The financial services industry is changing rapidly thanks to evolving technology. Just a few years ago, users needed to visit banks in order to initiate a wire transfer. They needed to fill forms, pay a hefty fee, and then wait for a few days for the funds to show up in the receiver’s account.

A similar scenario has unfolded in the wealth management industry. Earlier, users were reliant on financial advisers for their investment decisions. They ended up paying big brokerage fees and didn’t have much control over where there wealth was going. But the advent of the internet has changed all of that. Information is now widely available, allowing users to make their own investment choices. They can execute trades on their own and decide which asset classes they want to invest in.

Gigzi was founded in 2016 with the intent of taking this freedom to the next level — empowering users to manage their wealth independently. An financial system using distributed ledger technology.

In just over two years, the Gigzi team has brought this financial system into the advanced stages of development. Users will soon gain access to a series of features that will address existing challenges found in cryptocurrencies; price volatility, account vulnerability and diminishment of wealth, enabling Gigzi users to confidently control their finances on the blockchain.

A cryptocurrency wallet secured by iris recognition technology

The fintech industry has grown by leaps and bounds of late. Last year, there were 13 fintech start-ups with a billion dollar valuation. But the problem with investing in alternative financial solutions such as cryptocurrencies is that they carry security risks. For instance, high-profile cryptocurrency hacks have led to the loss of millions of dollars, sometimes in a matter of minutes.

That’s because the market is still in its nascent growth phase. Users are still learning how to secure themselves from malicious intent and fintech companies are still testing new features to bolster account security. For example, careless handling of the private key that’s used to secure user accounts on the Blockchain has been a major reason behind cryptocurrency hacks. The private key is a set of randomly-generated numbers and characters that gives investors access to their accounts, so it needs to be kept safe.

Gigzi is overcoming this challenge with an innovation in its Gigzi Wallet application. The Wallet will use iris recognition technology developed through an exclusive partnership with IriTech, a leading provider of biometric security. IriTech’s iris recognition technology is used by millions worldwide, including government agencies such as the UNHCR, the WFP, and the U.S. Immigration Services, among others.

The Gigzi Iris security device will use IriTech’s unique algorithm that has been developed exclusively for the Gigzi Wallet. So users can control access to their accounts using their irides instead of the private key, allowing them to overcome a major security challenge.

Tokenised precious metals redeemable on demand

The wild swings in the price of alternative investments such as cryptocurrencies has created a barrier to entry for those unwilling to accept the associated risks. There are articles out there that advise against an investment in cryptocurrencies because of their hyper-volatility. For users to have the confidence of storing wealth in a currency, stability is necessary. However, many factors related to the decentralised nature of cryptocurrencies make it difficult to achieve this. A currency that is not limited by borders, with its issuance not regulated by a central authority and the value of which is determined by the open market, will remain unpredictable. Gigzi founder El Asmar maintains that a universal standard of measure is essential to effectively determine value in a financial system that knows no borders.

Gigzi Metal, crypto-assets backed by precious metal such as gold, silver, and platinum. Each unit of Gigzi Metal is equal to 1 gram of its respective metal. As such, Gigzi Metal provides users with the ability to invest their wealth in a stable asset on the Blockchain in the form of tokenised precious metals, thereby providing a safe-haven against volatility and an effective hedging mechanism for traders and investors.

What’s more, users can redeem the tokenised precious metals anytime on demand. Branded cast bars will be fabricated to specification by the mint and delivered securely to users.

Gigzi is a financial system empowering the user with independent wealth management. It is set to change the way in which wealth is stored, traded and protected on the blockchain. Find out more on www.gigzi.com.