The Asset Manager

A human’s role in an automated world

This week, we thought we’d look at the role of the Asset Manager and escrow within the MyBit ecosystem. As a key part of our platform, it’s worth taking some time to go through exactly how this role works — and what it means in for the wider ecosystem.

First, though, what is an Asset Manager? Here at MyBit, we imagine a fully-automated, decentralized future. The problem is even autonomous machines need some human oversight. And this is where the Asset Manager comes in.

Asset Managers are the people in charge of overseeing asset deployment, maintenance, updates and repairs. They’re involved in everything. At the start, this may mean planning location, approvals, permits and marketing. Once the asset is deployed, this means maintenance and making sure it continues operating and generating revenue. It’s an incredibly important role in the MyBit ecosystem.

“Asset Managers are the people in charge of overseeing asset deployment, maintenance, updates and repairs. They’re involved in everything.”

It’s also an opportunity. After all, there are people in the world who have money to invest, and would rather not work; and there are people who do not have money but are willing to put in the work and effort to get there. It is these people who can be rewarded for their work as Asset Managers.

At a macro level, some human oversight is essential for a fully inclusive economy. As more and more industries become automated, we don’t want access to them being dictated by whether you have access to capital or not. The role of Asset Manager gives everyone an opportunity to be part of this new era.

In return for their hard work, Asset Managers receive a percentage of the revenue of any IoT device they’re managing. As we believe in open-market operations, the asset manager decides how much he/she wants to get for their work. It is the investor that decides whether or not the offer is an attractive investment opportunity. Their investment isn’t financial, but through the time and effort they expend doing their duties: “sweat equity”, if you like.

They do, however, have to put down an ‘escrow’. That is, a financial guarantee that they’ll do their duties. On the MyBit platform the Asset Manager must lock some MyBit tokens in an escrow contract as collateral. They can choose their own escrow amount and the revenue sharing rate on the platform. But if they leave or are voted out of the Asset Manager role for bad behavior, then they forfeit the tokens they put in escrow.

“They do, however, have to put down an ‘escrow’. That is, a financial guarantee that they’ll do their duties.”

This not only creates an incentive to perform their duties, but protects investors in the process. What’s more, these tokens then remain locked until the asset begins generating revenue — and as soon as the asset’s return reaches 25%, the tokens will be available for withdrawal. This can be done at increments of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%.

We are exploring the option of allowing people to “stake” Asset Managers who do not have enough MyBit for escrow (in return for a share of their revenue streams). We’ll provide an update on this point when we are closer to the BETA.

There’s also one final protection in our ‘trust level’ rating. Each Asset Manager has a trust level, which increases with the number of assets they successfully manage. A higher or lower rating determines how much escrow they are required to place.

And that concludes our inside look at the role of Asset Manager and escrow. As always, feel free to reach out to us on Discord, Telegram or Reddit with any questions or thoughts.

Until next time!

The MyBit Team