We spoke with Domenic Thomas, CEO of WORBLI, a blockchain network and financial services platform built on EOSIO.

Could you introduce your blockchain network for us?

WORBLI is a financial services oriented blockchain network. We are built entirely for decentralized finance (DeFi) with an embedded compliance layer offering, that offers additions like know-your-customer (KYC), and anti-money laundering (AML) services. Most financial applications globally require these to meet compliance standards.

To most, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and cryptocurrencies are exciting but bewildering. Our desire is to take away that bewilderment and help people discover how they can use DLT daily, both professionally and personally.

WORBLI’s infrastructure was built using EOSIO technology, so it’s fast and cost effective. The combination of this high performance and our comprehensive compliance tools will help to break down technical barriers for financial technology (FinTech) entrepreneurs and businesses, resulting in innovation and new ideas.

What is WORBLI’s use-case and what benefits does it offer?

Any individual, business, or organization that needs a safe, financially compliant, and fast platform to host their application can benefit from using WORBLI. We have a big focus on the FinTech industry — financial companies are highly regulated, with compliance being a large cost and time burden.

Through our calculations, we are confident we can save companies around $250,000 and six months of time to deployment on average. Most financial applications will have similar compliance requirements. This includes finding a KYC provider, implementing AML transaction monitoring, and various watchlist checks. WORBLI offers these typical but necessary things all in one place.

WORBLI eliminates the need to send identity documents and personal information for every new service or application. This means, a user can undergo KYC once, then use it for as many different applications as they like — massively reducing friction.

What inspired you to create your blockchain network?

With inevitable oncoming regulation, we knew projects and entrepreneurs would need a safe, compliant platform on which to launch applications. Our goal is to challenge modern financial systems — we are taking care of the “boring” aspects of compliance and regulation. This allows startups and entrepreneurs to focus on what they do best: build new, innovative, and valuable financial products and services.

It wasn’t a popular decision at the time, but we’ve been validated by a lot of the recent regulatory guidelines. We seek to empower small and large application builders alike. It’s about creating a fair playing field in the new economy where everyone can participate.

Why did you decide to use EOSIO specifically?

We needed a smart contract platform that was scalable, fast, and secure. After extensive research, we decided to bet on EOSIO as early as January 2018. Nothing else rivaled the features described in the literature we reviewed. We were heavily involved in the EOS public network launch and pleasantly surprised by the potential of an EOSIO based chain. We felt that the commitment from Block.one to support the EOSIO codebase would ensure that our core software would stay ahead of the competition.

The speed and scalability of EOSIO software aren’t the only reasons we chose to use it. We have also done a lot of work customizing EOSIO and have found we can do almost anything we want, because it is so flexible. An example is the WORBLI token protocol. It allows those issuing tokens to create custom financial instruments, and set limits on where and when tokens can be traded.

What are the challenges you have had to overcome, and how did you do it?

Until recently, many did not see KYC as important. On top of that, integrating an identity layer at the blockchain level had never been done before. As we learn valuable lessons, we continue to improve and optimize over time.

Compliance and regulation are difficult to deal with in the first place. The regulatory uncertainty surrounding our nascent industry makes it even more complicated to ensure we are doing things correctly. Internally, we regulate WORBLI as if we are a bank ourselves — staying up to date with regulatory changes and engaging with relevant parties as we can.

What stage is your blockchain network at, and what are your plans for scaling?

Since launching on November 1st, 2018, anyone can make an account and go through KYC on our portal. Our compliance infrastructure is largely complete and our token protocol is live — Chintai and their MYNT service will be among the first projects to use it. Additionally, there are also a number of other applications ready to use it.

Creating lasting partnerships is at the heart of our mission, as well as attracting great people to help us. We’re confident the applications being built on WORBLI will continue to attract developers and financial minds globally, as apps are the backbone of any successful blockchain ecosystem.

What EOSIO community initiatives have you engaged in and how have they responded to your project?

Our prime interest, as with any project built on EOSIO is to attract users from the EOSIO ecosystem. We’ve built a fantastic and supportive community that is quickly growing outside the realms of EOSIO. Our Block Producers were primarily chosen from the EOS public network — based on their unique abilities and vision. We are very much aligned with Dan Larimer’s vision of creating multiple communities and economies. We work alongside each other where warranted, and learn from each other’s successes and failures.

We have also sponsored blockchain projects and events. We aim to help increase transparency and communication via live monthly updates and meetings.

Can you introduce your team and tell us what makes them special?

Domenic Thomas, CEO

Driven and tenacious, Domenic has a no quit attitude. He also possesses a keen business sense and ability to cultivate talent, later building these into teams. A great and ethics driven leader, he works well under pressure.

Robert Dewilder, CTO

Bringing decades of experience from Sony, Rob also knows the EOSIO software very well. He is responsible, knowledgeable, kind, and capable. Rob brings a logical and analytic eye to the team and is often credited with solving technical issues before most are able to see them.

Sean Anderson, Vice President of Business Development

Sean is bright, friendly, and has great skills in the marketing and business development space. He can see opportunities when no one else can and seeks to cultivate them into viable and exciting business propositions. Cool, calm and collected, his input is valuable across all facets of the business.

Todor Karaivanov — Product Manager and Head of Blockchain Governance

Todor is the logical one. He is always asking tough questions, pushing each team member to be better by further evaluating their messaging, actions, and insights. He has a huge heart and brings a wealth of technical knowledge, as well as insights from governance from within the EOSIO space. Todor brings excellent game theory knowledge from a long standing career in video game development.

William Hill — Technical Lead

Will is a highly skilled technical lead with a fantastic mind for bridging the gap between business and technical development. Organized and methodical, he has a knack for planning the most complicated of builds.

Mitchell Mahaffey — Commercial Partnerships and BP Relations

Mitchell has been tasked with helping organize the Block Producer’s operations. He is a staple within the WORBLI ecosystem, facilitating communications and meetings with our Block Producers. Dedicated, polite, and capable of managing multiple entities and interactions on various levels, he is perfect for his role. A fantastic writer, Mitch is very involved in marketing communications and business development.

Valentin Ivanov — Software Developer

A lifelong learner with a variety of skill sets, Valentin is a dedicated and knowledgeable developer with a passion for cryptocurrency. A devout problem solver, he is always available and eager to ‘pitch in’ to solve any technical task.

What other projects have you partnered with?

As partnerships will set the tone of WORBLI, we have carefully selected a number of quality projects to partner with.

We have partnered with Chintai to offer compliant Security Token Offerings (STOs) and related services. TokenORO has created a new funding model which makes it easier for Gold Mining projects to raise money, and have deployed their application on the WORBLI network. We have also partnered with WordProof to allow trusted timestamps of internet content to be stored on the WORBLI blockchain.

Where do you see your blockchain network in the future?

We hope to continue growing exponentially as we connect partners and applications on a global scale. We expect to become the premier financial services network in the world. Our projects in development span everything from fundraising, to global payments, insurance, and more.

We plan to branch out of the blockchain reaching out to entrepreneurs, establishing partnerships with accelerators and incubators. We can attract users and developers from the FinTech world without even having to explain the blockchain aspect of WORBLI to them — all we need to let them know is that it can save them time, money, and effort.

In a sentence, how would do you want readers to remember your blockchain network?

WORBLI is creating accessible, smarter, faster, and more secure DLT solutions that will remake financial services to serve everyone.

Building on EOSIO?

Our #BuiltOnEOSIO series showcases some of the amazing projects leveraging EOSIO technology to build a more secure and connected world. If you would like to suggest a project for us to feature please send an email to spotlight@block.one for our Developer Relations team to review.

Block.one Developer Relations Team