Many experts agree on the huge impact that Blockchain technology will have on fintech in the coming years. And yet, technical and regulatory issues have hindered the potential of Blockchain and cryptocurrencies to grow past the early-adopter phase and hit the mainstream.

Monaize, an e-banking platform for freelancers and small businesses and Komodo, a top 30 cryptocurrency project met at Money 20/20 in June 2017 and forged a partnership. Their joint vision is to bridge banking Blockchain and help cryptocurrencies achieve mainstream adoption.

World’s first decentralized Initial Coin Offering (dICO)

The first innovation to come out of the Monaize-Komodo partnership will be a decentralized Initial Coin Offering (dICO) via cross chain atomic coin swap by leveraging Komodo Platform’s Jumblr and BarterDEX technology. It is possible to issue and distribute native cryptocurrencies without a trusted third party. The Monaize dICO is also set to push the Blockchain community into an era in which ICOs no longer have to depend on platforms like Ethereum or Waves, reducing problems such as Blockchain bloat and mitigating the damage that would be suffered by hundreds of ICO projects if one of these large parent chains were comprised.

The Monaize asset chain was created in late September with tokens holding the ticker symbol “MNZ.” On Friday Nov. 10 at 12 p.m. (GMT), token sale participants will begin swapping either Bitcoin or Komodo Coin for Monaize Tokens. These coin exchanges will occur across Blockchains through atomic swaps with automatic order matching, using a special dICO wallet developed by Komodo Platform. Monaize will be releasing additional information and a tutorial on the dICO process in the coming days.

E-banking as a gateway to Blockchain

Often compared to similar actors in the fintech space such as N26 and Revolut, Monaize is the first “challenger bank” of its kind to possess its own Blockchain. The Monaize asset chain inherits all features of Komodo, including anonymity through zero-knowledge proofs, as well as Bitcoin-level security, thanks to a novel delayed proof of work protocol (dPOW) in which all transactions are notarized into the Bitcoin Blockchain.

As explained in Monaize’s White Paper, applications allowing Monaize to leverage this asset chain and others through Blockchain interoperability innovatively will include global payments, fiat-pegged cryptocurrency integration and on chain KV storage. Monaize also plans to integrate a cryptocurrency wallet into their banking application in Q2 of 2018, further encouraging the adoption of cryptocurrencies by the business community.

Monaize’s e-banking platform for freelancers and small businesses

Monaize has already developed a working product and plans to launch on the French and UK markets in Q4 of 2017. Reports suggest that 162 mln people in Europe and the US are part of the freelance economy. Independent work is rapidly evolving thanks to large-scale digital platforms like Uber and Deliveroo, which provide efficient connections between customers and services providers. However, traditional banks have been slow to adapt their services for freelancers and small businesses, due to their diverse and complex needs.

What sets Monaize apart is their technology-focused, personalized, partner-agnostic approach allowing for quick international expansion and growth by allowing different banking and financial services partners to plug into the platform. For new Monaize users, a revolutionary KYB (Know Your Business) process that checks photographed documents in real-time means that customers are able to open an account in a number of minutes from the comfort of their home or office using a smartphone. Account access is granted immediately with a local IBAN, and a Monaize Business Mastercard is dispatched in under five days. Personalized services from third parties will also be available including professional liability insurance, payment solutions and finance.

What’s in it for MNZ token sale participants?

Those participating in the Monaize token sale will benefit from rewards which are structured on user growth. Each month, the number of new Monaize business account creations are counted and an equation is used to calculate the total reward in KMD to holders of MNZ tokens. Rewards are distributed through an automatic API which crawls the Monaize Blockchain and automatically distributes KMD to MNZ tokens holders, proportionally to the amount of tokens held.

MNZ token holders will be taking part in a banking revolution in which collaborative, ethical innovative services are finally being provided to an underserved market segment. Realizing their potential to become a leading international e-banking platform for freelancers and small businesses, Monaize’s international expansion strategy starts with Europe before heading to the US, Asia and Africa in the coming years.

A large following of Monaize supporters has already been developed in Slack, Telegram and via email subscription, and those interested in participating are encouraged by Monaize to get involved in the conversation.