The SwissBorg Monthly — MAY 2018
Dear SwissBorg community,
We have more than doubled the size of our team, have multiple products under development, and hold the ambition to be a leader in the field of crypto finance, that is why we decided to keep you, our awesome community, informed and engaged of our progress. With the SwissBorg Monthly (our first hence the lengthiness) we aim to keep you informed of our development and progress, because an informed and actively engaged community is at the essence of our meritocratic approach.
We have reached many of our objectives since the end of the ICO just a little over four months ago:
- Our first referendum which is our principal way of tapping into our community’s swarm intelligence and at the core of our promise of meritocracy, was successfully completed in April.
- We have managed to get listed on four exchanges and more are coming.
- Our tech team in Canada and Switzerland is growing with best of breed engineers.
- We are progressing in the development of our Mobile App. We expect to have the first version released by the end of the year.
- The funds collected during the ICO have been successfully hedged from the beginning of the downward trend and we are finalizing strategic alliances with DAOs.
Despite the aggressive competitive environment, most notably Coinbase’s acquisition and development strategy, we see many opportunities in the crypto wealth management space, especially in Europe and Asia where there are no recognized on-chain fintech leaders in the field. Proud of our project and our team we want to grow at a responsible pace that meets our standards of quality and is also compliant with regulations.
In the future, through CADO (Customization, Automation, Decentralization and Optimization), on-chain wealth management will accelerate the very process of wealth creation. Tomorrow individuals will not only create investment portfolios out of their financial savings, but also through the tokenization of their assets: house, arts, cars or stocks but also datas. This is what we are calling holistic wealth management. SwissBorg leverages blockchain to create a robust yet accessible technology to embrace this new paradigm and our mobile app smart wallet is the first piece of the puzzle. Our strategy requires serious investment, talent hunt and timely crisp execution. This is Day1 for the on-chain financial industry and for SwissBorg and its community.
ICO PLATFORM
Following several demands, we have decided to launch an ICO consulting offer. This project has always been in our roadmap but we have decided to release it sooner to satisfy the demands. One project has already confirmed that they will use our service and we are in discussion with several other. The acceptance criteria will be very strict, the project should bring in value for the blockchain industry and more importantly for the SwissBorg ecosystem.
PARTNERSHIP UPDATES
Listing on DEx.top
We are super excited to announce our partnership with Bitmain has born fruit! We will be listed on: DEx.top, a decentralized Ethereum-token exchange platform incubated by Bitmain. It introduces the innovative ROC (Replayed On Chain) trading mechanism that leverages the synchronized off-chain and on-chain ledgers to enable instant trading while making traders’ assets safe. DEx.top is committed to providing the most secure, instant, and low-cost trading experience to end users in all levels.
We believe that this listing is a great way for us to expand our reach overseas with the invaluable help of Bitmain.
📅SwissBorg listing will take place by mid-June.
SwissBorg will use FuzeX products to bring to its community a secure and best in breed payment and storage solution.
ETHLend will list CHSB as a new collateral on their platform, that way CHSB token holder will have the opportunity to leverage their position by getting a loan on ETHLend.
SwissBorg will use Bounty0x services in various ways, to conduct and manage its external meritocracy process.
TECH UPDATE
We have been recruiting a great tech team, headed by Nicolas Remond, we are building the foundation for the backend for the investment app. Wanting to continue to promote the blockchain space, we are at the moment structuring a blockchain scientific think tank that would gather world leading experts in different fields to swarm on the future of the space and the technology. This will enable us to enhance our tech development with the best people in the field.
SwissBorg Referendum: 63.00% — Estimated Delivery Date: June 2018
The voting system through the Ethereum blockchain worked flawlessly. Voters got rewarded directly after voting by the smart-contract.
- We provided an ad-hoc web interface allowing token holders to exercise their right to vote with a reduced amount of technical complexity. We’re going to keep working to make this even better!
- During the first referendum, the voting tokens were distributed based on the volume of CHSB one holds. We think we can do better and we’re exploring various options on how to improve the voting process. Currently, we’re looking into the inclusion of the CHSB holding time in the amount of distributed voting tokens.
Community Swarm Platform: 10.00% — Estimated Delivery Date: Q2 2019
- The SwissBorg products represent a disruption at many levels. These disruptive changes require the full support of our community and we’ll only be successful if we can leverage the swarm intelligence of our group.
- This platform will invite collaboration and bring people and ideas together.
- SwissBorg is currently going through potential candidates to manage this project and ironing the details of the concept.
Smart Wallet — Estimated Delivery Date: December, 2018.
Crypto Wallet: 8.60%
- By relying on cryptography, crypto-currencies introduced some terminology and concepts that aren’t easy to grasp for everyone. Some important concepts like what is a private key and how to manage it keep people from adopting these new currencies.
- Our crypto wallet will hide away this technical complexity and will ensure the highest possible level of security.
- SwissBorg is currently going through the potential candidates to manage this project and defining the threat model to be able to define the right architecture.
Mobile App: 21.25%
- As per the result of the first SwissBorg referendum, we’re beginning our journey by creating a mobile application as a first interface to our investment platform.
- This App will allow us to offer you a tailored investment strategy and will give you great insights for you to manage the investments.
- We sorted out the right list of features that will allow us to deliver you great value and that won’t push too late the first release date.
- We are currently designing the first screens to make it super easy to use and offer you a great experience.
- We have recruited an iOS engineer and we will start by developing the app on the iOS platform first.
- We are currently scouting the market for a talented Android engineer in order to deliver the Android app at the same time as the iOS app.
Financial Engine 13.6%
- In order to trade crypto-currencies currently, one need to understand how an exchange works. Concepts like an order-book, a spread, are things that people want to be managed for them. SwissBorg offers you to have a simpler approach to your crypto-currencies investments.
- Once you transfer some of your wealth to SwissBorg, our Financial Engine will keep your investment positions for you and will ensure you the best trades across multiple exchanges.
- SwissBorg is currently designing the technical architecture and interviewing engineers to accelerate its development.
COUNTRY UPDATE
TOKYO
This month, we kicked off SwissBorg’s Blockchain Unchained World Tour which aims to grow and engage our community, with a big splash, right here in Tokyo. With co-sponsorship from NYSE listed Blockchain Industries, guest speakers and expert panelists from major projects, our Tokyo event attracted almost 300 Japanese members and potential contributors. The event was a huge success with local media coverage as well. We hope to set the standard for blockchain events and for this program to act as an in-house PR machine. In terms of positioning, current events are often classified in 3 categories:
- Promotional as in ICO heavy (very sales-oriented)
- Informational (way too technical for the average attendee)
- High-quality events but very pricey (500 USD to 2000 USD per daily ticket). Our theme is EDUTAINMENT which involves high quality studies/ research, expert panelists educating both blockchain enthusiasts and newcomers. On top of that, we also added quizzes, contests with tons of prizes and goodies to add a FUN factor and ensure high levels of satisfaction for all.
Currently, all crypto roads in Asia lead to Tokyo. SwissBorg Japan aims to be the central hub for Asia marketing, and with the great success of our events here we are now in the midst of preparing our next Blockchain Unchained Asia Meetup Tour !
Our Tokyo office continues to grow are currently 3 full time staff, as you all know we now have our Japan/China PR and marketing super star, Amber Chook. To continue our efforts we are looking to hire at least 3 more members : a Japan focused marketing assistant in business development, a crypto market analyst, and a Korean Community Ambassador. We also await a Japanese/English bilingual Stanford University intern to work with us from June.
We continue to work closely with the lawyers and regulators to accelerate the application process. As with most regulators, it is difficult to compel them to respond at the speed we want in Japan. We are also exploring the possibilities of collaborating with , or the purchasing of a licensed firm. Due to the shared sense of frustration in the Japanese blockchain community, we have also spearheaded a project to create a new Blockchain Association to act as an SRO (official name and website TBA). SwissBorg Japan’s mandate is to unlock the potentials of the huge market not just here in Japan, but also Asia. Stay tuned for more updates to come!
Technical Specifications: We provide simultaneous interpretation for all sponsored projects with Interactio software accessible from any smartphone with earphones or the speaker itself. The expert panelists are carefully selected and invited by Team Japan to promote their knowledge and local branding to create consistent quality. We offer prizes to participants who win during our quizzes hosted on Kahoot to ensure, our core theme, “EDUTAINMENT”..
Timeline: We are on our way to hosting our second volume of Blockchain Unchained Japan on 07/25 @ the most prestigious location of Japan (Marunochi) and have locked-n sponsorships from VeChain and MyToken.
TORONTO
- New offices in the financial hub of Toronto
- Ankit Mittal has joined the team as Lead python developer who will be working on various projects, among them the Advanced PMS/OMS/Data collection platform
- We are diligently interviewing more quality candidates to join the developers team in Canada.
- Carlos Cabrera has joined the team as Director of Business Development for Canada
- Carlos will be organizing meetups to spread the word about SwissBorg in Canada and building the brand awareness with leaders in the finance and blockchain sector in Canada
- Posts from Tech TO and other prime networking events.
LAUSANNE
At our first home and headquarters we have made some changes. We have made wonderful new hires for our tech, legal, financial and marketing teams. Besides the busy schedules of our tech, finance and legal department, we are in the process of preparing the second Referendum, developing our mobile app, and planning for the big Blockchain Unchained event in Geneva. In order to adjust to our new size we moved our office when we saw a great deal on a fab location. Please call & drop by if you are in the area, meet the team, and get a SwissBorg t-shirt!
Blockchain Unchained is the in-House PR Machine and backbone for business development. Collaboration is one the key themes in our industry and it can only be achieved if we meet, discuss and share.
Blockchain Unchained event will take place on September 12–14 in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together community leaders, sponsors and speakers for three days of workshops, talks and an ICO competition for young startups. It will be a three-day conference to be held in Geneva, Switzerland aiming to make blockchain technology comprehensible and accessible to the general public and raise awareness of how this new technology can be used in a myriad of business and banking ventures.
Asian Meetups
- Vietnam — June 19th, 2018
- Thailand — June 21st, 2018
- Singapore — June 26th, 2018
- Republic of Korea — June 28th, 2018
- Hong Kong — July 3rd, 2018
- ShenZhen — July 6th, 2018
European Meetups
- Switzerland — Lausanne, June 5th, 2018
- Switzerland — Geneva, June 6th, 2018
- Switzerland — Zurich, June 7th, 2018
- Spain — June 14th, 2018
- France — TBA
- Italy — TBA
- Netherlands — TBA
- United Kingdom — TBA
- Sweden — TBA
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS
FINANCE
From a financial point of view we are alive and well, we have invested wisely and make decisions that are very cost effective. We hold dear and respect the support of our community of CHSB holders, our philosophy is and will continue to be: spend money in an optimal way, as Benjamin Franklin said, “beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”
In our aim to spend only where SwissBorg needs it the most, service provider agreements are always compared and negotiated beforehand. We always aim to link compensation of service providers to results. We travel in economy class in planes, 2nd class in trains, non expensive hotels, meals or unnecessary expenses/perks.
The crypto market has fallen by approximately 55 % since the SwissBorg ICO closed while our assets currently stand at $33m (down by only 34% since the ICO and after all the expenses incurred) thanks in part to our hedging strategies.
LEGAL
Our legal team, headed by Line Elodie Derungs, is active on all fronts :
- Applying for a self-regulatory organization (or SRO) membership in Switzerland;
- Reaching out to the best regulatory experts in jurisdictions such as LIE, UK and Malta, amongst others, to help construct an optimal and compliant framework where SwissBorg is expanding its global activities; and are, most importantly,
- Tackling the regulatory challenges and the set-up of the applicable licenses for fiat deposit as well as trading and portfolio management activities that will be essential in the context of the upcoming launch of the SwissBorg Investment App.
As SwissBorg will be active in the field of financial advisory, it is obliged, according to Swiss law, to be a SRO member in order to meet its duties of due diligence in respect to combating money laundering (AML). In this context, Line Elodie’s team is currently in the process of applying for a SRO membership, according to the following steps :
- Collection of all the required information to build SwissBorg’s file;
- Writing the required internal policies;
- After a first analysis of our case, the SRO will have a meeting with SwissBorg’s management team and an initial audit of the company’s activities will also be performed;
- We will then receive our membership.
On the European front, the legal team is analyzing all the applicable legislation to make sure any activity of the SwissBorg Group is done in the most efficient and compliant way possible.
The first priority in this area is the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR) on May 25, 2018. For this, SwissBorg recruited an expert to give a specialized workshop to the heads of all departments and ensure that this regulation about the modalities of processing and protection of all the personal data of our community members would prioritized.
The legal and corporate governance teams have then analysed how to implement the best data flows possible within the SwissBorg Group as well as in the connection with external service providers, in order to protect the key interests of our whole community.
An additional key thread that will be running through SwissBorg’s future activity is the implementation of other applicable European regulations and directives such as the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) etc.
Even though these rules will only be applicable once the Investment App is operational, Line Elodie Desrungs’ team is working hard on researching all aspects of this multifaceted project because we are adamant about ensuring that as little time as possible is lost with the necessary legal set-up once the Investment App is “launch-ready”.
Fiat deposits activities are strongly regulated in Switzerland and in Europe. As this is the key feature of the Investment App, Line Elodie’s team is currently in contact with the best experts in the field, from Switzerland and abroad, with the aim of having the best appreciation possible of the criteria that apply to SwissBorg’s specific case. Once this analysis will be finalized, a global legal policy will be set out and discussed with the IT department in order to best correlate the demands of both worlds. The legal team will also simultaneously carry on its dialog with the competent authorities for defining what exactly is the best approach to apply for all the needed licenses and grant the SwissBorg Group the legitimacy it always aimed for in the most timely manner.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
First Referendum
Our first Referendum was held in April and went very smoothly. Most of the participants, 68.2%, voted via a token-transfer directly on the blockchain. While 31.8% voted using our Referendum website.The geographic distribution of the votes was also very interesting but not surprising. Our Japanese community ranked first among participants who voted in the Referendum followed by those in Switzerland and the UK.
On the referendum financial metrics: we are proud to announce that we have distributed 3.3 millions CHSB for our 1st Referendum. 4240 community members voted representing 51.54% of the allocated tokens.
Second Referendum
Our Second referendum will be held at the end of June. As our technology evolves, the number of utilities we can link to the CHSB token increase.
During the month of June, a white paper, presenting the new utility of the CHSB token, is going to be disclosed and, for the first time in the history of the DAOs, our community will be able to choose a new utility for the CHSB token. This is historic moment and your chance to take part in shaping the future of SwissBorg.
Votes will be collected through our referendum web interface or directly with a transaction toward the outcomes addresses implemented into the smart contract.
The complete list of details will be published in the coming weeks on Medium.
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Our relationship with our community gives us sustenance that is why we welcomed on board a Community Ambassador, Alina Olaru, with extensive experience at a world class bank, to help liaise between the team and the ever growing SwissBorg community. While we are still present on Telegram, the target will be to move most of the valuable discussions to Reddit as soon as possible. Telegram will remain the support channel (e.g.: when somebody has a specific technical question/issue, our admins will be able to respond quickly). As a result and on top of the referendums, we will be able to create an additional rewarding system that will help us deliver the promise of meritocracy that first compelled us to begin this journey together.
Hodlers are growing stronger every day as they understand the value of SwissBorg. We are hoping that the coming events and meetups will reinforce the community and will bring new members. Several locations have been proposed on Reddit and the community was requested to show their interest by participating.
Subscribe to our Reddit.
REDDIT VOTING & MERITOCRACY
We are up and running on Reddit because the long-form and in-depth format allows a better opportunity for constructive dialogue.The ability to vote ‘up’ or ‘down’ posts is in perfect alignment with our meritocratic goals. SwissBorg is also acting in self-interest, we don’t want to just serve the community we want to benefit from its collective wisdom. Please come join the conversation on Reddit your participation will be rewarded! Learn more
If you have no previous experience with Reddit, this video that will familiarize you with how to use and participate in the platform. We look forward to see you there, come and share with us your energy, knowledge, and intelligence.
SWISSBORG INSIDER
One of the steps we have taken to establish our authority as a crypto-fintech player is to provide our community with a daily report on the most current news, market trends and technical analysis.
Subscribe to SwissBorg Daily Insider.
NEW TEAM MEMBERS
2. Lomig Mégard
3. Alina Olaru
SwissBorg is hiring! Take a look at our employment opportunities and join our young and pioneering crypto wealth management platform based in Lausanne, Switzerland with offices in Tokyo and Toronto.
