Zach LeBeau: “Digital Currencies Are Just One Tiny Layer at the Surface of Blockchain Technology”
The SingularDTV CEO talks SNGX tokens, discusses major app rollouts, and offers some wise words for the blockchain community…
With the announcement of SingularX and the SNGX token still fresh, the first suite of SingularDTV applications in the final stages of the pipeline, and the world waking up to the next-generation possibilities of the blockchain, we sat down with SingularDTV CEO Zach LeBeau to get the inside story on SingularDTV, modes of thinking in the digital currency space, and what’s next for the entertainment industry.
The idea of the SNGX Token and SingularX feeding back value to SingularDTV users and SNGLS holders is somewhat unprecedented…
I think everyone is so used to centralized business structures in which it’s very common — especially due to the capitalistic ethos — for one side to be a winner, and another side to be the loser. It’s pretty much been that model for centuries. But it doesn’t need to be that world anymore with decentralized structures. Over the next year or two, more and more people are going to realize that we can all benefit, and it’s tokenization that will make that possible.
In the speculative crypto-sphere that we currently live in, everyone focuses on the pumping and dumping of coins and tokens for profit. But the time for legitimacy, the time for real applications on the blockchain is coming. It’s going to change the way we fundamentally think about value and how we all can benefit from it. I’m not surprised people go “huh?” when we announce airdropping our OMG tokens or how the SNGX token will work — “you’re gonna give us something for free?” And the answer is yes, basically. This is how we grow a sustainable, decentralized economy.
Do you think parts of the blockchain community’s preoccupation with trading and coins is unhealthy?
Digital currencies are just one, thin, tiny layer scratching at the surface of what blockchain technology and decentralization is all about. We’re diving deeper: Tokens as utility, tokens as property, application tokens redefining value — not as just a cryptocurrency. It’s so much more than that. Decentralization allows us to have a multi-dimensional perspective on things, and seeing what’s happening here as both beginning and ending with cryptocurrency is a very one-dimensional way of looking at things.
What’s the difference between the SNGLS Token and the SNGX Token?
The SNGLS token has several different layers of value. It’s a utility token, it’s a property token. The most evolutionary aspect about the SNGLS token is that it represents intellectual property, and allows users — through our smart contract system — to control their own intellectual property rights. That’s where it transcends being just a simple store of value.
SingularX is made to list and trade the intellectual property tokens that are generated through Tokit. The whole point of a decentralized exchange is that anyone can bring their IP onto the exchange and trade it with anyone in the world. The SNGX token has been designed as a support and service token to the SingularDTV entertainment economy. SNGX tokens are similar in the sense that those who hold SNGX tokens also hold the intellectual property of the software, the rights, the rewards claim for SingularX. In a way, they’re similar. People are going to see a lot more of this as we launch applications and go about our mission to tokenize anything, tokenize everything. The tokenized ecosystems we’re building around our applications are designed to gravitate value to the SNGLS token.
Tell us a bit about the dev teams working on the apps…
The homebase in Romania is Digital Mob. Things are going great. Tokit, Launchpad, and Ethervision — three central pillars of our platform — are on schedule and inspired. Centrality, over in New Zealand, has been amazing to find and develop a relationship with. With SingularX and a number of other ancillary applications we’ve been building with them, we’ve been able to take things to the next level.
How do you respond to criticisms that SingularDTV is trying to do too much too fast?
When we announced SingularX and SNGX, some people were a little afraid at first because they thought SNGX would dilute the value of the SNGLS token. It’s the exact opposite! SNGX increases the value of SNGLS tokens. Then came questions like “why do you need the SNGX token at all?” That’s a very centralized way of thinking. Just like in nature, you have simple systems that are compounded together to create more complex systems. The functions of one tokenized ecosystem are more than anything that can be produced in the centralized world. But when you start adding two tokenized ecosystems together, four, eight, sixteen of them, the emergent functions of behavior are like nothing we’ve ever encountered before. We believe this will lead to a sustainable economic model and, perhaps, even the blueprint for a universal basic income system.
How does it feel coming to the final stretch in rolling out the first round of SingularDTV apps?
As the CEO of SingularDTV, I’m constantly looking from micro, mezzo, and macro perspectives. When I find myself reveling in some achievement in the micro, I realize, that we’ve still got the mezzo and the macro to figure out, and vice versa. This is just the beginning. To me, already, we have a sustainable entertainment economy that is flourishing out there in the future, we just need to make it a reality. It’s great to finally have apps like Tokit, Launchpad, and SingularX coming out, but we’re going to be rolling out apps for the next few years. There’s a lot more to do. Every single minute that passes, the entertainment industry is more ready to change, because it’s caused one more minute of pain to artists and creators. The more time that passes, the easier it will be for those to jump on a decentralized entertainment economy.
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