Vlad Bunin, Platio: The traditional finance is moving towards global asset unification.
Intro: Today we are having an interview with Vlad Bunin, Board Member and Chief Strategist of Platio — multi-asset platform that provides banking and investment services to individuals and businesses in fiat, stocks and digital assets.
KS: Vlad, Platio has recently announced the decision not to begin with a public token sale and focus on traditional fundraising. Can you give a bit more details why this step has been made and what the main outcomes are?
VB: That’s right. Our team has taken such a decision but we are still actively and successfully raising funds from the traditional sources.
We perceive token sale as a marketing tool which would be more efficient after an official launch of Platio platform. We have already got nearly 30 000 contributors waiting to become our first users and providing this opportunity to them is our key priority.
KS: 30K sounds inspiring for a crypto market that is declining over the last year…
VB: I think that crypto market still has a potential to get healthier again. Nevertheless, if we would focus on crypto users only, we would definitely experience a bumpy time now. But from Platio business perspective, crypto is only one asset type among many others. I have a feeling that traditional finance and crypto tend to merge into one system soon. And our goal is to provide the community with a simple and secure solution that unifies multiple types of assets which makes Platio stand out on the fintech market.
KS: Talking about the fintech market landscape. Who do you consider as your competitors?
VB: I really like the product visions of Revolut and Robinhood. Obviously, our projects will have some crossings because we move within one global trend of asset unification. But in our case, Blockchain and integration of tokenized assets give users more flexibility and freedom, and let us work on a larger number of markets.
KS: Vlad, can you be more specific and explain how implementation of the blockchain technology in your product is connected with markets’ availability?
VB: The key point here is scalability. When entering the new markets, a company not only acquires new clients, but also has to open new offices and hire new staff. This increases the amount of data that has to be processed and protected. And since blockchain is in essence a decentralized database, it makes sure that the data which has been put into the system wouldn’t be amended, therefore we can protect ourselves from the internal fraud or employees mistakes. Moreover, the tokenization of assets gives us a tool for fast clearing. I would call it an internal decentralization. All these make our business more flexible and adopted for operating efficiently on multiple markets and thus be more scalable and stable.
KS: OK, let’s have a look at Platio in 5 years. What will be the final appearance of the platform?
VB: You know, I don’t think that we will ever see the final look of the platform. Because it will mean we as a system are not evolving. Constant technical development reflecting market needs is the only way to remain successful company and attract new users. In 5 years we would like to see Platio app not only as a major player on developed markets but being in the pockets of pretty much anyone who has internet access.
KS: You seem to have a very clear plan how develop Platio into one of the key players on the market. What about your team? You all seem to come from different backgrounds and countries. Do you think you have enough internal expertise to achieve your ambitious plans?
VB: Yes, you are absolutely correct. Our team is a key element of our future success. And the diverse background that we possess helps us to review the problems from different angles and eventually see a bigger picture that helps to raise above it. Certainly, as any distributed team we face some challenges of working remotely but we appreciate the flexibility that it gives us.
Every member of our team is an absolute expert in his or her field, but I guess it’s even more important that all of us are excited about the Platio platform’s features and are motivated to launch it as soon as possible
KS: It’s been a great pleasure to speak with you Vlad. Please let me know once I can have Platio app on my phone.
This interview has been originally written and posted by Kirill Shilov for the Platio blog.
