Ksenia Semenova, CMO Cindicator

As the first part of our new content series ‘Insights Within Crypto’ we interviewed Ksenia Semenova, CMO at exciting fintech company Cindicator. Using collective wisdom and AI it creates predictive analytics for effective decision-making and smarter trading. Following one of the most successful token sales of 2017, Ksenia provides us with some expertise from the inside workings of crypto crowd funding, whilst providing her own personal thoughts on the current and future position of Blockchain technology.

“2017 was a watershed year for money created through Blockchain. There are now 1,601 cryptocurrencies out there (according to coinmarketcap). The joint work and collaboration of the well-established companies and the start-ups with valid tokenisation models both strengthen the industry and bring back trust.”

“In September 2017 we faced the dilemma of whether to hold an open token sale or implement a White List methodology, developed by our team, with the aim of creating a vibrant community of people who can be both consumers and contributors.”

Early adopters and investors should be more than simply speculators looking to get the quickest return and Cindicator were clear from the outset what would deliver the most value to their project and why you too should follow suit.

“To build a strong community and a vital ecosystem, think very carefully about who will be walking this path alongside you. We diligently selected the core of our future networked ecosystem, at that time, made up of 4,507 active, diverse, and intelligent developers, entrepreneurs, data scientists, and traders. We initially raised $15m though we had to disregard $485m from the initial applications. It is surprising how many interesting people are willing to help us create the Hybrid Intelligence ecosystem.”

“The newly created community began to deliver many positive network effects immediately, giving a powerful boost to the long-term growth of the ecosystem. By limiting the number of participants, Cindicator was able to eliminate potential speculative investors in favour of those who are genuinely interested in the project and its long-term benefits. Bitcoin pioneer Charlie Shrem was particularly effusive in his praise of Cindicator’s decision: Honestly, token sales like Cindicator’s are a shining example of how it’s supposed to be done.”

The decision to create a token and run a token sale or ICO, is one that shouldn’t be taken lightly and Ksenia is keen to stress the differences between a currency coin and tokens.

“Once you develop a product and find your initial clients, confirm your business model and then think about whether you really need your company to be tokenised. A coin has its own platform, and a token uses other platforms like Ethereum, Waves or Omni for example, to operate. Most companies are creating tokens not currencies. You will need to develop an internal token economy to figure out the potential advantages of tokenisation. Tokenisation should solve specific problems and increase the quality of the system’s structure. Engage with your community by creating different levels of value: financial, emotional, educational.”

“We need to shift the attention from cryptocurrencies to other ways of using Blockchain technology that are truly disruptive and can not only impact the financial sphere but have huge potential in other areas from healthcare and energy to property management and IP. Cindicator is facilitating a Symbiotic Network of partners and is preparing synergies with teams of a new type – tokenised companies. The network ideology is ingrained in the DNA of these organisations. They are Svandis, a platform for financial research with analytical and visualisation tools for the crypto community, Blue Frontiers, a leader of the seasteading movement that is building permanent settlements on floating structures in French Polynesia, and SLP, a decentralised platform for loyalty programmes with a blockchain-based bonus points exchange.”

Ksenia is very upfront on what she feels will have the biggest impact on not only cryptocurrencies but the whole Blockchain eco-system.

“Regulations – or more the unclearness of them – are a pain for everybody. Those who want to act in accordance with the law are facing the issue that there is no legal framework, but rather a lot of restrictions, so it is key to hire a good legal firm to help overcome such hurdles.”

“Social networks don’t help either. At the beginning of 2018, Mark Zuckerberg said that he planned to study encryption and the Blockchain “to see how best to use them in our services.” He really needs to do this and to set clear rules on how to distinguish scammers from companies who make the development and implementation of Blockchain possible.”

And for the future?

“We believe that the future lies in perfect symbiosis between humans and machines, and the incredible insights it can bring. The beauty of the world’s accelerating complexity is a unique opportunity for the deep transformation of society, and the potential for a shift to an era of a new type of thinking.”

We thank Ksenia and Cindicator for these valuable insights and we look forward to seeing how things grow for them in 2018.

Join Cindicator Symbiotic Network to learn from Cindicator’s expertise and knowledge.

If you’ve run a successful ICO or token sale and are currently the CMO at a Blockchain start-up, please do get in touch to take part in our series exploring insights within crypto – Contact Us