Hot off the heels of the Universal Wallet release worldwide, we were thrilled to also launch our first Global Ambassador led meetup event in the Netherlands on Sunday, July 29th. The event was organized by Michael Noordanus, our Dutch Ambassador, who has been an energetic and loyal advocate of Ethos since day one. Ethos Telegram community members have come to know Michael very well as result of his ever-present support in our channels.

 

Our very own @BQXStephen touched down in the Netherlands greeted by Ethos Ambassador Michael 🇳🇱 Looking forward to our special meet-up in just 2 days! https://t.co/G7TP7KA1Mn pic.twitter.com/X59j9xGlB3

— Ethos.io (@Ethos_io) July 27, 2018

 

The Key to the New Economy is Community

To kick off the live talks, Michael welcomed to the stage our newly appointed German Ambassador, Christoph Schlechter. Christoph’s contributions to the Ethos community have been invaluable. From his clear and patient communication in Telegram, to developing ideas like the Ethos Ambassador Program, he has played an integral role in nurturing our people-powered movement.

 

Christoph – one of our dedicated community members and now ambassadors providing some inspiring words to kick off the conference! #EthosNetherlandsMeetup pic.twitter.com/n2us1i72Jv

— Ethos.io (@Ethos_io) July 29, 2018

 

 

Secure and Simple Design

KDP educated us on the people-powered financial future that awaits us all. As a leader of the product development team, KDP spoke to how the feedback we receive from the community, the people’s wants, needs, and desires, is directly informing what is built into the app and where we will go in the future.

 

KDP talking about people-powered and what that means for our community and crypto in general.#EthosNetherlandsMeetup pic.twitter.com/rgTLJD4XFz

— Ethos.io (@Ethos_io) July 29, 2018

 

“We share a common vision and mission, which is to use the power of blockchain and finance to create a New Economy. One that is open, safe and fair for everyone.”– KDP

 

“What’s most salient for me is reaffirming our commitment to our community roots. My goal every day is to figure out how to be nimble in our team structure [and] our feedback loops so we can keep a close pulse on the needs and requests of the community . . . so that its woven directly into the product.” – KDP

 

 

We chatted with attendees from across Europe, each one having a story or use case to share, emphasizing the need to create a decentralized financial ecosystem.

 

Interconnectivity: Traditional and Next Gen Finance

Stephen and Shingo both provided insights into how the current financial system functions and how change must and can be brought to usher in the New Economy. Stephen dove into the details of building a frictionless global investment and wealth management ecosystem.

 

Mr. Stephen Corliss providing some insights into traditional finance and the Fiat Gateway!#EthosNetherlandsMeetup pic.twitter.com/HRm6WMTgu6

— Ethos.io (@Ethos_io) July 29, 2018

 

Stephen went further to unveil that we have all the partners in place to deliver a robust and complete Fiat Gateway, which for Ethos means offering consumers wealth management, trading and banking services.

In response to a question from the audience, Stephen discussed Ethos’ global reach for our global mission, and revealed that Ethos has already begun garnering international attention, including strong interest from a bank in Tokyo to discuss custodial solutions.

As you probably know, the technical infrastructure for funding accounts with USD is being facilitated through our relationship with Plaid. But did you know that through our powerful partnership with Payroc, merchants will soon be using Ethos Bedrock to begin accepting crypto for goods and services?

 

“I get up in the morning because I believe we can actually solve this” – Stephen

 

Shingo educated us all on the history and evolution of custody in financial markets over the last century. Furthermore, he discussed the regulatory environment around custody in both the Old and New Economy, and where we are headed. His calls for a system that serves the people instead of institutions, and the questions he evoked around the topic of self-custody, sparked meaningful dialogue amongst audience members.

 

“… Where the individual is taking custody of these funds, at all times … is it possible that you could create a financial ecosystem that is open, safe and fair for everybody?” – Shingo

 

“Can you create a programmable system that can build a financial ecosystem around the individual, rather than around the institutions that are taking custody? Is it possible to take the individual and bring them to these financial services rather than having to cater to the institution?” – Shingo

 

We recently introduced the community to our development process and how we plan to fulfill the core underlying needs of consumers. We have come so far and we are so excited for the direction we are heading! Want to see the most up-to-date information regarding development progress? Check out our new Dev Dashboard.

 

 

Attendees were privy to a sneak peek into the working relationships of the team members! During the much anticipated Hot & Spicy interview with Stephen, where he daringly scorched his palette with 5 progressively hotter hot sauces, and gave away $1500 to members of the audience, he was asked what it’s like to work with someone so much younger than himself.

 

“It’s been phenomenal. There has been some mentoring there too. But it’s funny, the mentoring goes both ways. Even though he is 30 years younger than me, I learn from him and he learns from me. Which makes it an extremely successful and powerful relationship.” – Stephen

 

The event was filled with gourmet bites, craft beer – including the original Ethos Saison, which was described as landing on the palette with beautiful floral and fruity tone. Brewed with a little rye for a round mouthfeel and a sturdy punch in aftertaste! This beer was a wonderful compliment to discussions on the fresh ideas that have surfaced in light of the radical change in financial industries. Concepts like the Ethos objective to empower everyone with their own digital vault aka self-custody in the New Economy.

 

 

Not unlike the Ethos Summit, our first meetup held in Rhode Island, new relationships were forged and old ones rekindled as Ethos Ambassadors, Moderators, Team and community members, and leaders of other blockchain companies united under one roof in Amersfoort, NL this last weekend.

Want to watch the full video of the meetup? Check it out here.

 

 

Couldn’t make it to the Netherlands meetup? Be on the lookout for Ethos events near you!

 

Shingo & Bart at the Ethos event in the Netherlands. Look out for the Seal's community airdrop on Ethos soon!$eth $seal $btc #erc20 @Ethos_io @seal_network @shingolavine @bartverschoor pic.twitter.com/bbIoYSuOfy

— Seal Network (@seal_network) July 29, 2018

Good times meeting with Ethos prodigy @shingolavine in the Netherlands today! ETHOS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD, HANDS DOWN! 👐🙌 #thefuture #TeamEthos #powertothepeople pic.twitter.com/ITcl314LVo

— Karan Singh Bajwa (@KaranSBajwa1988) July 29, 2018

Hey Ethos Fam!

Just a little over one year ago, Ethos, or Bitquence at the time, was a small project with just a few team members on an audacious mission to revolutionize the financial sector using the capabilities of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The company was founded on a single premise — that financial services should be made open, safe and fair for everyone.

One year later, the company has grown to over 60 team members spread across 8+ different countries and has released its first product, The Ethos Universal Wallet. The Universal Wallet was built 100% on Ethos Bedrock, a scalable, high-powered API set that has been engineered to make blockchain protocols as easy to use as internet protocols and provides the foundation for countless other sophisticated financial services applications including the Fiat Gateway.

The Universal Wallet has been extremely well received with over 40,000 users on the platform a few days after global iOS release and an average of over 1000 new users a day joining in the days following without any paid marketing spend. The architecture has been remarkably stable handling nearly 200,000 transactions with only minor scaling issues handled by the team and the app has been well received on the google play/app store with 4.7/4.8 stars respectively. The fundamentals of the Ethos platform have never been stronger.

A Return to the Roots of Crypto

The original vision of Bitcoin was to enable a currency that was decentralized, returning to people the fundamental right to hold and exchange their own currency.  This vision has the potential to blow open the doors of global commerce and drop international barriers, sowing the seeds for a new generation of abundance and prosperity.  At Ethos, we believe that a decentralized, safe and self-custodied digital vault is the backbone of this vision.  That is why we put an intense amount of effort into a scale architecture that could enable people to store and exchange a wide variety of digital assets.

But… When Fiat Gateway?

But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy with the Fiat Gateway! We’ve heard you loud and clear and we haven’t been idling around. A lot of work has being happening in the background to make this happen as the Fiat Gateway is one of the defining features of what we see as an inclusive financial services ecosystem and is a crucial piece of the second phase of the Ethos Platform.

That being said, the “Fiat Gateway” is not a single product, but a rolling set of features that will collectively create the BEST fiat solution we can for investing in crypto and traditional assets. We’ve divided these up into 5 separate stages that we will cover in detail.

The Skateboard Development Methodology

One trend that you will notice as we move through these stages is the concept of “Skateboard Development” by Henrik Kniberg that has been adopted by large, successful tech companies like Spotify.

 

Skateboard development is a methodology where you focus on fulfilling the core underlying need of the consumer. In the case of a car in the example above, the problem is “I need to get from point A to point B faster.”

For the Ethos Fiat Gateway that problem is, “Buying cryptocurrency is too hard.” Instead of trying to build the car from the get-go and failing to fulfill the user’s needs as you iterate through building a tire, then a driveshaft, then an engine-less car frame until eventually building the car, which is a practice all too common in the blockchain industry’s product development process, you start by building a skateboard which fulfills, to some extent, the user’s fundamental problems while you iterate towards a solution that actually can end up being better than the car that was originally designed.

Said another way, instead of trying to day trade your way to a lambo, start small and hodl your way to the lambo. (Not investment advice by the way)

In our 5 stages of the fiat gateway, we will start by fulfilling the basic fundamental needs of the consumer while we build out additional infrastructure, reduce fees, and add additional capabilities until we are providing the consumer with the best possible solution.

Stage 1: Basic Fiat Integration (The Skateboard)

Basic fiat integration is actually not as difficult as some may think, but still takes a few integrations. Using existing processors and liquidity providers and shaving off a few capabilities on the technical side, you can put together a fairly robust crypto purchase solution that is on par with the level of quality that is seen in the industry today. We will be taking this approach, partnering with an existing processor and liquidity provider that we are already in deep strategic discussions with to power this solution. Stephen and Vishal, with their Blackrock, State Street, UBS and Morgan Stanley connections and experience, have been invaluable partners, networkers and mentors in this effort.

This phase of development will also include “instant-exchange” between cryptocurrencies with a fiat onramp to provide users with the basic functionality that one would expect from a fiat gateway available internationally. All crypto sourced from this will be entirely self-custodied and held by each individual in a decentralized fashion providing a revolutionary amount of control, security and freedom when it comes to trading and managing your assets. We are fast tracking this solution and, by doing so, we are building much of the infrastructure required for the more advanced fiat integration solutions that we have on the roadmap.

Stage 2: Advanced Fiat Integration with Banking/Fiduciary Accounts (The Motorcycle)

Phase two of enhancing this capability will enable customers to purchase a wide-variety of cryptocurrencies with ACH wire deposits and withdrawals. In order to construct a robust fiat gateway with buying and selling capabilities for a wide-variety of coins, we are in advanced, strategic partnership discussions with some of the most-trusted and largest liquidity providers in the industry, along with one of the most-trusted providers in the banking space. Furthermore, Fusion Financial has signed a LOI with a major banking partner whose capabilities can be leveraged for consumer benefit.

An important note that we will continue to emphasize in all aspects of our model is that advanced fiat integration is achieved through a fiduciary structure that legally obliges Ethos, as the technology platform, to always act in the best interests of the end-user which ultimately results in a streamlined, cheap solution for the consumer. These lower fees and faster settlement experience will be immediately noticeable to consumers as they are providing what we hope to be the close to “at-market” prices for the end user less counterparty-originated fees.

Liquidity and counterparty risk issues will become a thing of the past in this model. Unlike centralized crypto-to-fiat entities that exist in the space now which may only keep 2% of their assets in hot storage, Ethos does not custody or legally take possession of any assets, crypto/fiat or otherwise. There is no risk of assets becoming inaccessible or frozen or having a “run on the bank” where large market swings cause trading systems to go down as has been experienced in the past.

We plan to combine this notion of decentralized, people-powered self-custody, and marry it with best-execution financial partners.  We have not seen any other crypto company taking this approach, and we believe it is in the best interest of consumers, financial institutions, Ethos and for cryptocurrency and financial Blockchains as a whole.

The self-custody technology model that we have designed and implemented in Bedrock enables this unique structure. Unlike a centralized custodian model, the decentralized self-custody model decreases liquidity, regulatory and counterparty risk for traditional financial ecosystem players. This is a rare and wonderful “win-win” for both consumers and financial institutions alike.

Stage 3: Discounted Fiat through Token Functionality (The Car)

ETHOS tokens at this point will provide additional benefits to the end consumer by further reducing fees while at the same time potentially exposing users to rewards similar to what you may see in a “cash-back” model in the traditional financial system. Functionality for ETHOS tokens to mitigate fees and provide additional incentives to the end user will be core to the way that the fiat gateway is structured in this stage.

Non-token holder fees will be some of the lowest in the space, but we see the possibility of providing the closest to “At-Market” fees of anywhere in the crypto space making functionalities like “Nuke” (liquidate all assets) and “Un-Nuke” (repurchase portfolio) viable and cost-effective options for users holding tokens. These cost savings and potential “cash-back” proceeds for token holders will directly originate from fees sourced by Ethos and other counterparties.

We again believe that this model is extremely unique in the crypto space which is only made possible through leveraging fiduciary accounts and similar financial structures.

Stage 4: Robo Wallet & Automated Trading (The Convertible)

Using the infrastructure provided by the self-directed offering, Ethos will leverage the research that has been conducted by Fusion, Vishal and the portfolio management team to build diversified crypto baskets — or “One-click diversification”.

Automated crypto will provide intelligent automated indices similar to “Synthetic ETF Structures” that was mentioned in the Ethos AMA on Ethfinex here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ethfinex/comments/8zqnv6/ama_w_shingo_lavine_ethos_founder_and_ceo_starts/e2msel6/

Robo Wallet functionality is building the “Skateboard” for Fusion which will ultimately incorporate traditional assets into “Fusion Portfolios” that blend crypto and traditional assets to provide advanced investment advice and intelligent portfolios for the crypto asset class.

Stage 5: Fusion Financial Advisors LLC & Blending Traditional Assets (The Lambo)

The final stage is the full blown Fusion Financial Advisors product which will take in information about a user’s financial profile and financial goals and build an automated portfolio that seamlessly blends crypto and traditional assets. This is the final stage of the fiat gateway which will be opened up as we expand the blended crypto/traditional fiduciary structure internationally.  Our intention is to bring this to market through a fully regulated infrastructure.

Building the Fiat Gateway One Piece at a Time

A full-blown financial services ecosystem is HARD to build, but we have taken many of the steps already towards building it. Our partnership with Payroc builds on existing structures that Ethos has to make crypto spendable and seamlessly accessible alongside other asset classes. Our relationship with Fusion, fiduciary-based structures and de-risking practices have opened up many of the doors that were required for a solution like this to exist.

We are excited for this and we hope you are too. Along with the fiat gateway, a lot of new features are at the top of our development list including:

• Additional Coin Integrations (with some very close to completion already!)
• Airdrops for Universal Wallet Users (with the first ones going to pre-reg users)
• Referral Program for Users
• Push Authorizations
• “Lightning Transactions” (Instant feedback/confirmation for transactions)

Thanks for reaching the end of this article and taking the time to read through it. While this one was fairly dense, we will be unpacking the implications of what was disclosed in here. Join us on Telegram, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit to stay on top of the news.

 

Until Next TIme,

Shingo Lavine
Founder & CEO
Ethos.io

 

P.S. Vote for ETHOS to be listed on Ethfinex & Bitfinex! Click here to learn how. 

We’re happy to announce that Ethos is currently holding the #1 position in the Ethfinex Listing Competition! Backed by an astounding 5.1 million votes, we’d like to thank all the members of our community who have supported us so far.

However, there are still four days left before the competition closes, and in the Wild Wild West of Crypto anything could happen. So we need your help to secure our #1 position and ensure this exciting listing opportunity.

It’s worth mentioning that the Top 3 Coins upon the completion of this competition will  receive the listing on both Ethfinex and Bitfinex. So as long as we secure one of the top spots, we are good to go. Although, of course we would like to stay #1.

Below is all the information you need to understand what Ethfinex and Bitfinex is and how to cast your vote in the competition!

What are Ethfinex and Bitfinex?

Ethfinex is an exchange and hub built for the Ethereum community. It is focused on learning, discussion and crowdsourcing information from developers, enthusiasts and traders across the decentralised ecosystem.

And while this is an Ethfinex listing competition for Ethereum Tokens, this listing also gives us the opportunity to be listed on Bitfinex one of the largest and most advanced spot-trading platforms in the entire cryptocurrency industry.

With your help, our efforts will be successful, and we will have directly opened the doors to our Ethos community to a much larger pool of crypto enthusiasts.

What do I need to vote?

• A wallet accessible through Metamask or Ledger
• Ethfinex Voting Token (EVT)
• ETH to fuel your transaction

Here are the Instructions on How to Vote using Metamask

1. Visit https://nectar.community/#/listings where you can submit your vote.

• Login to your Metamask and click “Connect Wallet” in bottom right to view available tokens to vote

2. If you don’t have any EVT then you will first need to purchase some at https://www.ethfinex.com/.

• EVT is only paired with USD. If you do not have USD on Ethfinex, you can exchange ETH for USD

3. Once you have your EVT you need to send them to your personal wallet

• You need ETH to cover gas fees on Metamask

4. Login to your Metamask and refresh the voting page. Once your tokens arrive in your wallet your token balance will be displayed and you will be able to click “Vote”
5. After clicking vote, verify and confirm the transaction (pay the gas fee via Metamask)

• All the EVT tokens will be used. 1EVT= 1 Vote, so that means if you have 1,000 EVT you will  be able to contribute 1,000 Votes!

For additional support with the voting process, check out this great tutorial by Ethfinex!

Thank you so much to all of you who are contributing your time, energy and resources to the cause of helping expand the Ethos Community and liquidity network. We are excited to welcome others to the new economy.