We are excited to announce that Tokoin has partnered with Bifrost. The details of this partnership were finalized recently, in the month of July. Bifrost is the first and only existing middleware platform between DApps (decentralized applications) and blockchain protocols. Tokoin is the most prominent Indonesian startup today, which is working towards accelerating the growth of the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) sector in emerging markets. With this partnership, Tokoin becomes one of the DApps which would be a part of Bifrost’s ecosystem and leverage on the advantages that their platform provides.

What is Bifrost?

In Norse mythology, the Bifrost Bridge is a multi-dimensional bridge that connects Midgard (the realm of humans) and Asgard (the realm of Gods). Bifrost is also trying to create a bridge, but one between DApps and blockchain protocols. Today, DApp developers have a plethora of blockchains to choose from when it comes to deploying their applications, and more blockchain protocols are being developed every day. All of them are trying to solve the puzzle called Blockchain Trilemma, balancing between the conflicting requirements of security, scalability, and decentralization. DApps provide a wide range of services, which makes their system requirements extremely varied. Different blockchains have different strengths, but till date, there is no single blockchain which has been able to solve the conflicting requirements of DApps!

Bifrost is implementing a middleware platform which would enable DApps to enjoy the advantages of different blockchain platforms. The middleware platform operates between the application layer and the protocol layer. Bifrost makes it possible to combine the performance, scalability, and customizability of private blockchains with the safety and decentralization that public blockchains provide. DApp codes are split and converted into private and public components, and each component is transpiled to its own native smart contract in order to achieve greater scalability. Bifrost ensures both components operate together seamlessly through Linkers, which interconnect the data and control flows between the two components. In a world full of DApps and blockchain protocols, Bifrost believes that bridging the gap between the two is necessary for the holistic development of the blockchain environment.

About the Partnership

Tokoin is using blockchain technology to solve the issues faced by the MSME sector in emerging markets of ASEAN nations. We have already started the operation in Indonesia, where the MSME sector accounts for more than 50% of the GDP. These MSMEs are typically based in rural areas, and usually, lack legal documentation and long term credit history. This discourages banks from providing them with loans. Many of these industries simply perish owing to the lack of financial assistance. We at Tokoin are solving this problem by creating a blockchain-based data record for MSMEs to upload their KYC data, create verifiable digital identities, and associated details of their financial transactions with these identities. These records would help establish reliable trust scores for these enterprises. When an MSME approaches a bank for a loan, the bank would be able to analyze its trust score on our blockchain platform as a substitute to credit history.

The MSME sector in Indonesia is extremely fragmented and accounts for 99% of all businesses. We plan to onboard at least 50,000 users onto the Tokoin ecosystem by the end of 2019 itself. Tokoin has signed partnerships with KADIN (The Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and is supported by the other 2 Ministries of the Republic of Indonesia earlier this year, which should facilitate this onboarding process. We are also expanding our operations to other ASEAN countries in the near future. Needless to say, the scalability of the blockchain platform is a critical requirement for our DApps. That being said, we can’t compromise on security either, as any sort of data manipulation would make banks completely lose trust on our platform. Simply put, we cannot afford to fall prey to the Blockchain Trilemma.

Bifrost’s middleware platform is the perfect fit for our DApp. It would empower us to use the best features of different blockchain protocols, and enhance the performance of our product. In the words of Eddy Christian Ng, Chief Operating Officer of Tokoin,

“Being one of the DApps in the Bifrost ecosystem will increase Tokoin’s efficiency, as we will be able to combine the positive aspects of more than one protocol in order to achieve our mission.” — Eddy Christian, COO of Tokoin

Tokoin’s association with Bifrost also leads to more credibility and exposure to the innovation that they are bringing to the table.

“Tokoin is one of the biggest projects to have emerged out of South-East Asia in recent times, and this partnership is a matter of pride for Bifrost”. — Dohyun Pak, CEO of Bifrost

To know more about Bifrost, you can visit their Facebook and Telegram.