This interview is part of our new Blockchain In Advertising series, where we interview the world's leading thought leaders on the front lines of the intersections between blockchain and advertising.

In this interview we speak with Ian Kane, Founder and COO of Ternio, to understand how his company is using blockchain to transform the advertising business, and what the future of the industry holds.

1. What’s the story behind Ternio? Why and how did you begin?

IK: I spent over 10 years in the advertising industry and familiar with the inefficiencies that have plagued the ecosystem. Lengthy payment terms, an opaque supply chain, and overall lack of accountability are just some of those challenges. Blockchain brings a “trust, but verify” philosophy that can dramatically improve digital advertising (along with many other industries). We felt that Ternio could provide a solution to the challenges I mentioned – all while enabling the existing companies to use the ad technology they have already built. Ternio helps the good companies thrive while shining a light on the players that need to improve.

2. Please describe your use case and how Ternio uses blockchain:

IK: Ternio has built a highly scalable blockchain that enables brands and advertisers to independently log every unique ad impression they purchase on chain – all transacted in a programmatic environment. This gives the brand or ad agency first hand insight into the amount paid for the ad, how many brokers were involved in the transmission, and if they are the victim of double dipping. It also opens up the door for real time, instant payment tied to a smart contract.

3. Could you share a specific customer/user that benefits from what you offer? What has your service done for them?

IK: Scalability is what most companies struggle with when they want to take blockchain from proof of concept to real world application. Most digital advertisements are transacted programmatically which generates a vast amount of data and requires a highly scalable blockchain framework to handle it. Ternio is one of only a handful of Amazon Advanced Technology Partners specifically due to the scalability of our framework. Amazon AWS clients are able to deploy Ternio’s blockchain framework at scale, while ensuring those users are also using AWS servers. It is even more exciting to see Amazon’s recent acquisition of Sizmek and how all these tools will come together specifically for brands and ad agencies

4. What other blockchain advertising use cases are you excited about?

IK: Payment reconciliation is exciting and will save companies billions in the coming years. Being able to use the blockchain to ensure an advertiser is getting what they paid for, while simultaneously giving the supply chain payment in real time will help all participants run their business more efficiently. Many companies get distracted with cryptocurrency pricing, but that’s not a requirement. Payment can be made in any form of a stable token (digital currency backed by FIAT) which gives companies all the benefits of blockchain without any of the currency risk.

5. Where will Ternio be in five years?

IK: Ternio is on track to becoming a billion dollar company. We are focused on how blockchain will make business better, faster, and more efficient. I firmly believe that blockchain is changing the world and we are in the early days of building web 3.0. Our scalable blockchain framework is a multi-billion dollar application and our Blockcard (crypto debit card) is giving users real world utility of digital currencies today. We are demonstrating how this technology is not months or years away, but can be used today in real world applications.