Source: Hydrogen

Hydrogen​, recently named “FinTech Startup of the Year” by KPMG, founds the ​Financial Industry Decentralization Initiative (FINDI)​, a non-partisan consortium to facilitate a more open, transparent, and decentralized global financial system powered by public blockchains.

​ FINDI is a collaborative working group whose purpose is to help usher in the Web 3.0, bringing security, knowledge, and trust to financial services. FINDI advocates the use of public blockchains as a superior alternative to the private and permissioned implementations pursued by many financial institutions, so as to preserve the vision for openness, transparency, and user control first promised by the advent of blockchain technology.



“Financial institutions want to implement public blockchain technology, but have been scared by an aggressive campaign from private blockchain consortiums like R3, causing $500 Mil in private blockchain spending already in 2018. Financial services institutions are fast approaching the point of no return. Billions around the globe risk losing access to the blockchain revolution without FINDI,” says Hydrogen’s Co-Founder, and FINDI Founding Member Mike Kane.



About FINDI

● Free to join, no membership dues

● Joint research and product development, symposiums, industry consulting

● Chain- and protocol-agnostic, with a mission to support public blockchains ● Financial executives, startups, consultants, academics, and governments invited

● Members overseeing over $1 trillion in assets and tens of millions of customers joined before launch; 100+ members projected in year 1

“Private blockchain is an oxymoron and centralized financial security is obsolete, as we have seen with recent hacks of Equifax, BMO, Coinrail, Bancor, and Bithumb. There are still 2 billion unbanked globally. Together, the members of FINDI can change the financial paradigm by leveraging public blockchains,” Kane concludes.



Founding Member Hydrogen​, Mike Kane, Co-Founder: The global financial platform of the Web 3.0. The platform includes APIs, protocols, libraries, apps, and dApps for financial developers and enterprises. Hydrogen's blockchain division, Hydro (token symbol: HYDRO), enables private financial systems to seamlessly leverage the public blockchain, enhancing functionality across key areas including authentication, identity verification, document management, payments processing, and machine learning. Hydrogen is based in the Flatiron district of New York City, and is profitable in its first year of business.



● Natixis Investment Managers​, George Marootian, Head of Technology: The corporate & investment banking, asset management, insurance and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE, serving a total of 36 million customers. Natixis manages $1 Tril in assets.

● Principal Financial Group​, Juan Manuel Vega, Chief Digital Officer - Chile: The largest APV manager in Chile, managing $40 Billion in assets

● Marsh​, Liviu Huluta, Head of Consumer & Commercial CSE Europe: A global leader in insurance broking and risk management, with annual revenue exceeding $13 billion

● Synpulse​, Mathias Hausherr, Managing Director: An internationally established management consulting company and valued partner of many of the world’s largest financial services providers

● Gilga​, Rodney Yesep, Fund Manager: A blockchain VCl firm and research institute

● Wipro​, Raja Roy, HR Executive: A leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company with over 160,000 colleagues worldwide

● Dubai International Finance Center​, Pinaki Aich, Head of Group Strategy: Provides a platform for businesses and financial institutions to tap into the emerging markets of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

● Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan​, ​PhD​: McKinsey Economist, University of Washington Professor, Cofounder ISM and Advisor to governments, international organizations, the private sector, & NGOs