Disclaimer: The Lisk Foundation in no way endorses projects that are interviewed for the series.
We are excited to present to you the first of our Future in Focus series, a new initiative from Lisk HQ spotlighting promising blockchain projects around the world with up close and personal interviews.
This week, we’re featuring Berlin-based MADANA. MADANA (Market for Data Analysis) allows everyone to participate in a fair data market while protecting privacy by design. The PAX (Privacy-Analysis-Exchange) smart token enables anyone to buy data analysis results from MADANA’s decentralized pool of information, while rewarding data producers and plug-in providers for their contributions.
The ICO of MADANA is expected to be the first one launched on the Lisk platform. We had the chance to speak with co-founders Christian Junger and Dieter Schule to learn a bit more about the project.
Jennifer: Please tell me a little more about the history of MADANA and your relationship to blockchain technology. Why did the founders decide that the world needs MADANA?
Christian and Dieter: We originally discovered blockchain technology through some early discussions we participated in on Reddit. We were fascinated by the idea of a decentralized and fully transparent method for the storage and exchange of value — most popularly demonstrated by Bitcoin. That is why part of our team founded the Bitcoin Meetup with Lisk founder Max Kordek in 2014. The foundation of MADANA began with our co-founders’ previous startup, which was founded while studying at RWTH Aachen University in 2016. This startup was centered around the idea of utilizing data from the retail market and processing it with modern analytics tools. The goal was to offer an all-in-one solution for automated point-of-sale, supply-chain and inventory management in the retail sector by digitizing every clothing item. Therefore, handling huge amounts of data and incorporating complex database systems were a substantial part of the initial stages of the business. While working on the project, we found no existing industry standard that met our requirements of data security, privacy protection and a fair rewarding system. That’s why we started developing our own model, embracing privacy by design and providing a fair share of the value for every participant. Rethinking data analysis itself is what led to the founding of MADANA. By gathering talented people from related sectors like data security and blockchain development, we formed a skilled and highly motivated team to realize the vision of MADANA; a fair data analysis platform, protected with privacy by design.
Jennifer: What issues does the data market currently face? What about when it comes to privacy?
Christian and Dieter: There are three main issues that are putting privacy and data security at risk: centralization, one-sided business revenue models, and a lack of transparency. Centralization always comes at the cost of privacy and security. When you have large corporations collecting huge amounts of valuable data, the interest by malicious parties and the chance of data breaches will continuously rise. Moreover, it is only natural for a company to leverage their power for holding such a valuable asset. Unfortunately, when the goal is to maximize profits in a market with few competitors, the less powerful voices are the easiest to neglect. One way to solve this problem is to redistribute power to all participants and bring back data ownership to the data producer. And finally, regarding the lack of transparency, it’s not about money, it’s about our self-depiction on the Internet. Who really knows how our data flows into different analyses of a multitude of companies all over the world? How can we be sure that it is not getting copied? We think blockchain-based distributed ledgers have the power to reshape our future for the better. We don’t need to trust empty promises anymore, but instead, can rely on the transparent execution of code utilizing smart contracts.
Jennifer: What problems will MADANA solve?
Christian and Dieter: Considering the three issues we just mentioned, MADANA is going to tackle them with a blockchain-based solution, using the Lisk Sidechain Development Kit, as well as privacy by design measures. Ultimately, the value of MADANA lies in the infrastructure we will build with the following elements: a data-managing solution for data producers; a platform that brings all involved participants together; a computing environment that ensures data security and privacy protection; finally, tools for analysts to create data analysis plug-ins one can easily leverage for business, scientific or governance needs. The fair distribution of rewards will be handled by PAX, the privacy analysis exchange token of MADANA.
Jennifer: Who do you have plans to collaborate and work with to achieve these goals of creating a better world?
Christian and Dieter: Over the past year, we established a strong relationship with our advisors, who are helping us reach industries that are most relevant for the MADANA platform. For example, given Max Kordek’s experience with founding a startup, he helped us in our initial stages and introduced us to his network in the blockchain scene. Several partners are connecting us to politicians, while others are helping us with their domain-specific expertise. Of course, in a monopolized data market, we can face a great deal of resistance. Therefore, our success is also dependent on having active advisors, well-known industry partners and influencers. We are incredibly grateful to already have such a skilled and actively supportive network that we can rely on.
Jennifer: Where do you envision MADANA will be in five years?
Christian and Dieter: In the future, MADANA will be used in a multitude of contexts and have the ability to utilize various types of data and analysis plug-ins. Differently-sized corporations and many individuals will contribute data on their own behalf. Following tighter legislation, as well as a better understanding of data value and privacy protection, MADANA will become the industry standard platform for data analysis. We imagine it to be the trusted label for fair data collection and processing, similar to the BIO label for fairly-traded and sustainably-produced food. At the same time, MADANA will enable analysis experts to work with relevant data and help provide analysis results to everyone. In today’s rapidly developing world of blockchain technology, five years is a long time. We at MADANA are eager to make this vision a reality in the years to come.
Jennifer: How do you anticipate blockchain technology will change the world? What is its potential?
Christian and Dieter: The currently centralized model governing some of the most important aspects of society today, like value transfer, vote collection, or proving one’s identity, is not keeping up with requirements of the modern world. We are reaching a point where the globalization phenomena is colliding with old dogmas of nationalism and centralized banking. For the first time in history, distributed ledger technology offers us sufficient self-regulation. It has the potential to eliminate corruption, encourage social behavior and a stronger collaboration between countries; many describe this technology as the next generation of the Internet. We want to contribute towards this next generation and better world with MADANA.
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