Introducing trade.io’s highly-experienced and innovative CTO
Get to know the team
Meet the team
1st edition: Charles Voltron
This week we begin the first of a series of exclusive interviews with the talented and innovative trade.io management team, starting with the CTO, Charles Voltron.
Charles grew up in Dallas, Texas. In the early 90s, he moved to Austin, Texas where he would kick-off his career in tech. Lacking the funds for college, Charles decided to teach himself website development by reading books.
After landing an entry-level website developer job, Charles took an interest in Java programming. From Java a pivot over into the then new Microsoft.net framework.
Charles rode the dotcom boom wave in several startup internet ventures where he honed his programming skills and also became proficient in SEO.
After suffering through a few lay-offs as the dotcom bubble began to deflate Charles decided to strike out on his own with the founding of his first tech venture.
After a few years of bootstrapping, Charles grew his startup into a successful enterprise which he sold and then repeated the process with two other ventures.
In between being a serial entrepreneur, Charles gained additional experience in various startup consulting roles and has held multiple roles as CTO and interim CTO for several companies.
Charles became interested in blockchain technology after reading the Bitcoin white paper in 2011. In 2015, he began tinkering with Ethereum and engaging in ad hoc ICO consulting.
Charles, you have a very diverse and impressive career. So what is it about blockchain that makes it so attractive?
Bitcoin, I believe, was a response to the institutional malfeasance which caused the subprime mortgage market crash in 2008.
The takeaway there was that the institutions put in place to be a trusted 3rd party, turned out to not be very trustworthy.
As a Libertarian-minded individual, what really got me excited about Bitcoin was that for the first time we had a viable technical solution that replaced the trusted 3rd party in a transaction.
With Maths we could bypass the bugs inherent in human virtue. We could remove the need to pay a 3rd party to do nothing more than say a transaction is valid, which seems like a kind of philosophical usury.
For me, this is the single most significant technological/sociological happening since the invention of the internet.
When and how did you join the trade.io team?
In the summer of 2017, I was approached by trade.io to help with the early stages of putting together what their ICO might look like. I was a consultant for them all the way up until the end of the token sale. Then, I was asked to come on board full-time as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). And the rest, as they say, is history!
How much involvement do you have with the company?
My involvement is fairly heavy. As CTO, I am naturally responsible for a lot of duties – from managing various team members working on the exchange, as well as a development team working on the trading exchange that we are launching, in addition to staying on top of timelines and milestones, as well as following best practices for development.
We have a pretty substantial network including those who can contribute to the development of the company, such as advisors for some ICO clients related to the launch of the platform. And finally, I also carry out some general business consulting with Jim, Terry and the exec management team regarding the strategic oversight.
Is the focus purely within the US?
We mostly communicate with everyone in the company all over the world, for example John Patrick Mullin, trade.io's MD of Research & Business Development, leads the Hong Kong office, so we communicate via social networking platforms. When it comes trade.io as a whole, I communicate with everyone, no matter where they are located. Previously most of my counterpoints and colleagues were US based, but I do have a few developer connections in Eastern Europe and so on. However, naturally we will continue to branch out as the company develops.
What do you think makes trade.io so special?
trade.io is great at long-term strategic thinking and has a keen insight into where traditional finance meets the blockchain.
They have a deep bench of talent from the traditional FinTech world and are also philosophically aligned with the spirit of transparency and meritocracy that blockchain represents.
For a long time, the core crypto community has been talking about how to promote the widespread adoption of blockchain technology.
The problem is that in order for that to happen there needs to be a bridge between the anarcho/libertarian mindset of the core crypto community over to the governmental/regulatory camp.
Where the rubber meets the road in this space is in the realm of ICOs and exchanges. I think we are in a period of where the crypto space is maturing and the wheat is being separated from the chaff.
trade.io has created the infrastructure and talent pool to help set new standards in how ICOs are conducted that is in line with this trend of quality over quantity.
In the near future, we will arrive at that common ground between existing regulatory bodies and the crypto community and I think trade.io has the pedigree to help guide how we get there as well as be a key player in that new paradigm.
What is trade.io's main advantage?
The macro view of why I think trade.io is on a journey to success is because I believe the company has the forward thinking and insight to be ready for the transition that we’re in right now. And wherever it ends up, I believe we will be in one of the best positions to take advantage and help other people to get on board, as well as help them participate in crypto without having to worry about the legalities, and other issues such as hacking and security.
A great team has been designed to manage all of these issues, and I don’t see many other blockchain companies that have that deep level of sophistication.
In terms of the micro view, I believe our exchange is unique because of how we are trying to include the community as much as possible. Their involvement helps us give them the exchange that they really want to use. I’ve been crypto trading for a while and I’ve learned which exchanges people use most, including the natural likes and dislikes for each one. That’s why I believe it to be a positive that we came into the evolution a little later, as it allowed us to analyse what works/what doesn’t, what the community has to say, and, have them participate and inform us what they’re looking for. We are always trying to innovate based on user feedback - that’s the approach we are essentially taking.
Indeed, it seems that other exchanges didn’t involve the community in their launch compared to trade.io.
Exactly, we’re ahead of the game in that sense since we’re putting our focus in that strategy. It’ll be a process; people who understand how this works will see that we are involving the community, which bodes well for our future. At some point, we will overtake any other exchange that doesn’t take advantage of the existing data in the market.
That’s the other cool thing about the community, is that the people are very responsive and they’re willing to contribute. They’re passionate about blockchain.
You see a lot of tech inventions that are promoted in a way that will revolutionize the world, but in the end, they’re just good marketing efforts. However, this really could revolutionize the world! It has the philosophical framework for that to happen. It has true disruptive potential.
You’ve already achieved so much, any other projects or things you have your mind set on - Are you a man who thinks long-term or do you see where the wind takes you?
I’m 100% committed to the long-term success of trade.io at this point. When I was asked to come onboard as CTO, I was stoked because it was a perfect melding of opportunity, experience and passion. I believe in what we are doing and I am zealous about blockchain. Being able to have a leadership role in a venture that has the ability to make a positive impact on the crypto community is more of a mission than a job for me.
On a more personal note for the community, do you have any guilty pleasures? How else do you spend your time outside of your career?
I don't have many "guilty" pleasures anymore. I think as time goes by you get the chance to figure out what is really important in life and you begin to prune activities that don't support long-term goals. Living in Oregon gives me access to some great hiking and camping. Between that, work, and just hanging out with family I am fairly well topped off. I'll admit that I do enjoy a good rye whiskey from time to time!
Favourite quote or motto?
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. ~ C.S. Lewis
And one final question! Do you have any advice for any potential entrepreneurs or future FinTech enthusiasts?
I would say, do not be afraid to create your own path and follow your intuition. If you have an idea get it into the market as quick as possible and let the market tell you how your idea needs to function. Don't be afraid of failure. There's no such thing as failure, there's just feedback.
By Dalia Hilmi
Content & Acquisition Manager
