
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GALLERY
10 SEPTEMBER - PALAZZO PARISIO
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300
EXHIBITORS
5K
DELEGATES
20 ICOS
1K
INVESTORS
The Malta Blockchain Summit, this November 1st and 2nd: I look forward to meeting you then to strengthen our ongoing efforts in making Malta the Blockchain Island. Hon. Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta, Keynote Speaker
T E A T R
+356 7903 2006 dennis@maltablockchainsummit.com maltablockchainsummit.com
E&S Group is a boutique multi-disciplinary firm focused on the provision of blockchain, ICOs, tokenomics, corporate, tax and related services in or from Malta. We believe in building long-lasting professional relationships with our clients.
Contact us to find out more.
Q&A
THE NEW RULES
CHRISTIAN ELLUL AND KARL SCHRANZ, OF E&S GROUP FAME, ARE LEADING LEGAL MINDS IN THE BLOCKCHAIN, TOKENOMICS AND ICO REALM. THEY TALK TO THE BLOCK ON RECENT LEGISLATION, AND ITS IMPLICATIONS.
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HOW WILL THE 3 BILLS PASSED IN PARLIAMENT HELP THE CRYPTO AND BLOCKCHAIN INDUSTRY? CE: The three bills passed in parliament will give a much-needed structure to the industry. The bills have been designed in a way that will not only benefit the industry, but also Malta. The Malta Digital Innovation Authority Bill allows for the establishment of a new authority, to be known as the Malta Digital Innovation Authority – with one of its main objectives revolving around the certification and supervision of voluntary applications. Essentially the bill aims to cultivate a culture of cooperation between the Malta Digital Innovation Authority and other national authorities in Malta, by providing for a principle of mutual recognition with regards to qualifications of persons involved in the review and to audit the innovative technology arrangements. Although this isn’t exclusive to blockchain, it will ensure that there is a positive environment to encourage innovation and the advent of new technology, but in a regulated manner.
HOW IS THE CRYPTO INDUSTRY EVOLVING AND IS IT CHALLENGING FIAT CURRENCIES?
&
CE: The crypto industry is rapidly evolving, with many businesses choosing to start an ICO to gather funds for their services offered on the platform. In order to start off their project, ICOs have to issue tokens with a value tied to it. This will enable them to attract investors to support and participate in the ICO crowd-funding process. Although these tokens have a value, they can be used in two different ways according to the project in place. An electronic coin is used as a means for online payments while a token is used to buy a service offered by the platform. Not all platforms accept the same tokens, some ICOs only accept their token being issued. KS: I believe that FIAT currencies will not fade away in the future. Cryptocurrencies will only challenge them and stabilise them within the economic sphere. FIAT currencies will stay sought after by all countries as their national common currency to be used. Cryptocurrency will only remain as an alternative currency which can be used to be traded or exchanged to other cryptocurrencies.
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The Innovative Technology Arrangements and Service Bill,
exchanges and other DLT platforms. The three bills that are to
provides for the regulatory framework of designated innovative
be implemented are the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act,
technology and also provides for the implementation of the
Virtual Financial Assets Act and the Innovation Technology
regulatory functions of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority.
Arrangements and Services Act. Since other countries have
The bill, in conjunction with the MDIA bill will create an authority
not set clear and progressive regulations on blockchain based
to encourage innovation but also provide for a regulatory regime
platforms, Malta will remain the leading trailblazer setting clear
so that an environment of responsible innovative technology is
regulations on this platform.
being fostered. WHAT IS THE SET FRAMEWORK OF THESE BILLS WHICH HELP The Virtual Financial Assets Act is a rather robust and welcomed
MORE CRYPTO EXCHANGES TO RELOCATE IN MALTA?
piece of legislation. This will add a considerable amount of legitimisation to the industry – adding structure, a detailed
KS: The bills work in conjunction with each other. The main goal is
process with disclosure requirements, and healthy degree of
to encourage innovation, streamline the processes for obtaining
investor protection. This will allow investors who were previously
approval by encouraging intergovernmental agency and mutual
hesitant at investing in the industry to take a second look – and
recognition, and also provide a level of structure and much
from an issuer’s point of view, it will encourage them to look at
needed investor protection.
Malta as their chosen jurisdiction. DEFINE ‘TOKENOMICS’ – WHY IS IT SUCH AN IMPORTANT CONCEPT? KS: Tokenomics is the critical exercise which assists upcoming ICOs in order to determine the feasibility of the project together with outlining the adequate functions and specifics in order to take forward the project successfully. It consists of analysing the token design to extrapolate maximum raise and token value throughout the lifetime of the tokenised environment. The proposed way forward for the project is analysed and compared with
“ With the progressive approach shown by the Maltese government, companies using blockchain technology are moving to Malta ”
the value of the ecosystem by evaluating the planned Token Distribution and Fund Allocation. This will essentially pave the way for future lockup options to be identified. Additionally, market comparisons are made in order to approve the viability of the whole project. Tokenomics is a critical function undertaken by financial experts
The level of potential liability exchanges face is immense. The Virtual Financial Assets Act provides for exceptions, where these exchanges can avoid liability if they meet certain criteria. The criteria are of course under the purview of investor protection, and are designed toward that end. These provisions are a very positive welcome for legitimate exchanges - from both a legal point of view and a commercial one. They will be legally
protected, so long as they operate legally under the guidance of the MFSA and the VFAA. They will also be in a commercially advantageous jurisdiction. WHAT CHANGES ARE YOU EXPECTING/ HOPING TO HAPPEN WITHIN THE INDUSTRY?
with experience in the field and it will definitely pave the way to a
CE: With these new laws, which are expected to come into
successful and fruitful project.
effect late September or early October, Malta will continue to see
MANY COUNTRIES ARE FOLLOWING SUITE TO REGULATE BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTO. HOW CAN MALTA REMAIN A LEADER?
more companies setting up shop on the island. In newspapers worldwide, Malta is listed as a go to country having the friendliest regulations for all blockchain and fintech companies. I expect that this industry will continue to grow and become a leader
CE: With the progressive approach shown by the Maltese
in the blockchain sphere. New opportunities are arising in this
government, companies using blockchain technology are moving
sector, with more innovative people exploring this platform. As a
to Malta, helping them to flourish in this new market. These
company we are continuously growing, with a number of clients
laws are expected to regulate ICOs, cryptocurrencies, Crypto
choosing to set up or register their ICO project in Malta.
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CRYPTO FOR GOOD STEVE TENDON HAS A LOT OF BELIEF IN THE POWER OF BLOCKCHAIN, AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR SOCIETAL PROGRESS. HE TELLS THE BLOCK WHY IT’S TIME TO ENGAGE WITH THE CHANGE.
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S
teve Tendon has been a very vocal and very consistent
Migrant workers sending money home to their country of
evangelist for blockchain and distributed ledger
origin is a hugely underrated catalyst for growth in developing
technology. His soft-spoken demeanour belies a real
countries. Taking the middle men out of the picture, along with
commitment to the cause of the Blockchain Island, a concept
the arguably unfair charges that come with them, would result
that he considers goes beyond an actual physical space. He
in a huge increment in the development potential of these
explains how we’ve yet to scratch the surface of what’s possible
cross-border remittances – another example of the deeply
with this emerging tech, and his excitement at the potential for
impactful positive change possible through blockchain.
positive societal change is infectious.
Tendon goes on to reference other real-world problems that
He uses a recent initiative by the Maltese Ministry of Education
could find their solution through blockchain, but the one that
to illustrate his point. The Ministry intends to place academic
really hit a chord with me involved the sub-prime mortgage
titles on the blockchain. While this may outwardly seem like a
crisis of around ten years ago – one of the defining historical
bland move – databases are nothing new in education – there
developments for anyone my sort of age. According to Tendon,
are characteristics that are unique to blockchain that stand
the solution to the problem of fractional reserve could well lie
to make a significant impact, as Tendon explains. “You might
in crypto. When I ask him about the potential for self-executing
say ‘So what? We’ve had academic titles in databases before. It’s not a big deal’. This is where you need to think about those two properties that the blockchain has, which are lacking from conventional database technologies. Because such a system would be global and un-censorable, it becomes much more difficult to create fake academic titles. But the more important aspect is what this could signify in situations of great distress…” Tendon explains how using blockchain to record academic titles ends up democratising the process – in essence, people end up having greater ownership over their qualifications. This would be exceptionally desirable in situations of displacement under duress. Tendon uses an example from recent history to illustrate his point. “Look for instance, at what happened in Syria. The country had a population of highly educated people – doctors, engineers and the like, who literally had to drop everything and flee to other countries,” he explains. “They land in other countries and are asked who they are”. In a world where academic qualifications are recorded in a trustworthy and
smart contracts mitigating risk by virtue of the increased speed of access and outcome, he’s a little more cautious, but also concedes that the potential is there. The potential to avoid a repeat of “all those artificial problems that became real”, as Tendon puts it, is a
“ Malta is showing what the real gamechanger is – a shift in the mindset and perspective of the people in charge ”
immutable fashion, displacement under duress need not mean
potential blockchain disruption that could stabilise markets – irony intended. However, his focus remains on the positive potential of blockchain technology when it is actually embraced by the established players, particularly central bankers. “The central banks could adopt this technology both as a way to prevent the
a complete career reboot. This would be obviously desirable to
popularisation of cryptocurrencies but also, and this is much
the displaced individuals themselves, but also to the countries
more subtle, as a way to avoid the crisis because it gives a
that give them refuge, that would be able to benefit from their
means to counter the negative effects of fractional reserve.”
easily-verified skills. Steve Tendon’s dream of a blockchain space might not be round Tendon mentions other examples of the democritising effects
the corner, but it is down the road. The level of willingness by
that blockchain technology can have when centralised authority
state-level actors to embrace it might be a factor in how quickly
fails to be a solution, or actively becomes part of the problem –
this dream comes to fruition, but when a certain critical mass is
referencing difficult political situations in places like Ukraine and
reached there will be no fighting the change. “Malta is showing
Turkey. However, there is also the potential to remove middle
what the real game-changer is – a shift in the mindset and
men, even when these are private actors. Tendon mentions the
perspective of the people in charge,” Tendon tells me. “They
huge relevance blockchain has for cross-border remittances.
realised that this crypto-sphere has so much to offer in terms of
Currently, relatively small remittances are subject to hefty
benefits. If we do this the whole country will become much more
charges as middle-men and monopolies conspire to take a hefty
prosperous and everyone will be better off”. Ultimately, that
bite out of such payments.
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BDO Article
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BDO Article
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FEATURE
WE HAVE LIFTOFF JAN SAMMUT IS HOMEGROWN TALENT, HAILING FROM THE BLOCKCHAIN ISLAND OF MALTA. HAVING TAKEN THE PLUNGE LAUNCHING HIS OWN ICO, HE’S NOW PARLAYING THOSE EFFORTS INTO FACILITATING OTHERS WITH ICO LAUNCH MALTA.
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S
peak to anyone who’s gone through the launch of an ICO, and a common thread will likely
emerge – it’s really hard to get the right advice, and sifting through the chaff can be an expensive process. There is no true substitute for first-hand knowledge, but it’s yet early days in the world of crypto. There’s just not that much surefire experience around. Jan Sammut learned that to his cost as he launched his own ICO. His involvement with RefToken taught a number of expensive and time-consuming lessons which have allowed him to commoditise the process of launching an ICO.
“ When such a trust gap is bridged, everyone can get on with their business with relative peace of mind ”
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I ask Jan how he got involved in ICOs before most
– competitors won’t impact other clients”. This
people even had heard of them. He speaks of the
means that if one client does something wrong, and
experience like it is ancient history – such is the
gets something like a cease-and-desist letter, there
learning curve and the speed of progress. “Back
won’t be any impact on anyone else. Jan elaborates
then it was like the Wild West. We did pretty well with
– “We take the users from opening up the company,
it, but then we knew nothing,” he explains. “It was a
set them up with a legal structure, and we advise
learning experience. We knew the tech was a really
them on tokenomic structure – and even write their
good fix for a real word problem – affiliate fraud. I
White Paper – right down to the privacy policy of
realised that with smart contracts you could mitigate
their website”.
the problems on both sides of the equation. You can prevent merchants from not paying affiliates, and also mitigate CPA fraud by validating transactions on the blockchain, and make sure there’s no skimming of sales, a massive problem in affiliation”.
Jan points out that while blockchain has very wide potential applications, it’s important to remember what sets it apart. “What people don’t realise is that blockchain is a very bad way of storing data, if that’s your only requirement – they’re expensive
I ask him how he got into crypto in the first place,
and slow,” he tells me. “It’s suitable to address
leading him to think up this specific application.
specific problems. Unless you really have parties
“When I first starting looking into Ethereum and
with conflicting interests, need to have an accessible
started reading about smart contracts, the light bulb
ledger, or multiple parties with a financial incentive
switched on,” Jan tells me. “I had been battling the
to cheat – sometimes a normal database will do”.
problem for five years of my life. We ran the ICO and it
However, as Jan points out, whenever there is a
was successful. We built a prototype of the platform,
trust gap to be addressed, it is absolutely the right
and the beta is being built as we speak, while running
technology for the job. When such a trust gap is
in proof-of-concept form on our ICO platform.
bridged, everyone can get on with their business
In the process, a lot of lessons were learned. Soon enough, Jan noticed that this hard-won experience
with relative peace of mind. Well, unless they’re in the fraud business.
had a market of its own. “We started getting a lot
Much has been made of Malta’s efforts to fashion
of inquiries and requests for advice,” he recalls. “I
itself into the leading jurisdiction in blockchain and
gave all these lawyers crash courses in ICOs. It was
DLT. In Jan Sammut, it finds some of its most active
staring us in the face that there was a business
home-grown talent. Having acquired a wealth of
opportunity here. We were lucky, the timing was
practical experience through RefToken and their
great. We pulled in clients, built the ICO platform
portfolio of over 30 ICO clients they’ve assisted
which is constantly being iterated on, and now we
to date, he’s now transposing the wealth of his
have this incredible code stack which can deploy an
knowledge into ICO Launch Malta. The goal of his new
ICO in a week”.
initiative is to allow its clients to really learn from the
I ask him to go into more detail – it almost sounds
mistakes of others.
too good to be true. “If someone has a website and a
As things stand, ICOs still represent relatively new
White Paper signed off by a lawyer, we can add a call
ground, and first-time entrants to the space are often
to action button and link it to an instance of our ICO
at a loss for the right auxiliary services. ICO Launch
platform which we deploy under a sub-domain,” Jan
Malta is poised to accelerate the learning curve, and
explains. “This means it runs in a distributed manner
is looking to help a rising ecosystem take flight.
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TRADING UP ADARA EXCHANGE CEO OLGA PETRUNINA AND COO IRA EROKHINA ARE TWO YOUNG WOMEN TAKING THE TECH INDUSTRY BY STORM WITH AN INNOVATIVE TAKE ON CRYPTO EXCHANGE.
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Q&A
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST STRENGTH OF BLOCKCHAIN, AS
IE: You don’t have to be a millionaire, right now the way
YOU SEE IT?
investment works you have to have at least ten to twenty
OP: I truly believe in the power of blockchain. Right now the financial system is very old school – we live in the new digital world but we still use ancient financial instruments. By introducing an intermediary layer via blockchain there is going to be an increase in the revenue and the quality of your product. You can invest in human resources instead of paying all those other intermediaries. The financial system will be one of the first things to transform via blockchain. Digital assets and financial instruments are the future. Transition of ownership is one of the basic ideas of blockchain. All info is open and transparent. You can see all the revenues which are received by each side of the deal. Each part of the deal is honest. Our platform is built for mainstream investment. Through
thousand Euros in your fund to access investment pools. Also when you transfer the money you don’t really know where you’re giving the money. It goes there, it’s locked, it’s not transparent. The way we want to set it up with the traders, when you follow the traders and when you follow strategy on the exchange everything is transparent and super easy to use. This eliminates the buy-in problem.
“ You can see all the revenues which are received by each side of the deal. Each part of the deal is honest ”
social trading, you can join the strategy of super successful traders and follow them. We provide a ‘library’ through our platform – providing data to our clients – and they can create
IS THAT REALISTIC TO SHARE YOUR WAY OF TRADING? IF
their own strategies through our tools and share with the
YOUR STRATEGY IS USED BY MULTIPLE PEOPLE MARKET
community. The communities follow the strategy and share
FORCES WILL DILUTE IT...
our success. We have a lot of ideas how to improve the crypto.
OP: No, this is social trading. You can pick up on strategies
IE: There are so many people who want to be involved but the entry barrier is pretty high. Access to information, it’s
and follow them. Of course if a lot of funds follow just one strategy, it will become ineffective because the market
hard to know who to trust. There’s a limited amount of useful
will change. So people should check, and set up the risk
info in languages other than English.
limits. We have all the instruments for reducing risks. If it’s not profitable – just cancel the strategy. We believe that in
It’s hard to find people who know about the market, to get
the future you won’t need traditional money. If you create
trustworthy advice from, including legal advice. There are
the right investment opportunities for people, they can
lot of people moving into crypto who claim to be experts
spend less time on making money and more time on more
but don’t have the knowledge or experience to provide the
interesting productive things, such as art and education.
services they’re selling. A lot of people see crypto as a quick money grab, but not us. HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO EFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE THROUGH THIS TECH? OP: Our idea is to create access to investment opportunities for mainstream investors. Anyone who wants to be a part of it can choose to be a part of it. They can choose to learn first and they can follow one of the traders on the platform. If you go to any of the exchanges today you’ll be lost – you need to
IE: If you have this knowledge, why not share it and let others access this space as well? HOW ARE YOU LOOKING TO COMPETE AND STAND OUT? OP: Most crypto exchanges are just thinking about making money, they’re not thinking about the legal framework or product improvement. They’re making money because they can do it right now. They know the market is eventually going to change. They might not transition well to a regulated environment.
know so many things to protect yourself. What you can store
IE: Current exchanges are mostly for people who have been in
on the exchange and what you can’t, for example. We want
crypto for a long time, people who have traded before. They’re
to educate people.
not really accessible to new users – that’s where we come in!
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SERVICING THE ICO INDUSTRY IN MALTA WORDS BY MARK ATTARD - CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, BDO
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I
nitial Coin Offerings incentivise the creation of platforms for
them with setting up their bank accounts to facilitate the operations
innovative ideas to be implemented. Raising capital through
of the proposed business model.
ICOs has brought about a win-win situation whereby the
issuers receive the working capital required to take their project to the next level - while investors, small and large, are offered the chance to invest in innovative start-up companies, diversify their portfolios and, in the case of utility tokens, make use of tokens to purchase the services offered on the founders’ platforms. The raising of funds can be done by way of private contributions and through a public offering. Both methods of ICOs allow for a convenient and secure way for participation of third parties through distributed ledger technology. Malta boasts of a pro-business Government pioneering DLT legislative frameworks, efficient tax structuring opportunities and a rapidly growing blockchain ecosystem. Malta has become one of the first jurisdictions to provide for a legal framework regulating token offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges. Through the introduction of the Virtual Financial Assets Act, the legislator is introducing a new regime whereby founders of tokens would be able to benefit from a degree of legal certainty, whilst simultaneously providing for investor protection to all third parties contributing to the project. It has become explicitly clear that having the right advisors alongside the
Thanks to our connections with other member firms forming part of BDO’s strong global network, we are also able to stay on top of developments taking place in other jurisdictions to be able to determine how structures in Malta can complement already existing operations, or how Malta can offer alternative options for costeffectiveness and stability. Apart from initial coin offerings, we also offer full tax advisory services in relation to the trading of cryptocurrencies, full legal advisory if one is seeking to establish a blockchain business in Malta, including the launching of DLT platforms, assisting in the setting up of collective investment schemes and advise constantly on any legal developments directly affecting this sector. At BDO Malta we ensure that no rock is left unturned and we will continue to safeguard the interests of the founders behind these platforms as well as the interests of the individuals and organisations placing their trust and assets on these projects within such an innovative sector which is sure to continue to prosper as worldwide adoption continues to be implemented.
founders of the project, increases the chances of success for ICOs and their related project, whilst providing the necessary peace of mind that regulations are abided to by the Issuer. BDO Fintech Advisory Limited will in fact, apply to become a VFA Agent under the new legal framework. This role will entail a responsibility to ensure that the legal person
OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: •
elements of the proposed structure
issuing a token or applying for a VFA licence would have satisfied all of the requirements arising from the Act, and we would be able to advise
•
•
•
private token offering documents and any other legal
based in Malta as well as provide ancillary services thereto, in Blockchain jurisdiction has to offer. In particular, advice related to
document which could be applicable •
Assistance with launching the ICO including pitching opportunities in collaboration with our partners having
the token categorisation is crucial in light of the various legal and tax implications which an ICO may bring about. At BDO Malta, we
Drafting or Review of the legal documentation including terms & conditions, privacy policies,
a firm, is in a position to advise and recommend the ideal structure order for the client to benefit from all the incentives that Malta as a
Setting up of the legal structure (according to the best identified legal form suited for the structure)
Act and any other applicable rules and regulations. Equipped to provide a wide array of advisory services, BDO Malta, as
Legal Review of the White Paper, the Token and the Tokenomics
and guide clients on all matters relating to their responsibilities and obligations. Therefore, ensuring compliance with the provisions of the
Consolidated report covering the legal and tax
access to large-sized audiences, both live and online •
Traditional banking solution with European Banks
which exists surrounding ICOs and other blockchain-related
•
Post-ICO Token and Legal Management
propositions, the advisory provided would take into consideration
•
Assistance with applications for respective licences
•
VFA Agent Services
•
Audit Verification Services
•
Advice on Accounting Treatment & Policies
continuously work to ensure that, amid the disruptive regulation
both proposed legislation as well as other industry accepted practices upon which future governance would be expected to be based. BDO Malta also has introducer agreements with all of the commercial banks in Malta. In this respect, we would be able to provide assistance in introducing our clients to licensed credit institutions and assist
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IT’S OUR BUSINESS TO KNOW YOUR BUSINESS SERVICING THE INDUSTRIES: GAMING
I FINTECH I BANKING I INSURANCE I MANUFACTURING I MARITIME I AVIATION I RETAIL
OUR SERVICES: X TAX
X OUTSOURCING
X AUDIT
X BLOCKCHAIN ADVISORY
X LEGAL ADVISORY
X TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY
X LICENSING
X SYSTEM / COMPLIANCE AUDITS
Call us on +356 2131 3060 or email us on fintech@bdo.com.mt www.bdo.com.mt BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. © 2018 BDO. All rights reserved.
A TOKEN OF TRUST
Q&A
TRUST UNDERPINS COMMERCE, AND VADIM FEDOTOV IS LOOKING TO BRING MORE OF BOTH TO AFFILIATE MARKETING. HE TELLS THE BLOCK’S IVAN BORG HOW.
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HOW DID YOU FIND YOUR WAY TO AETOKEN? WHAT WAS YOUR BACKGROUND LEADING UP TO IT? VF: Interestingly, it was my longstanding career in affiliate marketing, and issues that limited my company’s ability to scale that led to the first draft of the AEToken Whitepaper. I have been in the online gaming industry for over 11 years, both on the operator and the affiliate side. My initial entry through SEO for Highlight Media was followed by senior management positions at various other operators. Three years ago, I started my own affiliate venture as a digital marketing agency to service B2B partners with marketing solutions. My past experience enabled me to see both sides of industry issues, and led to the genesis of AEToken. Last December, while studying the blockchain and ICO explosion, it hit me that blockchain technology was an elegant solution that can truly address quite a few of the ‘hiccups’ that were preventing our industry from expanding its business models and attaining its true potential. I wanted to come up with a solution for my own substantial business issues that would allow me to expand more safely and quickly. That’s how AEToken was born.
“ We want to enable everyone to conduct business safely, confidently, profitably, and to jointly grow the multi-billion dollar affiliate market exponentially ”
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Q&A
IS AFFILIATE MARKETING CURRENTLY SUFFERING FROM
WHAT INCENTIVE DOES AETOKEN OFFER ON THE
A TRUST GAP? HOW DO YOU PROPOSE TO ADDRESS IT?
PUBLISHING SIDE OF THE EQUATION?
VF: Absolutely! Much of this deficit stems from the fraud
VF: We are not here to tip the scale in favour of the
committed in the early days of online casinos. Publishers
publisher or the affiliate, but to provide a level playing field
avoid taking large numbers of new customers from an
for both sides. We want to enable everyone to conduct
advertiser on day one, even if they can easily handle the
business safely, confidently, profitably, and to jointly grow
traffic. On the flipside, advertisers are also reluctant to
the multi-billion dollar affiliate market exponentially.
send a large amount of leads to a new partner, wary of not getting paid and risking the advanced capital needed to generate those leads.
The same transactional fee issues mentioned above are also felt by the publisher side while paying out commissions. Our mediation and smart contract features will enable a
AEToken addresses these issues from multiple angles.
publisher to take 1000 leads from a walk-in affiliate and feel
It’s facile to say that smart contracts will make sure that
comfortable with that deal, knowing full well that their funds
deals are secure and that blockchain will keep everything
will only get released if the conditions of the deal are met.
transparent. While it’s true that AEToken’s solution implements these strategies, we have developed a unique mediation tool, which will be the third prong and the backbone of our platform, designed to infuse trust back into the industry. Shaving and cross-selling will always be at the mercy of
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST MILESTONES ON YOUR HORIZON, AS THINGS STAND? VF: We are in our private sale right now. The next major milestone will be the public ICO, as I will be utilising my affiliate marketing company’s multiple channels to gather a minimum of 5000 ICO investors. Stemming from the financial world, if
the publishers, anybody who tells you otherwise is being
a public company has 5000 investors, it then has a natural
disingenuous. While we may not be able to eliminate it
and daily liquidity to support a diverse shareholder base. This
entirely, we will certainly be able to reduce it greatly.
will be important for both affiliates and publishers transacting
AFFILIATE FRAUD IS OBVIOUSLY A SERIOUS ISSUE. ARE THERE LESS ‘DELIBERATE’ PROBLEMS THAT AFFILIATES
with AEToken to have faith in its liquidity and stability. AEToken provides the industry with the tools necessary for it to explode.
DEAL WITH IN THEIR BUSINESS? DOES AETOKEN HAVE
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BIGGEST
THE POTENTIAL TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS?
STRENGTH AS A TEAM?
VF: Fraud as mentioned is a given, however there are
VF: Our team – I will say this proudly, is unlike any I have
plenty of other issues that affiliates deal with, like excessive
seen in this space before. Our team is our greatest strength.
transaction fees, high currency exchange rates and prolonged fund turnover and payout times. A lot of affiliates are given incentives to use payment processors. This eats into the affiliates’ profit margin and prevents them from having the additional capital to expand their business. The AET utility token solves these issues. When implemented in the affiliate industry it will provide a more stable pricing environment, with the flexibility to be exchanged for these cryptocurrencies at the desire of the AET token holder. The payments and transfers will cost a fraction of what they do now and limits will not be placed. We will also provide an AEToken mobile optimised wallet
I have gathered a very unique blend of individuals that are at the top of their respective fields. We have the best of the best, and there’s an awesome balance of skills. Gene Hoffman’s profile speaks for itself. There really isn’t much more needed to be said about our CTO. His technical skills in the delivery the implementation of our software is truly world class. Jason Fernandes, our COO brings a mixture of tech, blockchain, innovation and public presentation to the table. Our advisors are also top-notch. From Eman Pulis to Marcus Segal, Dr. Evan Luthra, Walter Komarek and Michael Caselli – their acumen speaks for itself.
with an app to enable token holders to switch their AETs for
It is the blend of all our talents that make AEToken special. I
any form of fiat or cryptocurrency.
am very lucky to have assembled such a team.
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FEATURE
When Form Follows Substance JAMES CATANIA SPEAKS TO THE BLOCK’S IVAN BORG ABOUT A MORE RATIONAL APPROACH TO CRYPTO.
I
ntelliblock, with James Catania at the helm,
is measured. He explains that it is hard to determine
has been on an impressive streak of late.
if, how, and why and ICO would or wouldn’t turn out
As a long-serving veteran in tech, and a
successfully. In fact, the factors seem to shift quite
man with many strings to his bow, he is a hard-
fluidly in these early days of the tech. “It’s very hard
nosed workhorse who eschews excessive self-
to say what determines the success or failure of an
promotion. Even before embarking on his journey
ICO,” James explains. “It varies with the market and
in blockchain, James Catania had already put
its progression. The success factors are shifting
together a pretty storied career. He’s been working
and changing all the time. The jurisdiction chosen
in the IT industry since 1997, having started to code
does make a difference, that’s why we’re seeing a
at the age of six. He went on to work with some
lot of people coming to Malta. It’s fully regulated
of the biggest companies in world, and eventually
now, and that does help”.
wound up in Geneva working as a consultant on security with the United Nations. His experience in encryption turned out to be a massive asset when James was introduced to blockchain and decided to take the leap.
However, he does identify other ‘clues’ he looks for when he evaluates ICOs. “The success and failure of an ICO is determined by the real strength of the project, and whether it actually needs blockchain to run,” James tells me. “We have a 100% success
I ask James if there’s any way to determine the
rate on ICOs to date because we have a very strict
likely success or failure of an ICO, but his response
vetting process”.
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He still believes the business background of the key players behind an ICO is a key consideration, starting with who backs the initiative, to where the advice is coming from – “Although most of the companies seem like start-ups, very successful ICOs are usually backed by very serious business individuals with lots of experience in successful business. The biggest determining factor, believe it or not, is the team of advisors who is guiding you through the ICO process. Obviously there’s a lot of attention given to marketing, because you can have the best product in the world but if no one knows about it, you’re not going to get funded”. James, however, reminds me to beware of false prophets. “There’s still a bit of a play on the celebrity advisors,” he tells me. “We’re very against the celebrity advisor trend. We believe that it would eventually be more of a detriment to a project than a success factor”. James’ warning against relying on celebrities for advice somewhat typifies him – he always expects style to be backed by substance. James explains why the process of sourcing the right advice is such a big issue. “Like every new technology, at the very beginning, everyone claims they’re an expert,” he tells me. “Unfortunately, as you know, that’s not always the case. That’s why it’s hard to get real advice”. James tells me that even seasoned businessmen can fall into this trap, as the space is new and there is a technical deficit that needs to be addressed – “What we actually recommend is to actually call, crosscheck references and not just go on word of mouth”. He also makes a similar recommendation, in fairness, when it comes to would-be investors – it always pays to do your homework. “There is a lot of what we call industry noise,” James continues. “There is just so much noise out there, but this won’t last long. In about a year’s time, all the small wannabes will just die out because they just don’t have the capability, and clients will eventually get more familiar with the technology. Once there is more knowledge out there, this will become a much clearer industry”.
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FEATURE
I ask him about his vision for
competitive jurisdiction will be for
Intelliblock. “Our vision is to make
naught: “We highly recommend
as many partnerships as we can,
a light touch on regulation. We
across the globe – that’s why we’re
need clarity and transparency, but
travelling so much.” says James.
also balance”. However, James’
“We just finalised an agreement in
view on the new legislation is
China. Now we’re in Turkey trying to
overwhelmingly positive – and he
do the same thing. We’re trying to
hopes that when they come into
scale up slowly but surely”.
force it will be less complicated for
I ask him what he considers Intelliblock’s core mission to be.
“ The success and failure of an ICO is determined by the real strength of the project, and whether it actually needs blockchain to run ”
blockchain enterprise to interact with ‘traditional’ legacy banks.
“Our core mission is to provide
I talk to James about the upcoming
real expertise, advice and quality
release of version 2.0 of the Teros
advice based on experience. One
platform, which is something
of the major policies at Intelliblock
of a big entry on the Intelliblock
is we never call ourselves ‘experts’,
platform. It’s designed to handle
we let other people do that. We
both STOs (Security Token
like to think we know what we’re
Offerings) as well as ICOs. “We’re
doing, because we’re one of the
accepting KYC and client accounts
most experienced companies in
for individuals, corporate accounts
Europe, especially on blockchain
and accredited investor accounts.
solutions. Our core mission is
They all have their own KYC and
to help our clients achieve their
on-boarding process, which is
project goals. Our catchphrase is
completely independent and
‘We simply deliver’, because that’s
suited to the requirements for the
what our mission is – to deliver. One
different jurisdictions that it runs.
of our biggest clients was in a pinch
We are accepting KYC procedures
recently, because they trusted a
for over 121 jurisdictions”. James
bunch of amateurs. Intelliblock
points out that Teros 2.0 can issue
stepped in and cleaned up the
and accept funding a wide variety
mess in about five days – and a few
of tokens, which is a real strong
sleepless nights!”
competitive advantage for such
“As for Malta as a primary jurisdiction, the legislation is out
a platform. He expects it to be exceptionally well-received.
and it’s very good. They have done
James Catania’s earnest personal
a very good job of it, but now we
style is earning rave reviews for
need to move forward. There’s
Intelliblock – and is exceptionally
a need to get the infrastructure
on brand for a company that
ready. Everything will come into
doesn’t promise activity without
effect in October”. James warns
accomplishment, but actual
against adding restrictive measures
delivery. In an industry full of the
to the current regime that would
self-styled, his approach is uniquely
translate into an overly onerous
refreshing. Our conversation was a
additional burden – if such an
case of being taken to school – one
industry is over-regulated in Malta,
that emphasises the substance at
efforts to establish itself as its most
the heart of blockchain.
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THE MALTA BLOCKCHAIN LAW FIRM GAMING
PHARMA
HEALTH
FINANCIAL SERVICES
EDUCATION
Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates has helped businesses from a range of industries to raise their game with the application of Blockchain Technology
Blockchain • ICO/STO • Crypto Exchange • Crypto Fund • VFA Service Provider With around 200 professionals and 15 years’ experience, CCA is one of the largest law firms in Malta and enjoys a history of tech-oriented work, serving clients in the online gambling, digital games, crypto and blockchain sectors.
Dr Priscilla Mifsud Parker Senior Partner, Tax & Corporate Priscilla@cclex.com +356 2205 6760
Besides familiarity with the legal aspects of blockchain technology, the firm strongly bridges technology with the financial regulatory aspects and has positioned itself as a top legal and tax advisor to the Fintech and Blockchain sector.
Mr Steve Muscat Azzopardi Head of Corporate & Financial Services Steve@cclex.com +356 2205 6752 Malta | Cyprus | London | Zurich | Hong Kong
ccmalta.com 2018.08.30 Fintech Services.indd 4
31/08/2018 09:46:59
WHO’S WHO
IN MALTA’S BLOCKCHAIN ECOSYSTEM
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WHO’S WHO
ADRIAN STOICA
MAKSIM JEVSEJEV
See the world from a new perspective with Soft Galaxy Virtual Reality platform: 4PlayVR. We unravel behavior in 360 VR content, tracking across mobile devices and VR headsets to increase conversion, improve engagement and enable retention. 4PlayVR has the mission to change the way people interact with each other. The official ICO launch will be made at Malta Blockchain Summit on 1-2 November 2018.
Advendor is a brand new affiliate network using CPA model (cost-peraction). The CPA model was not chosen by chance. It’s precisely that model which allows for building up the most effective cooperation between publishers and advertisers. For the advertisers this means that their budget is spent only on target actions, thereby providing a more flexible and economically efficient way to work with the system.
Group CEO
www.4playvr.com
CEO
www.advendor.net
VADIM FEDOTOV
REUBEN PORTANIER
AEToken provides blockchain enabled secure payment solutions for the affiliate marketing industry. Affiliate marketing is the primary lead driver for the Casino, Gaming and Adult industry and AEToken revolutionises these processes by eliminating the need for minimum payouts, reducing complaints with built in dispute resolution and minimising fraud by smart contracts.
Afilexion was initially established as a joint venture project between Avviza Advisory and GTG Advocates in 2016, to service gaming clients they had in common. Over time, the partners at GTG Advocates and the founder of Avviza Advisory, realised that whilst both firms were already amongst the leading mid-tier firms in their respective fields, their expertise and experience, when combined together, created exponential value to their clients.
CEO
www.aetoken.io
Partner
www.afilexion.com/about-afilexion
CHRIS DABNEY
OLIVER BOLTON
AGOPOLIS is a groundbreaking social network that provides a much needed platform for today’s independent music artists to be discovered. It employs a utility token-based model (AGOPOLIS Coin) for artists to take control of their own music’s destinies by readily broadcasting and selling their tracks throughout the network’s platform.
Almond is a new blockchain-based ecosystem that aims to create an alternative goods market to better benefit consumers, the planet and purpose-driven brands. A secure, hidden code is included on partner products to allow brands to share supply-chain data, the product’s CO2e footprint and offer brand cryptocurrency token rewards.
www.agopolis.com
www.almond.io
ERIC FALZONE
ANTONELLA BONANNO
IT Legals Ltd (ITL) specialised in “Anti-Money Laundering (AML)” and “Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF)” web applications and due diligence back-office services for the Blockchain industry. ITL’s AMLEXA, is the first Artificial Intelligence Platform for the “Remote Customer Due Diligence”, that automates Identification, Risk Assessment and On-going Monitoring.
Avanzia Taxand is a corporate service provider licensed by the MFSA. Whilst offering a plethora of services including the formation of your business and the provision of ancillary services thereto, Avanzia Taxand remains highly focused on taxation matters. Avanzia Taxand maintains a standard of excellence and a personalised service.
www.amlexa.com
www.avanzia.com.mt
Founder & CEO
Director
Founder & CEO
Director
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GERNOT WINTER
ALEXEY ERMAKOV
AVINOC is a consistent, integrated and permissionless base data layer for decentralised, transparent and worldwide coordination of business flights within the general aviation, to achieve optimal utilisation and reduce costs significantly. Every user involved in AVINOC possesses a local copy of all relevant data. This creates new opportunities for global, direct, permissionless, and fast communication between participants involved in the complex aviation business.
We created an app that facilitates quick deposit and exchange of funds, provides secure storage and easy withdrawal options. The Aximetria bank card gives our clients total freedom to use cryptocurrencies in any part of the world.
CEO
CFO
www.aximetria.com
www.avinoc.com
GUILLERMO GERALDO
MARK ATTARD
B2Broker is a global liquidity and technology provider for Forex and Cryptocurrency Brokerages, Cryptocurrency Exchanges and other financial institutions.
For the past 40 years, BDO Malta has acted as auditors, tax advisers and consultants for numerous Maltese and international companies, including online gaming companies. BDO Malta provides professional advice to projects that are blockchain-related, including but not limited to the setting up of ICOs, crypto-funds, cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms, structuring them in a way which enables efficient audits of DLT setups.
Sales Manager
CEO
www.b2broker.net
www.bdo.com.mt
ELENA KOLMAKOVA
STEVE MÜLLER
A professional trading platform with a wide range of financial assets. In addition to classic investment opportunities and the most profitable trading conditions, Binomo offers trading with cryptocurrency pairs - Bitcoin, Litecoin, and the Crypto Index. The undisputable advantages of these new assets are high volatility and the ability to trade around the clock, including on weekends. Bitcoin’s market cap is the largest among other virtual coins and its intensive rate growth creates good opportunities for earning.
Established on 24th of April 2017, Bitcore aims to be the #1 solution for direct payments. Bitcore has one of the lowest transaction fees on the market while possibly providing the best on-chain scaling solution in the entire crypto-sphere.
Brand Ambassador & Social Media
Commercial Director
www.bitcore.cc
www.binomo.com
MEGAN FRYDEL
MARC TAVERNER
BiteMyCoin is one of the fastest growing online publications that translates blockchain technology and cryptocurrency into plain English, created after realising there aren’t many places which would understandably explain the new technology without using nittygritty technicalities. Currently, BiteMyCoin is one of the most rapidly growing brands within the digital space that builds a bridge between a complicated world of emerging technologies and the audience through qualitative and educational content.
The Bitfury Group is the world’s leading full-service blockchain technology company and one of the largest private infrastructure providers in the blockchain ecosystem. Bitfury develops and delivers both the software and the hardware solutions necessary for businesses, governments, organisations and individuals to securely move an asset on the blockchain.
Chief Editor
Global Ambassador
www.bitemycoin.com
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www.bitfury.com
WHO’S WHO
DMITRY PRUDNIKOV
SRDJAN KAPOR
CEO
Marketing & Affiliate Manager
Bitsane is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2016. Bitsane’s priorities are community needs, security and a comfortable environment for trading and customers’ interaction. For 2 years, the exchange has developed a reliable security system and comfortable functionality, which is already appreciated by 236,000 users from more than 200 countries.
BitStarz is big and we really do mean big. With a 10-minute average cashout time, crypto and fiat support, 1,600+ games, 24/7 customer support, and more than 1 million registered players, we’re not just an award-winning crypto casino - we’re the online casino that everyone is talking about!
www.bitstarz.com
www.bitsane.com
OLEG SEYDAK Founder & CEO
MANUEL DE LUQUE MUNTANER Founder & CEO
Blackmoon is a platform which allows cryptocurrency owners to purchase blockchain tokens linked to investment funds’ performance. Blackmoon allows asset managers to issue and distribute blockchain tokens linked to their funds’ performance, access previously unavailable classes of investors, raise capital and increase liquidity of the investment proposition. The company’s vision is to create a new standard for the asset management industry that will bridge the gap between the traditional and crypto financial universes.
Managing the world´s first blockchain/cryptocurrency fund of funds and founded in October 2017, Block Asset Management was created by a group of Financial Services professionals with over 100 years combined experience in Fund & Asset Management, Fund Creation Services, Compliance, Private Banking & Fund distribution. The team shares a common interest in Blockchain Technology & Cryptocurrencies. Block Asset Management bring to market a holistic approach to the world’s newest and fastest growing asset class.
www.blackmoonplatform.com
www. blockassetmanagement.com
JONATHAN GALEA
FRANCESCO DE SANTIS
Blockchain Advisory Limited is one of the very few Maltese advisory firms which has actively worked on past and present ICOs, STOs, exchanges, and crypto-funds, with its Managing Director, Jonathan Galea, and Partner Anton Dalli, being active in the field of blockchain and cryptocurrencies collectively for more than nine years.
Bloomio is redesigning the venture capital industry. We are an equity crowdfunding platform powered by blockchain, connecting startups with individual investors. The platform allows startup founders to raise capital by tokenizing equity, and gives investors the ability to trade startup stakes through a secure blockchainbased marketplace.
www.bca.com.mt
www.bloomio.com
ALAN CUSCHIERI
ROBERT SPITERI
CCTrader Crypto™ is built upon the award-winning online trading platform CCTrader which supports over 40 international stock exchanges. CCTrader Crypto™ provides access to the most popular digital currencies, 24/7 support and many other features including limit orders, real time charting, live statement & portfolio, price alerts and push notifications.
With 30 years’ experience as a Customer Service Centre of Excellence, and a leading company in Europe within the Outsourcing Industry, Centrecom offers a variety of solutions specialising in Customer Support via telephone, email, live chat and social media, Content Writing, Airline Representation, Back Office Support, Document Management, Revenue Accounting, Fraud Prevention and Sales/VIP Client Management.
Managing Director
CO/CEO
www.cctradercrypto.com
Chief Marketing Officer
Group General Manager
www.centrecom.eu
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+356 2015 6800 remax-malta.com Relocating to Malta?
With 300+ associates and 25 offices covering the Maltese Islands, RE/MAX Malta is at your service to find you the right home during your stay. Our services include property sales, property letting, commercial space, office facility management, insurance services, hotel accommodation, relocation and concierge services.
RE/MAX: A passionate, reliable and wise property solution for you. RE/MAX Associates are direct contributors of the RE/MAX & Friends Foundation Fund (VO/1019) which focuses on helping children in special circumstances.
WHO’S WHO
DR PRISCILLA MIFSUD PARKER
SERGEI SERGIENKO
Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates is one of the largest law firms in Malta and enjoys a history of tech-oriented work, serving clients in the online gambling, digital games, crypto and blockchain sectors. Besides familiarity with the legal aspects of blockchain technology, the firm strongly bridges technology with the financial regulatory aspects and has positioned itself as a top legal and tax advisor to the Fintech and Blockchain sector.
ChronoBank is reimagining hiring for the blockchain age. Founded in Australia following its successful token sale in February ’17, the company has developed the most sophisticated blockchain-based hiring ecosystem in the world. ChronoBank boasts strong technical and product teams and is well-funded to innovate in all sectors of HR.
Senior Partner
Founder & CEO
www.chronobank.io
www.ccmalta.com
coincodex ERIC KOH
DAVID CERNUTA
CoinCME is a crypto-currency (Virtual Financial Assets) exchange based in the Republic of Malta. The management team consists of veterans from the FX and blockchain industries. The exchange employs in-house developed breakthrough technology that aggregates liquidity from major exchanges around the world, giving the tightest spreads with highest depth-of-market execution.
CoinCodex offers a complete cryptocurrency market coverage with real-time coin prices, charts and crypto market cap featuring over 2,600 coins on more than 110 exchanges on top of over 500 listed ICOs.
Co-Founder & CEO
CEO
www.coincodex.com
www.coincme.com
LEAH CARR
ORON BARBER
Leah Carr is the Vice President of Licensing at Coinsquare. Leah launched this division in March of 2018 with the mission of enabling people worldwide to harness the power of security of Coinsquare’s technology. Leah was employee 9 at Coinsquare and has also launched Coinsquare Wealth which is a premium service for Coinsquare’s highest traders. Leah is also the host of FintechTO, a bi-monthly event featuring inspiring presentations from leaders of the Fintech community.
We offer cutting-edge services and solutions that empower small-scale businesses and multinational companies. Whatever it is you are looking for, we have you covered and more in the expanding markets of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Vice President
CEO
www.coinpoint.net
www.coinsquare.com
SERGEI VERBITSKI
TOBY GILBERT
Cointraffic - The Premier Digital Advertising Partner in the blockchain and crypto sectors. We serve over 300 million unique ad impressions a month across a network of 400+ crypto websites including CoinMarketCap, CCN, and CoinGecko to name a few. Cointraffic helps advertisers engage visitors and boosts conversion rates in a number of ways including tailored banner ads - which allow publishers to gain a stable income stream from their websites by publishing the relevant crypto advertising.
Our mission is to make blockchain more personal, more connected and mainstream. Leading with our innovative Hyperlayer, a Layer 2 solution that seamlessly connects blockchains. Use it to build powerful solutions that span multiple blockchains, without requiring any underlying code changes. You can create smart contracts, trade and even issue custom tokens that use multiple blockchains, like one blockchain for fast transactions and another for lower costs.
CEO
CEO
www.coinweb.io
www.cointraffic.io
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DR. SILVIO CILIA
GARVAN KEATING
Founding Partner
CEO
Corrieri Cilia is a leading law firm based in Malta specialising in international business and taxation. Our experienced team of tax and corporate lawyers, accountants and professionals provide high quality advisory services to cryptocurrency and blockchain businesses.
www.corriericilia.com
PIOTR KULCZYCKI
CountryProfiler (CP) is an international media company that specialises in the publication of country reports and investment guides on the world’s most innovative and high growth markets for trade, foreign investment and international financial services.
www.countryprofiler.com
GORDON EINSTEIN
Founder & CEO
Founding Partner
Craftchain is a leading blockchain software house from Poland. We provide end to end blockchain services and support. Our solutions include consultancy and business planning, platform design, backend development and roll out. Our goal is to help your Blockchain business grow. Unlock the disruptive potential of Blockchain and a free consultation.
www. craftchain.eu
CryptoLaw Partners is passionate about crypto and blockchain law. Its legal practice includes working with startups, securities law, ICOs, fund formation, AML/KYC compliance, money transmitter regulation, jurisdiction selection, and related areas. The firm is dedicated to advancing the global state of the law and works with government regulators. Mr. Einstein, its founding attorney, frequently speaks and educates both in the United States and abroad.
www.cryptolawpartners.com
JAEWOO SEO
TOM BLOOR
Co-Founder & CEO
Head of B2B
Cryptonity is the combination of two words: Crypto & Community. Simple but strong and meaningful, our goal is to be an exchange that is respected by the Cryptocurrency Community. We aim to provide the most comprehensive, secure, transparent and collaborative exchange platform in the market.
Founded in 2013, Cryptopay has made bitcoin accessible to consumers and businesses for years. We provide merchants with a simple and secure gateway, so they can accept bitcoin from customers instantly, with zero friction. We settle daily in traditional currency – or immediately in bitcoin!
www.cryptonity.io
www.cryptopay.me
NICHOLAS WARREN
MAX KRUPYSHEV
CSB Group (est. 1987) provides its clients with a spectrum of specialised business and commercial services, offering a complete turnkey solution to clients wishing to setup or relocate their business to Malta. Areas of specialisation include: Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Regulation, Regulatory & Compliance, Tax & Accounting, Company Incorporation, Trust & Fiduciary Services, iGaming Licensing Advice & Assistance, Recruitment and Property Sales & Letting.
Founded in early 2014 with offices in London, Malta, Berlin, Hong Kong and currently applying for a licence in Japan. Registered under applicable Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and Laws with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in the United Kingdom. Launched the bitcoin wallet and merchant solutions in January 2015, its own in house and proprietary and market leading software platform: Wallet: secure storage for buying/selling Bitcoin.
www.csbgroup.com
www. cubits.com
Senior Manager Financial Services and Blockchain
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Head of Crypto Business
WHO’S WHO
ULRICH SCHOBER
JOSEPH BEDMINSTER
DACONOMY is building the world’s first universal, decentralised, practical and secure Data Trading and Utlilisation System for businesses and individuals. An intelligent, AI-driven Data Ecosystem for data from all sources and all protocols as a product or service. Generate additional income streams with DACONOMY: Get deeper insights and optimise your processes, products and services to increase revenues.
Daneel provides unchallenged news curation and market emotions analysis through an AI assistant, which understands natural language. It is powered by the reference of the market in the fields of natural language and emotion analysis: IBM Watson.
CEO
CEO & Founder
www.daneel.io
www.daconomy.io
MALCOLM BOOKER
ADAM TODD
CEO
Founder & CEO
Deloitte is a global leader in providing multi-disciplinary blockchain audit & assurance, advisory and technology delivery. It has over 1500 dedicated blockchain practices across different service lines as well as dedicated blockchain centres of excellence in New York (Americas), Dublin (EMEA) and Hong Kong (Asia Pacific).
The Digitex Futures Exchange is a zero-fee futures trading platform where traders can buy and sell futures contracts without transaction fees or centralised account balances. By creating its own native cryptocurrency and by using state channels to settle trading profits and losses, Digitex is at the forefront of using blockchain technology to revolutionise the 200 year old futures trading industry.
www2.deloitte.com/mt
www.digitexfutures.com
KRISTIAN HAEHNDEL
PHILIPP MARIA SAUERBORN
Our mission at DQR is to build the foundations of a more inclusive financial system and to empower people through blockchain technology. We do this by making cryptocurrencies and the wider applications of blockchain technology accessible, comprehensible, and generous.
Dr Werner & Partner – if you’re looking for next level chakkawanga: ICOs, blockchain and crypto licence advisory services for businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups who are looking for a next level consultant, to turn next level ideas into next level reality.
www.dqr-group.com
www.drwerner.com
KARL SCHRANZ
CLAIRE-SUZANNE BORG
Founder & CEO
Director
E&S Group is a boutique multi-disciplinary firm able to assist clients in all matters in relation to carrying out an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in or from Malta as well as a number of ancillary and related services. It is also the first corporate and legal firm in the world to tokenise its streams of income with a wealth of experience from having assisted in excess of 70+ Clients in relation to their ICOs.
Advisor for International Tax & Crypto Regulation
HR & Recruitment Manager
At Egg Recruitment our aim is to enrich businesses with the bestin-class talent, and support job seekers in their quest for a fulfilling and rewarding career. We are a recruitment solutions company that exists to connect the best people to the best jobs.
www.egg.com.mt
www.ellulschranz.com
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WHO’S WHO
MATTHIAS KLEES
FARUK AYDIN
Europecoin Financecloud API emerged from a thought-experiment, named Federated Blockchains. The paradigm shift behind it is to place “features” into a decentralised, blockchain-agnostic protocol, rather than into a single currency. The Europecoin team predicts, that in the near future, inter-connectivity will out-compete unique features as an advantage. The resulting product is a “cryptocurrency smarthub” for the home-network.
ExpertSender is a blockchain-friendly Multichannel Marketing Hub designed for fast-growing businesses. Manage your personalisation, segmentation and automation needs via the email, web and SMS channels with dedicated support. ExpertSender sends 15+ billion messages annually for 1000+ brands worldwide. We have offices in: Moscow, Beijing, Barcelona, São Paulo, and Gdynia.
www.europecoin.eu.org
www.expertsender.com
PAUL SEUNG-HO PARK
ANTHONY VARVARO
FLETA is the blockchain platform to resolve the issues of current blockchain platforms and create a sustainable blockchain ecosystem. Aiming to satisfy the needs of the platform participants, our platform technology solutions include Multi-chain structure, new consensus algorithm, PoF (Proof-of-Formulation), Block Redesign, LEVEL Tree, and Parallel Sharding.
Available globally at 50,000 shops, Flexepin is a prepaid cash voucher allowing you to make fast, secure and hassle-free online payments. Flexepin eliminates the risk of having your identity and banking information exposed online - making it safer than conventional online payment methods for crypto-currency, gaming and other e-commerce transactions.
www.fleta.io
www.flexepin.com
JOHN FARRUGIA RANDON
HAYATO TERAI
The Forestals Group is renowned for its high-end brands such as HP, Sony, CTOUCH, Miele, Smeg, Pergo and many others. By consolidating all products and services offered by the Group of Companies, we specialise in providing a one-stop shop for complete office fit-out solutions complemented with cuttingedge technology required in demanding industries.
The G8C token represents an innovative way of bridging the gap between virtual assets and the casino industry. GanaEight Coin Ltd, a Ganapati Group company, is looking to be the first to utilise both its in-depth knowledge of blockchain technology and unique approach to the online casino world, whilst preserving Japanese tradition.
Founder & Maintainer
CEO & Co-founder
Head of Commercial Sales
Sales Director
Director of Business Development
Co-CEO
www.ganapati.com
www.forestalsgroup.com
DR LEONARD BONELLO
OLIVER LA ROSA
GANADO Advocates is a leading commercial law firm with a particular focus on the corporate, financial services, and maritime sectors, predominantly servicing international clients doing business in or out of Malta. The firm traces its roots back to the early 1900s, and is today one of Malta’s foremost law practices, consistently ranking as a leading firm in all its core sectors.
Globiance Limited is a private company, registered in the UK, offering exchange and trading of crypto- and FIAT currencies, payment solutions and worldwide money transfers via its fully owned and licensed subsidiaries in Malta - Globiance Exchange Ltd and Globiance Payment Ltd. Globiance also plans to offer a trading platform for investors covering all traditional financial products.
www.ganadoadvocates.com
www.globiance.com
Partner
COO
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IAN GAUCI
RAOUL BEHR
Partner
CEO
At GTG we are committed to the success of our clients and our hallmark is to meet, and exceed our clients’ expectations. We are results-oriented and aim for meticulous, innovative and timely solutions. In addition to this; respect, trust, confidentiality and loyalty are fundamental to us. With expert knowledge in our respective fields, we value and complement one another, bringing together individual contributions to generate optimum results.
With its HQ in Curaçao (Dutch Caribbean) and fully-fledged office in Malta, HBM GROUP is dedicated to providing its clients with the highest quality of service. Beyond being licensed to assist with the Formation and Management of Companies, Foundations, Trusts, and other legal entities for both international businesses and individuals, whilst ensuring compliance with local and international rules and legislation, HBM GROUP is a turnkey provider of Business Support and Corporate Services that meet and exceed the clients’ demands in an ever-changing global market.
www.gtgadvocates.com
www.hbmgroup.com
HARTEJ SAWHNEY
ARMANDO GIARDINO
Hosho is the global leader in blockchain security, specialising in enterprise-grade security services for Fortune 500 and earlystage companies alike. Entirely focused on the blockchain industry, Hosho is setting the standard for blockchain security, providing state-of-the-art smart contract auditing, penetration testing services, and security consulting services around cryptocurrency.
HYPE.estate is a Value-Chain platform for real estate investments based on Smart-Contract technology supported by the Ethereum ERC-20 blockchain architecture. It was born from work between Information Technology, Real Estate and Legal experts specialised in the acquisition of non-performing loan portfolios (“NPL real estate”) that give a quality solution and high performance to investors. Our claim is : “The Real Estate @the speed of the Blockchain”
Co-Founder & CEO
Co-Founder & President
www.hosho.io
www.hype.estate
STAV ZILBERSTEIN
JAN SAMMUT
Co-Founder & CEO
CEO
Hyperion Tech is a dedicated IT teams company for mid and longterm projects based in Malta. We build outstanding, passionate dedicated teams. We know that by creating the right company culture, teams form in their true potential and that is exactly what we do. Hyperion is a disruptive force in the IT market thanks to a lean and effective approach for enterprise clients.
ICO Launch Malta is a full stack ICO platform that services every aspect of a company’s ICO process from incorporation and tax planning, to token creation, smart contract development and deployment, marketing and PR through to exchange listing.
www.icomalta.com
www.hyperion-tech.co
TIM M. ZAGAR
JAMES CATANIA
Co-Founder & CEO
CEO
ICONOMI is a platform for managing digital assets. ICONOMI enables managers to advise on the creation and management of diversified baskets of different digital assets called Digital Asset Arrays (DAAs). DAAs are the foundation of the ICONOMI platform. They combine an assortment of specific assets that can be invested according to each adviser’s strategy. The ICONOMI platform offers a range of diversified DAAs with a variety of investment strategies with various risk levels and performance targets.
At Intelliblock our mission is to become the premier business blockchain solution providers in Europe by adopting an open approach with our business partners and offering full support for their projects, including Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
www.iconomi.net
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www.intelliblock.net
WHO’S WHO
JIMMY ZHONG
MARZIO PANELLI
CEO
COO
IOST is a blockchain venture that provides ultra-high TPS blockchain infrastructure to meet the security and scalability needs of a globally and mass-adopted decentralised economy. Led by a team of proven founders and backed by world-class investors, the IOST mission is to be the underlying architecture for the future of online services.
Ivyn is a start-up company founded by people with a common
www.iost.io
vision and mission to “bring cryptocurrencies into everyday life in an easy way”. The Ivyn Digital Currency is a payment platform for managing cryptocurrencies and includes functions such as: Real Time Transfers, Virtual Prepaid Crypto Card, Multi Cryptocurrency Wallet, Wallet Recover System, Merchant API Integration & Crytocurrencies Exchange.
www.ivynet.co
KRISTINA KALCHEVA
CHRISTOS KINANIS
Co-Founder & Director
Founder & Managing Partner
Jelurida is a blockchain software company that enables enterprises to build decentralised applications utilising the Nxt and Ardor technologies. We offer scalable proof-ofstake blockchain solutions, with a unique parent-child chain architecture, built on top of five years of software development and production blockchain experience.”
Kinanis represents a legal and fiduciary group of companies with 35 years of experience with offices in Malta, Cyprus and representative office in China. The group is staffed with around 80 professionals, lawyers and accountants and has a business-oriented approach, providing proactive legal, tax, vat, regulatory and ICO consulting.
www.kinanis.com
www.jelurida.com
DAMIAN MIFSUD
JUANITA BROCKDORFF
Co-Founder & CEO
Partner, International Tax
KnowMeNow is building an autonomous framework that will allow customers to create their own identity profiles on their smartphones, whilst at the same time allowing various businesses to perform inexpensive, permission-based KYC reviews in a faster, more reliable and compliant manner than before using the unique features of blockchain technology.
With a staff compliment of around 350, including 29 principals, KPMG in Malta is one of the leading providers of audit, tax and advisory services. Our vision is to be the clear choice for our clients, our people and our community. We are committed to working shoulder-to-shoulder with our clients by adopting a clientcentric approach that integrates innovative approaches and deep expertise to deliver real results.
www.knowmenow.com
DENNIS MARK GAUCI
Partner – International Clients KSi Malta is a corporate and private client advisory, accounting, audit and tax firm providing a full range of financial, legal, and business advisory services to a diversified client base. Established in 2018 by KSi Malta, Fintech Solutions Ltd provides services to the Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technologies and Cryptocurrencies ecosystem.
www.kpmg.com.mt
ALAN ALDEN Director
ICO Advisors, crypto enthusiasts and technologists. KyteCrypto brings together a winning team of leading professionals within the blockchain industry and the quality and services offered are unparalleled. Our portfolio of past and ongoing clients is testament to our reputation as a leading blockchain consulting firm of choice.
www.kytecrypto.com
www.ksimalta.com
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WHO’S WHO
MARIO GALEA
ANTHONY DAVID GATT
Chief Mentor
Manager, Investment Promotion
The Malta Blockchain Hub is made up of the Blockchain Labs and the Blockchain Studios. The Labs performs testing for compliance with the Virtual Financial Assets and Digital Innovation Technologies Regulations. The Studios offer hot desking facilities to start-up companies setting up in Malta including corporate services and application process for Malta ICO and blockchain licenses.
Malta Enterprise is the country’s economic development agency, tasked with attracting new foreign direct investment as well as facilitating the growth of existing operations. The long-term presence of an investor in the country is a priority for Malta Enterprise. We, therefore, work constantly with our clients to find solutions to any issues they may be facing and to help them adapt to changing circumstances.
www.builtinMT.com
www.maltaenterprise.com
MICHAEL J. ZAMMIT
DAVID TONNA
Our distinct offering extends itself to both local and international clients seeking real estate investment opportunities, those seeking to relocate to Malta, and property owners looking to list and promote their property to qualified buyers. Services include: Residential Sales & Letting, Commercial Sales & Letting, Property Management and Relocation & Residency.
We are one of Malta’s top-tier law firms, with significant depth and expertise across a broad range of practice areas. As an integrated corporate and commercial legal practice, we pride ourselves on our service delivery. We always strive to exceed the expectations of our clients as we provide them with expert advice and legal insight.
Director & Joint Owner
Lawyer / Partner & CEO at MAMO TCV Advocates
www.mamotcv.com
www.maltasir.com
DMITRY KOZELKIN
JOYDEEP DASH
MONETUM is a revolutionary blockchain-based project. A fully regulated DLT platform that will encompass crypto and traditional money related services money related services. Monentum’s ecosystem will consist of an Exchange, a crypto gateway and a FIAT payment processing solution. Initial Coin Offering for the Monetum Project will soon be launched.
Nagarro drives technology-led business breakthroughs for industry leaders and challengers. When our clients want to move fast and make things, they turn to us. Today, we are more than 5,000 experts across 20 countries. Together we form Nagarro, the global services division of Munich-based Allgeier SE.
COO
Managing Director
www.nagarro.com
www.monetum.io
GIANCARLO RUSSO
BRYAN OGDEN
Founder & CEO
Founder & Director
NEUTRINO is a software house with special talents in exploiting cyber technology for Law Enforcement and Government use. Thanks to these skills Neutrino has created a leading cryptocurrency investigation and analysis platform, providing insights ACROSS multiple currencies and THROUGH deliberate techniques used for obfuscation. The Neutrino platform and practical expertise supports Market Regulators to determine AML/KYC processes and risk mitigation.
The pain in the AI marketplace is how difficult it is to apply. We make AI easy and fun. NinjaMoba LTD is the winner of the Nov 2017 Malta Techstars weekend. We have three projects in development. Sentiment emogies and emogies The NinjaMoba Market Stress Index. We are in diligence to foster climate action evaluated by distributed AI and recorded with DLT.
www.ninjamoba.com
www.neutrino.nu
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ROBERTO GORINI
ANDREW NAUDI
Founder & CEO
Partner
NOKU create interfaces for the use of the blockchains. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the most complex technology existing nowadays and the mass market. We are creating an all-in-one ecosystem that gives everyone the possibility to create their own token, exchange value and trust, and launch their own blockchain projects in the easiest and most reliable way. NOKU is the NObanks society.
Established in 2008, NOUV is a professional services firm based in Malta offering a wide range of advisory services in the following areas; Cryptocurrencies, DLT, Corporate, Legal, Technology, Accounting and Outsourcing, Tax, Audit and Assurance and iGaming. We focus on international clients wishing to be regulated and/or setup in Malta. NOUV is an independent member of TGS Global, an international network of professional business advisors.
www.noku.io
www.nouv.com.mt
RICHARD MAAGHUL
RONNY BOESING
The ODEM platform connects students, educators, and service providers where, together, they develop and engage in personal, group, in-person educational programs. The platform reduces costs and improves access to premium education by directly connecting educators with students and eliminating inefficient and costly intermediaries.
OpenLedger ApS is a Danish company dedicated to bringing the power of blockchain technology to the wider business world. The company has over 50 expert software development and architecture specialists, marketers, business analysts, legal and support personnel in our headquarters in Pandrup, Denmark, and our technical center in Minsk, Belarus.
www.odem.io
www.dex.openledger.io
STEVEN ORMOND SMITH
STEFAN HÄNEL
Ormco provides blockchain advisory and support services for projects at the concept stage right through to live blockchain projects that have completed their ICO. Supported by a team of 30 accountants, Ormco has offices in Malta, the Isle of Man and India. Services include ICO advisory, BTC & ETH escrow facilities for OTC trades, and back office support services including accounting, administration, treasury and wallet management.
Paymentworld Europe Limited is an EU licensed E-Money Institution. We facilitate our client’s needs from a Gateway that provides 400+ payment methods worldwide via Instant Payments through E-Wallet and Marketplace solutions. All combined with your own dedicated IBAN and banking services! Easy integration and “One Stop Payment” guaranteed.
Founder & Co-Owner
Co-Founder & CEO
Founder & CFO
Founder & CEO
www.paymentworld.eu
www.ormcogroup.com
IVAN KOHUT
NIKOLAI TIMOFEJEV
Chief Technology Officer
Partner & COO
Perfectial is in the business of helping companies disrupt markets with state-of-the-art software. Years of experience in building products has helped us gain expertise in a range of fields; all of our work is accompanied by the industry’s new tools, practices, and technologies with blockchain being one the most impactful.
Prifinance is able to bring your startup to a successful ICO, backing your team in every aspect of the process - legal consulting, operational and technical audit, establishing an effective marketing and management structure. Moreover, we have an extensive experience in obtaining licenses for the crypto exchange activity and ICO’s. Therefore, our team of professionals will help you to find the best solution for your project.
www.perfectial.com
www.prifinance.com
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WHO’S WHO
CHRIS VASSALLO
PAUL BOUGNOUX
With over 20 years’ recruiting experience, we are the foremost Blockchain recruitment experts as one of the founders, Chris Vassallo, along with his team created the Malta National Blockchain Memorandum which was approved by Cabinet and laid the foundations to create the Blockchain Industry in Malta. He is also co-founder of the Malta Blockchain Association.
Founded by Largillière Finance, a leading M&A advisory firm, Psion Finance assists their clients in their tokenization projects (ICO / STO). The core team consists of dedicated Blockchain and Finance experts, strengthened by a worldwide network of Tier 1 entities specialised in Blockchain, Finance and Technology.
Partner
Founder
www.psion.finance
www.proventusint.com
BECKY JAE
STEVEN WEUSTEN
Blockchain based fourth factor authentication service and wallet allowing users to securely authenticate services and secure funds across multiple users directly from a mobile device using blockchain as an encrypted ledger. Pyxis gives every user a hardware wallet right on their phone with advanced encryption techniques and shared secure secrets.
The QLEAR Protocol turns any Online Gaming platform into a secure, transparent, and trusted environment. Develop better games faster with fair play guaranteed.
CCO
CEO
www.qlear.com
www.pyx.is
WESLEY ELLUL
MICHAEL MOLL
Already a proven success in creating, refining and adapting state-of-the-art quiz technology with thousands of people test-driving the prototype platform, Quizando is about to turn the gaming and influencer market on its head. Based on a solid, existing success story, Quizando is a sensational proposition about to be unleashed globally.
Reitium is a global, compliant, secure blockchain technology platform, offering investors a 100% asset-backed Real Estate investment, using a fractional ownership model. Built on IBM’s Hyperledger fabric, our enterprise-grade, permissioned private blockchain uses smart contracts to enable privacy, security, transparency and liquidity while reducing transaction time and costs.
CCO
www.quizando.io
Co-Founder & CPO
www.reitium.com
KEVIN BUTTIGIEG CEO
RE/MAX Malta is a Real Estate Agency with 27 offices
VITO MARTIN HRZENJAK CEO
strategically located throughout Malta & Gozo. The company has a team of over 350 sales & letting associates that each specialise in different areas of the market. This, paired with one of the largest property databases on the island, certifies that your RE/MAX real estate agent can easily show you almost any property currently available on the market.
RIALTO.AI is a fintech company developing a platform for automated trading in the growing multi-billion landscape of digital assets and blockchain transactions. The team of experienced trading economists, data scientists, and signal processing experts is designing algorithms for arbitrage, market making, and prediction trading. Our algorithms allow the RIALTO.AI platform users an automated, seamless and secure way to trade their cryptocurrencies.
www.remax.com
www.rialto.ai
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EXHIBITS THAT STAND OUT GLOBALLY EUROPE | USA | SOUTH AMERICA | UAE | MACAU
We specialise in modular displays, custom fabricated booths and structures that give exhibitors the freedom and flexibility to create a true representation of their brand. Fully customisable displays that provide maximum impact at trade shows and events designed to increase exposure.
Prince Albert Street, Marsa, Malta MRS1046 +356 2146 2409
sales@maltexpo.com
MaltaExpos
www.maltaexpo.com PART OF THE DAVIES GROUP
WHO’S WHO
MAX VON WALLENBERG Head of Product
Rise is a science-driven software technology company and innovator of machine learning and algorithmic trading systems. Rise’s AI-powered trading technology puts the power of Wall Street’s best financial and quantitative analysts into the hands of everyday investors.
www.rise.eco
GORDON MICALLEF Partner
RSM offers specialist advisory services to medium-sized companies aspiring to grow locally and internationally. Our bestin-class resources are supported by knowledge and expertise available throughout the RSM global network. We invest heavily in talent to provide quality, business and IT advisory services as well as tax advisory, corporate services, back office support and audit services for our clients.
www.rsm.global/malta
EVAN MASLENNIKOV
RENÉ POMASSL
RunCPA is the world’s leading crypto affiliate network established in 2015 specifically to bridge cutting-edge blockchain product with new customers and investors. By now RunCPA has over 20,000 customers generated every month, over 1000 active traffic sources with over 12% average conversion rate and works with all existing blockchain niches.
Salamantex is a fintech and blockchain company based in Austria and focusing on crypto payment solutions for merchants. To provide EASY-TO-USE interfaces in the crypto- and blockchain world under the slogan “easy way for crypto pay”. The Salamantex crypto payment solutions can be used on their own developed payment terminals or can be integrated into existing POS systems, smartphones, tablets and online shops. Salamantex is also focusing on blockchain and crypto development, research and consulting.
Co-Founder & CEO
www.runcpa.com
CEO
www.salamantex.com
TIM BOS
BRANDON SYNTH
Co-Founder & CEO
Co-Founder
ShareRing is the first global marketplace allowing security of access, connection and payment - anywhere, at any time. ShareRing have developed a sharing ecosystem, built on a distributed blockchain called ShareLedger. ShareLedger enables universal access to any asset attached to the ShareRing system with fast, secure transactions. ShareRing has created the first centralised solution for the highly fragmented community providers across all industries and locations.
The Skycoin Platform is the most advanced blockchain platform in the world. Developed by early contributors to both Bitcoin and Ethereum, Skycoin’s platform is completely secure, infinitely scalable, and ISP independent. Backed by bandwidth, storage, and computational power Skycoin is built to fulfill Satoshi’s original vision.
www.skycoin.net
www.sharering.network/en
JOHAN ZAMMIT
JOANNE ALAMANGO
Smart Studios builds world-class digital solutions for leading brands and emerging startups, empowering them to embrace the opportunities of blockchain, AI and IOT. With over 20 years of relevant experience we provide a unique balanced view to forward thinking organisations that want to incubate their decentralised business ideas and scale them into successful blockchain, AI and IOT based products.
South Risk Partners provides three areas of specialised insurance services – advisory, broking, and management. We focus on understanding our client’s business, with specific expertise in the financial, professional, and tech sectors. This, coupled with our access to international insurance markets, means we can provide tailor-made advice and solutions to our clients, making us a reliable partner for any insurance related requirement.
Founder & CEO
www.smartstudios.io
Managing Director
www.south-risk.com
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GREGORY KLUMOV
KINGSLEY HENDRICKSE
CEO
Co-Creator
STASIS is a fully compliant financial tokenization platform built on Ethereum’s EIP-20 standard. Through its transparent and regulatory compliant network of partners, STASIS platform allows capital to flow freely between off-chain and on-chain digital assets. The company is based in Malta and has actively collaborated with the government on streamlining legislation around blockchain technology.
SushiChain is a custom blockchain written in Crystal. It features CPU only mining, Human readable addresses, 2FA at the transaction level, a decentralised application framework and many more features.
www.sushichain.io
www.stasis.net
TAL ITZHAK RON
ARTUR KUCZMOWSKI
Chairman & CEO
Senior Partner
Tal Ron, Drihem & Co. – the award-winning iGaming, FX/CFD, Crypto and Fintech law firm established in Tel Aviv in 2003 by Advocate and Notary, Tal Itzhak Ron. The firm is considered the first point of contact for innovative ventures setting up and optimising their operations in the online space.
Thompson&Stein is an international law firm specialising in law and tax consulting for blockchain industry. The company’s activities include assistance in obtaining cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service provider licenses in Estonia. Professional team consists of experienced lawyers, tax advisors and certified accountants.
www.rd-law.co.il
www.thompsonstein.com
DAVID SACHS
ALEX P VELLA
CEO
COO
We’re the first AI (Artificial Intelligence) driven concierge for online Casinos. It’s become super challenging to acquire new players just to lose them in a whim of a second due to poor customer experience. Our AI solves player issues, so in real time they keep playing.
TREOS is a global ecosystem based in Malta that delivers transactions with decentralised money. It connects an online marketplace, a financial institution, and networks for eCommerce websites, point-of-sale devices, ATM’s and remittance kiosks. This is enabled by a suite of TREOS fuel tokens in varying denominations, anchored to the stable price of grams of gold.
www.tomobox.co
www.treos.io
TOTTE LÖFSTRÖM
JUDITA RINTELOVA
Trijo is Sweden’s first real cryptocurrency exchange and is set to go live at the beginning of 2019. In addition to our exchange, we also operate Trijo News, a news site that covers the latest from the world of bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies.
Founded in 2009, TrustPay belongs to first financial institutions within the region to provide secure e-commerce payments across EEA area. Our principal membership with VISA Europe, MasterCard and UnionPay as well as PCI DSS Level 1 certification enable us to provide our clients with outstanding cross-border B2B services.
Business Development Manager
CEO
www.trijo.co
www.trustpay.eu
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Issue 1
WHO’S WHO
SAMI TAVERNA
MARCO BUGELLI
U.SAVE BLOCKCHAIN LTD, a Maltese company, is a Global Tracking Solution, Producing, Securing, Storing and Marketing Eco-Responsible Gold, which is using blockchain technology to revolutionise the entire gold supply chain industry. Powered by the Ethereum blockchain, our network will track and record data throughout the entire supply chain, from the miner to the end consumer.
Vistra counts 4,000 professionals in 46 jurisdictions. We provide tailored trust, fiduciary, fund and corporate services, drawn from our extensive experience of working in those same worlds - across finance, structuring, law, and accounting. Our approach is always personal. We develop perceptive solutions to the often complex needs of each individual client, from international corporations to HNWI.
Head of Business Development
www.usave.io
Managing Director
www.vistra.com
ROBERT ELLUL MICALLEF
STEPHEN FORD
Vodafone has a long history of technological innovation and prides itself on being at the forefront of developments that change customer lives for the better. It is currently investing in enabling the fourth industrial revolution and in 2017 was the first network to introduce 4.5G speeds to Malta, making it the island’s fastest network.
Western Union Business Solutions is one of the world’s leading providers of cross-border business payments. With expertise in moving funds around the globe, access to over 130 currencies, and a global financial network spanning more than 200 countries and territories.
Solutions & Innovation Senior Manager
Head of Sales
https://business.westernunion.com/en-mt/
www.vodafone.com.mt
JOSEPH F BORG Partner
WH Partners is a leading Malta-based business law firm specialising in the following sectors: gaming and gambling, financial and investment services, finTech, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, and taxation. Both the firm and the lawyers are highly ranked by the foremost legal directories, including Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal and the International Financial Law Review.
ALEX ALTGAUZEN COO
XCOEX exchange sets a new level of customer service in the crypto world. XCOEX exchange is all about dedicated customer support, a simple and intuitive interface, as well as serious safeguards to secure transactions and storage for crypto assets.
www.xcoex.com
www.whpartners.eu
MICHEALLE OAKES
DAVE PULIS
Zeta is a privately held independent group of companies offering targeted services which include, but are not limited to; Multi-Family Office; Advisory and Structuring; Fiduciary; Company Formation and Management; Corporate; Financial; Fund Formation and Management. Zeta is committed to exceeding client expectations and building a satisfying long-term relationship while retaining its primary focus; your business and family success.
ZBX is a regulation ready cryptocurrency exchange registered in Malta and targeting the European market. Built with and powered by the technical solutions from Zillion Bits AG - a Swiss based world leading exchange solution provider, Zillion Bits’ core solution has already been commercially used on several top-tier exchanges such as ZB.com and EXX.com. The founding team of ZBX has broad and intensive experience in traditional financial service, IT and cryptocurrency sectors.
www.zeta-financial.com
www.zbx.com
Group Business Development Director
CEO
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Looking for a regulated environment to set up your blockchain company? Work directly with the advisory company that has ignited the blockchain revolution in Malta.
“Blockchain Advisory Limited is one of the only companies in the world with the knowledge and experience to help us expand our presence in key jurisdictions across Europe.” - DECENT.bet founder and CEO, Jedidiah Taylor
www.bca.com.mt info@bca.com.mt
MEDIA PARTNERS
MEDIA PARTNERS AMBCrypto is an independent cryptocurrency news publishing platform with a comprehensive ICO listing page, a dedicated real-time live cryptocurrency price ticker page and a blog section with a reach of over a million users worldwide. Conceptualised and brought to life in 2018, we are a young and vibrant start-up on an upward climb to the top. We take great pride in the fact that we are a nonfunded organisation and have seen exponential growth since inception. We are among the top cryptocurrency media portals in the world.
BBI Pages is a global blockchain business directory that puts blockchain businesses and services at your fingertips. People can search using business names, keywords or categories and will get the results of companies matching the type of business and service they need. Get your free business listing today by visiting our site.
www.bbipages.com
www.ambcrypto.com
C inStaker CoinDelite is your premier source for all recent developments in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. We also provide press releases and ICO listings for upcoming platforms. Our website has a daily readership of thousands of viewers that provides companies a great platform to promote their brand and get maximum visibility.
Coinstaker.com is an independent media site that provides the latest cryptocurrency, fintech, and blockchain developments, cryptocurrency guides, price analysis articles, interviews with blockchain experts and more. The whole team of Coinstaker.com believes that blockchain technology and digital currencies have a vital role today and will in the future.
www.coindelite.com
www.coinstaker.com
CryptoSlate is a popular destination for cryptocurrency investors and researchers — featuring blockchain news cryptocurrencies a product database and FinTech events.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, ICO Alert maintains the only comprehensive list of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Founder Michael Finch has used his active knowledge of cryptocurrency to develop ICO Alert as the most definitive authority within the ICO-investment world. ICO Alert has published hundreds of in-depth ICO Alert reports, maintains the ICO Alert Podcast and more.
www.cryptoslate.com
www.icoalert.com
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MEDIA PARTNERS
ICObench is a number 1 analytical platform for the evaluation of ICO projects by popularity and by the number of ICOs listed. We provide an assessment of ICO projects by experts from the blockchain community and support the principles of a decentralised rating. Our mission is to increase the transparency of the ICO market and to influence the development of blockchain technology. We are committed to doing our best to ensure we succeed!
Institute of iBusiness Council is the Business Technology division of ECCouncil Group dedicated to developing Enterprise Digital Transformation Training and Certification programs for Corporate Growth Hacking.
www.iibcouncil.org
www.icobench.com
LATTICE80 is the World’s Largest Fintech Hub connecting over 11,000 Fintech / Blockchain Startups and 200,000 professionals globally. We believe technology with purpose will bring real innovation to make our world a better place. It is headquartered in London with various branches in Europe and Asia.
www.lattice80.com
NewsBTC is a news service that covers bitcoin news, technical analysis & forecasts for bitcoin and other altcoins. Here at NewsBTC, we are dedicated to enlightening people all around the world about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. We cover news related to bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin mining and price forecasts for various virtual currencies.
www.newsbtc.com
Allied Newspapers Limited is Malta’s largest media organisation. With over 80 years of heritage, our mission was, is, and will continue to be the dissemination of credible content that enriches people’s lives by informing, educating and entertaining them. We do this through Malta’s undisputed leading platforms: the Times of Malta, The Sunday Times of Malta.
Cointelegraph is the leading media in the crypto space. It covers everything related to the decentralised technology, cryptocurrencies and fintech. Available in 6 languages, it provides unique insights from reporters based all over the world. Cointelegraph focuses on unbiased reporting, education and research on the latest financial innovations.
www.timesofmalta.com
www.cointelegraph.com
The Fintech Times is the world’s first and only newspaper dedicated to fintech. Published monthly, The Fintech Times explores the explosive world of financial technology, blending first hand insight, opinion and expertise with observational journalism to provide a balanced and comprehensive perspective of this rapidly evolving industry.
TopMarketGroup is a proven leading Market Data & Service provider to potential Global Cryptocurrency investors which utilizes Blockchain Technology. We provide guidance to the investors in the decision-making process right from the starting of the trading of investments. Our Associate Brands: Top ICO Market, Top Market Cap & Top Coin Trade.
www.thefintechtimes.com
www.topmarketgroup.com
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| Blockchain Island
Issue 1
MEDIA PARTNERS
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