by A.R. Lawrence

The following article does not constitute financial advice — it expresses a personal opinion based on information readily available on the Internet (linked sources can be found at the bottom). This article also comes in quick-read format.

Being a child of the 80’s, my first computer was the revolutionary Sinclaire ZX Spectrum. It had a mighty 128 KB of RAM and games were loaded using cassette tapes. My first mobile phone was a Nokia 3210 — an indestructible classic! I remember my first Hotmail account, as well as long-abandoned social media platforms such as Hi5, Bebo & MySpace. I even recall my father showing me a punchcard that had been used to program the really early computers, and marveling at how far technology had come. Then came the dotcom bubble, and everything changed forever….

Nostalgia aside, my point is this — we’re currently in an age where technologies that would have been incomprehensible twenty years ago are now taken for granted. Cryptocurrency is but the latest in a long line of technological advances, which can trace its routes back to Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace and, later, the cryptographers at Bletchley Park. This article is not a historical narrative, but a muse on the future of currency and on which players are likely to succeed in bridging the gap between regular (FIAT) currency and crypto.

Cryptocurrency & the future of money

Cryptocurrency came to the masses in 2017, when it went from being a relatively unknown technology to the latest buzzword on the street. With the launch of easily accessible Crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance and Bittrex (to name but a few) we saw a massive bull-run on Bitcoin, with many altcoins following suit. The Initial Coin Offering (ICO) concept became a reality, which enabled massive amounts of capital to be raised overnight. Since the adjustment at the beginning of 2018 the market has been less bullish, but it is generally accepted that 2018 will be the year when institutional investment enters the market, and a system of regulation is established. Let’s make no mistake — Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies pose a massive threat to traditional financial institutions, including central banks.

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF

“In many ways, virtual currencies might just give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money“. Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the IMF

This is for good reason as, compared to traditional forms of currency, cryptocurrencies are:

Faster

Easier

Cheaper

Trackable

Data Rich

More Secure

The question is what these threatened financial institutions will do about crypto. Will banks and governments ignore it? Will they seek to crush it? Or will they enter the Blockchain ecosystem and try to control it? My bet (completely unhedged) is the latter — they will throw massive resources at trying to dominate this wealth-creation juggernaut.

So, if we agree that Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, with the potential to dominate both peer-to-peer and interbank transactions, which technologies may be of use to financial establishments wishing to integrate their highly profitable operations with the Crypto world? There are a few companies trying to bridge the gap, but this article will focus on one — Ivykoin.

IvyKoin

IvyKoin is a network that will enable Know Your Customer (KYC), Know Your Transaction (KYT), and Anti Money Laundering (AML) data supporting transactions to be captured using Blockchain-based cryptocurrency. The main advantage Ivykoin has over its competitors will be its ability to embed far more compliance and transaction audit information than incumbent payment networks. This may not sound sexy in the fast moving and often glamorous world of crypto, but the fact that Ivykoin is built around financial regulation compliance is a big deal. When government bodies such as the SEC crack down, it will become an even bigger deal.

How does Ivykoin compare to its competitors?

The above infographic is extracted from page 15 of ivyKoin’s Whitepaper. It outlines some of the key advantages ivyKoin has over Ripple, and why large financial institutions may prefer it as a partner of choice.

Ripple (XRP) was one of the success stories of 2017, if you believe token valuation to be a fair reflection of success. It increased in value by an enormous 28,000%, making it one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. The main reason for this was hype, based on the assumption that Ripple would become the crypto of choice for banks. It had very little to do with the token economics, which are blurry to say the least, and even less to do with the long-term viability of the technology and its platform. Ripple may have been instrumental in forging alliances between traditional banking and the cryptocurrency world, but when compared to the design of IvyKoin’s network, it comes up short.

Why have I never heard of ivyKoin?

Ivykoin is one third owned by ASX-listed fintech company Change Financial. Unlike many other cryptocurrencies, Ivykoin did not hold a public ICO, instead seeking out investors through a series of events held in major Australian cities, followed by a private sale token generation event. The sale, which was massively over-subscribed, raised $US16.5 million in capital. Since then Ivykoin has engaged U.S. based digital marketing company BDR Ltd., so I imagine it won’t be long until it hits the YouTube Crypto review channels.

What about the Ivykoin team?

The strength of any project lies in its team. Under President Gary Fan, formerly of CTC Bank Corp, IvyKoin has managed to bring together a unique skillset that sets them apart from competing projects. The breadth of both their financial and technological experience is impressive, as is the status of people on their advisory board, which includes a former Managing Director of PayPal, a former Blockchain strategist at CME, and a former CEO at Intel Capital, to highlight a few. A full list of the corporate structure can be found on ivyKoin’s website. In my opinion, the main advantage of ivyKoin’s team is their ability to get through the doors of large financial institutions to broker the necessary deals. To do this, you need people who have held high-level positions within similar institutions and can get past the gatekeepers. You need people who understand the problems that banks face, and blue-sky thinkers who can effectively communicate a Blockchain-based solution. Enter Ivykoin.

“The future of money is digital currency.” — Bill Gates

Tech Selling Points:

Ivykoin is not trying to compete with the main platforms like Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS and NEO. Ivykoin is “a blockchain-based financial compliance product facilitating secure, transparent business payments” — a utility token that will attempt to fill the niche market that is addressing KYC, KYT, and AML requirements for transactions over $10,000. Ivykoin’s technology is “chain agnostic”, which means that it could potentially be used on any Blockchain. Unlike many apps and utilities being built, this technology ensures that it is insured against platforms becoming obsolete or outperformed, something that is a real threat in the highly competitive Blockchain ecosystem.

Will IvyKoin revolutionize the world?

Revolutions are usually messy; blood is often spilled, and institutions overturned. Unlike many early cryptocurrencies, Ivykoin is not looking to undermine the traditional financial system, or even compete with it. The team behind the product realized that for banks to utilize the many benefits of Blockchain technology, a certain degree of compliance with current financial regulation is necessary. This is a viable solution, one that can potentially integrate with current large-scale banking operations. It’s vying for a piece of a very large pie — SWIFT, a key system for processing global payments directs the transfer of $5 trillion worldwide each day, or $1.25 quadrillion per year.

Although cryptocurrencies have now entered the collective consciousness, most will fail — some leading technologists estimate 90% will disappear in the medium- to long-term. The ones which survive are likely to become behemoths — the Alibabas and Amazons of the future. Blockchain and “distributed ledgers” are highly disruptive technologies; so, potentially, is Ivykoin. Ivykoin has an architectural edge in the design of their network, as well as a world-class team to drive the technological and business development.

The coming revolution in finance will not happen overnight. The paradigm shift will probably take two to three years. Yet I see Ivykoin becoming a major player in the vast landscape of Blockchain & distributed ledger technologies — one of only a few companies truly integrating FIAT into the Blockchain ecosystem.

Sources:

IvyKoin Official Website

IvyKoin Whitepaper

Your Questions Answered — Part 1: Ivy Project.

Your Questions Answered — Part 2: Ivy Technology.

IvyKoin Official Telegram Channel

IvyKoin Twitter

Change Financial Official Website

Time Magazine: Cryptocurrency Will Replace National Currencies by 2030, According to this futurist.

IMF Head: Cryptocurrency Could Be the Future. Really.

theconversation.com: Why it would be in everyone’s interest to regulate cryptocurrency.

Fortune: Is the SEC Gunning for Ethereum and Ripple? Fat Chance

Wall Street Journal: Cryptocurrency firms explore getting bank licenses.