Expert Interview: Katharina Gehra, Co-Founder and CEO of Immutable Insight
Katharina Gehra is the co-founder and CEO of Immutable Insight, a company specializing on the analysis of data on a blockchain. Besides AML, ESG and industrial analytics, her company offers the first crypto fund acknowledged by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.
Katharina is a leading expert of the German and European blockchain scene and has been invited to open consultations by the German government. She also writes columns for major German newspapers like WirtschaftsWoche, Handelsblatt and CAPITAL.
Katharina, you are originally from the consulting and banking industry and started your own business with Immutable Insight in 2018. When did you first get in touch with blockchain technology and why did you found Immutable Insight?
I started working with currency systems during my masters at the London School of Economics. When the blockchain technology was introduced as an alternative to traditional currency systems, my academic curiosity was aroused. After my practical experience in the banking industry I became fascinated by all the possibilities this technology offers to financial services. My objective with Immutable Insight is to enable the professionalization of the industry by means of our analyses and products.
At Immutable Insight you focus especially on the analysis of data on the Ethereum blockchain. What do you think are the current challenges of one of the biggest, most prominent blockchain systems and what do you expect from the Ethereum 2.0 update?
We are convinced that the real markets of the future are the tokenization of assets outside of the small group of digital assets as well as the new business models, which are enabled by the Ethereum blockchain. Therefore, we see everything related to scalability and incentive systems for node operators as positive.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is one of the big trends of the blockchain and crypto realm. Most of it is based on the Ethereum blockchain. What do you expect from an openly accessible finance system based on blockchain technology and how do you evaluate the current development in the DeFi ecosystem?
It’s quite impressive how much capital this area has attracted in such a short period of time and how many new business approaches have been developed. This shows impressively how valuable Ethereum as a platform is. However, I also think that, similar to trading, it is important to thoroughly analyze, think through all the pros and cons and be aware of the possible risks.
What is your opinion on the topic of digital identity based on blockchain technology?
From my perspective these digital identities are a core pillar for mainstream adoption. It’s also a question of clarification. How self-determined is the owner of the data? It’s about the protection of my identity, which can be guaranteed by the use of blockchain technology. The Right to be Forgotten (GDPR) is substantively irrelevant if my data is being protected better.
A personal question to conclude this interview: If you could spend an evening with a famous person, who would that be?
Christine Lagarde. I’d love to talk to her about the digital Euro on the blockchain and the advantages for Europe in a geopolitical and economic context.
