CoinGeek Conversations

Setting a festive mood with a holiday shirt to boot, Charles Miller kicks off the CoinGeek Conversations Christmas Special this year, sharing a bubbly toast with his guests: CoinGeek Reporter, Becky Liggero, and Osmin Callis, the Founder and CEO of Mode 8.   The two battled it out to the end in an exciting quiz covering topics, such as Bitcoin SV (BSV) companies, Bitcoin terminologies, entertainment, science, and a final odd one out round. Formulating the questions using ChatGPT, Charles marveled at how the language model came up with its responses, as well as abstract images for BSV companies, based on the very little information he gave.   The first round focused on Bitcoin SV companies, with Charles asking participants to identify BSV their names based on AI images. The next round shifted to general knowledge, covering topics such as the Olympic Games in London, planets, Komodo dragons, and Taylor Swift albums. The third round took a unique turn, presenting descriptions from Robin Kohze, CEO and Co-founder of Vaionex, with participants tasked to identify Bitcoin-related terms based on these descriptions. In the final, odd one out, round, participants had to pick the word or phrase that didn’t belong among four choices.   The competition was fierce as Osmin and Becky vied to answer questions, earning points for correct answers. At the end of the quiz, the scores were tallied, ultimately revealing the winner, with prizes, like the bubbly, ‘magically’ passed across the online connections!   To find out who won, you'll need to watch the show and perhaps test your knowledge by attempting some of the questions! Best of luck, and may you have a joyful holiday season from the CoinGeek Conversations team!

In the latest episode of CoinGeek Conversations, Charles Miller meets Michael Simeon, the Co-founder and CEO of VPD Money [https://vpd.money/], a company which promises to create "The Bank of You."    "VPD" stands for "Virtual Payment Digital." Michael explains that they would have made their tagline, "The Bank of You," the name of the company but that there are regulatory restrictions on using the term "bank" in the name of a business.     Charles explores the user experience by signing up for VPD Money during the conversation. Michael guides him through the process, highlighting the flexibility in funding options, including transfers, card transactions, and unique codes like USSD codes, popular in Africa.   One objective of VPD Money is financial inclusion, particularly in underserved regions. Michael expresses his passion for empowering communities: "we let you build your home bank." He emphasizes the challenges faced by those in remote areas where traditional banking is a challenge. VPD Money aims to bridge this gap.   Michael highlights the strategic deployment of Point of Service (POS) machines, saying, "we have partnerships with all the places where we push out POS machines". These machines facilitate easy access to financial services, especially in areas where physical banks are scarce.   When asked about the company's progress, Michael reveals, "we have over 50,000 customers," categorizing them into global customers, SMEs, and the unbanked. He touches upon the future capability of international remittances, contributing to the financial inclusion of the global community.   Charles asks about Michael's entrepreneurial journey, referencing his previous venture, VoguePay [https://voguepay.com/]. Michael explains a difference, stating that VoguePay is a payment processing company, while VPD Money is a comprehensive digital banking experience.   Michael discusses VPD Money's future plans, including personalized savings features. He shares a concept of saving customers 20 per cent of their earnings monthly through AI-driven insights and negotiated discounts.   Having extensive experience in the crypto space, Michael reveals that he was among the pioneers introducing crypto payments in Nigeria back in 2014. He acknowledges the unexpected trend of Nigerians using crypto as a store of value against their currency.

CoinGeek Conversations concludes its three-part Block Dojo mini-series with insightful conversations featuring innovators in blockchain technology.    In the latest interviews, Charles Miller meets three entrepreneurs completing the business incubator program: Robin Russel of Satva Trust, who discusses the use of blockchain to enhance emissions reporting in the shipping industry; Priyatham Varma of Back3nd, who explains his mission to empower non-technical individuals to create fintech products; and Luiz Adler of Smash Mountain Studio, who shares the journey behind developing the world's first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game.    In the first interview, Charles speaks to Robin Russel, Co-founder and COO of Satva Trust, a company using blockchain technology to improve emissions reporting in the shipping industry. Robin stresses the importance of accurate data in an industry that releases around a billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, making up three per cent of the world's total emissions.   The current data on emissions is unreliable, creating problems for financial stakeholders like lenders and insurers. "It's really a question of visibility," Robin explains about having clear information to make informed decisions about business risks.    When discussing the market for emissions data, he explains that lenders and insurers pay for risk assessments using emissions data, along with shipowners who "would really like to showcase how well they're doing in that direction". However, unreliable data makes it hard for shipowners to showcase their environmental efforts.   The first step to producing more reliable data is to eliminate self-reported data from ships. Robin notes the importance of using satellite data, which includes weather, sea conditions, ship details, position, and speed, processed through AI.   Charles asks about the social and environmental motivations behind the venture. Robin asserts that "we're all interested in sustainability," acknowledging the team's commitment to addressing climate challenges.    As for the unreliability of data in the shipping industry, Robin noted, "It seems like a situation that needs to change. The technology exists now to make a change."    Next, Charles sits down with Priyatham Varma, founder and CEO of Back3nd and a former web developer and educator. He has a mission to empower individuals without technical skills to create their own fintech products.   As Priyatham puts it, "Back3nd is a no-code platform where anyone can easily build blockchain applications, especially for the fintech industry.” The platform is so simple to use that even those unfamiliar with coding will be able to build a business on top of blockchain, he says.   "Blockchain is an entirely new system and is rewriting the entire finance industry. You can be a beginner, but in two years, you'll be an expert in blockchain space.”  Back3nd includes products like payment gateways, peer-to-peer lending platforms, and analytics dashboards.   Back3nd offers a range of subscription plans but as Priyatham explains, "if you don't want to subscribe, you can still use the free version, but we'll be taking a larger commission on every transaction. Subscribers enjoy reduced transaction costs and access to features like analytics dashboards.”   As for Back3nd's target users, Priyatham explains, “the first customers are entrepreneurs or innovators who want to build something on top of our platform, 60 per cent of the entire blockchain ecosystem consists of people who aren't coders but want to build something on top of it.”    Lastly Charles speaks to Luiz Adler, founder and Game Director of Smash Mountain Studio, about the latter’s journey behind creating the world's first Brazilian J

Charles Miller is once again exploring innovative ventures in the Block Dojo incubator program on this week’s CoinGeek Conversations. Rafaela Azevedo’s The Chain Academy trains developers for Web3; Kenneth Kelly's Revested streamlines real estate transactions; and Marcus Odubonojo's Motion Shield simplifies car accident reporting— all showcasing the potential of blockchain technology.   Kicking off our series of interviews, we begin with Rafaela Azevedo, the founder of The Chain Academy, who takes a unique approach to training developers for the rapidly evolving Web3 space. Rafaela’s journey into the tech industry is influenced by her tech background, as she explains that “all my family is in tech."   Her parents, both developers, played a significant role in shaping her passion for technology. Growing up surrounded by the world of coding, Rafaela embarked on her coding journey at a very young age. "I was coding when I was six years old with my dad. I just got really passionate about the idea and just went for it," she recalls.    The Chain Academy is an educational platform for developers entering Web3. The training program not only focuses on individual skill development but also aims to link developers with potential employers. “They are going to be skilled up to collaborative commercial projects where they can actually have their first experience and create a portfolio," she notes.   The Chain Academy offers a unique learning experience with a step-by-step approach, short videos and text, catering to individuals with varying attention spans. In addition, AI technology will be used to provide instant feedback to developers, assessing their strengths and areas for improvement.    The Chain Academy’s roadmap includes a commitment to addressing various blockchains, starting with Solidity and Ethereum and expanding to others such as the BSV Blockchain. As for the company’s revenue model, Rafaela says it will include a subscription model for developers and fees for businesses posting projects.  Next was Kenneth Kelly's Revested, a blockchain-based business that aims to simplify and expedite the process of buying and selling houses. Kenneth is keen to point out that Revested utilizes blockchain technology to eliminate old practices in the real estate industry. "The problem in the industry, going back to my grandfather's time, would be that one in three property sales fall through, and on average, it takes between three and six months. So, you know, huge problem within the space." Revested addresses these challenges by streamlining mundane processes, especially with compliance and regulation. As Kenneth explains, "KYC when you come on to Revested is simple.. you enter your name, email, passport, and take a photograph of yourself. We then upload your property title deeds, which we can cross-check using machine learning against the land registry document." Blockchain technology will be used in the digital exchange for property transactions. "We're building a custom layer two platform, essentially a digital exchange to connect a wallet dependent upon the currency and to be able to trade that currency in and out of the exchange." Kenneth envisions a future where property tokenization enables instantaneous transactions. "You could be down in the pub on a Friday, and you could be selling your property in minutes instantly," he says.  However, Charles raises concerns about the potential risks and the necessity for a thoughtful decision-making process in real estate transactions. Kenneth responds by highlighting the role of machine learning in scanning title deeds for underlying issues, saying, "there's new machine learning models that are really pushing boundaries within the legal space." When asked about the business model, Kenneth explains "we would take a percentage of transaction fees based o

The latest group of entrepreneurs to graduate from Block Dojo, the London incubator programme for startups building on the BSV blockchain, are sharing their ambitions on CoinGeek Conversations over the next three weeks. In the first show, two founders describe their business plans. First, Ash Yarro’s Trackr HR [https://trackrhr.com/] is designed to bring technology, particularly AI, to bear on the inefficiencies of the highly-lucrative recruitment business.  Ash was already an experienced entrepreneur. But when he talked to his girlfriend about her work in recruitment, he was astonished at what he heard: “it became apparent that there were just so many complexities and long, laborious processes within being a recruiter.” Ash realised he had found his next project. He contacted friends who work in recruitment and HR and asked to spend time with them at work to learn about their business. He says he discovered “so many problems in terms of fragmented systems, outdated practices and just so many spaces for top candidates to slip between the cracks”. Unlike in the working practices of lawyers and accountants for instance, he said, new technology was rarely being used. So how is Trackr HR going to fix that? Ash says it will be a “multipronged solution”. AI will be deployed right from the first contact between the recruiter and their client, to analyse conversations that describe the role the client wants to fill and the kind of candidate they’re looking for. From that, AI will generate a brief.  Then throughout the process, AI will continue to improve efficiency by analysing applications and video responses by candidates, saving the recruiter time and allowing a more systematic approach. Ash believes the business is ready for innovation.   AI is also an important component of Kofo Are’s Thier idea. She describes it as “a mobile platform for the prevention of obesity and type two diabetes”. Her customers will be big businesses who want to improve the health of their staff - not least, Kofo says, because obesity costs companies $3,000 to $15,000 per employee per year.  The first part of the idea is to give users an app that will track the exercise they take and their food and drink consumption. This information will then be used to recommend interventions - anything from changing your diet to something more ambitious:  “We will match you with a health care practitioner who will offer interventions tailored to your specific needs. We'll also match you to groups on the platform because we plan to have communities where we group people based upon their risk. The purpose of the communities is because we believe in the power of peers: when you're in groups and you know you're suffering from the same type of disease, we tend to encourage one another to make the right choices around food, around exercise, around the hours of sleep.” One of the benefits of Thier, in the UK at least, is that it would take some of the pressure off the National Health Service. Kofo agrees that would be a “great thing”. But of course, working with businesses, she knows she also has to incentivise them financially, by pointing to the benefits they’d enjoy with fewer staff absences and by slowing the growth of ever-increasing health insurance premiums.  Don’t miss next week’s CoinGeek Conversations, to meet more Block Dojo entrepreneurs.