The following is a continuation from my previous blog, narrating five different partnerships in relation to Quant Network. For those who have not read the previous blog here is a link. This part 2 continuation will go through five more partnerships from companies that have partnered with Quant Network and I will describe what they do, their impact in their field of work, and how the partnership relates to Quant. Furthermore, I will provide my view on each partnership, and at the end of this blog I’m going to briefly touch upon the type of partnerships I personally expect to be announced in the coming months or years.

1. Oracle

What it is

Oracle was founded on June 16th 1977 by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates. It is a software company that provides database management, infrastructure and support for data models – a format that helps structure databases created by a company, in which the data from each database may pertain to either a companies history, field of work, schedule of production or everything in between. By having a clear data model, for different databases, a company will be able to utilise this structured flow of information to improve upon any inefficiencies in their style of work, business dealings, lapses in judgement and their overall performance.

Databases, in their simplest conception, are collections of information.

In the past prior to the 1900s, information that was written on pieces of paper would be grouped together to form a file, and that file was stored in a library or institution. The issue here is that to get a specific document within the file, the process was slow and the files were not always filed correctly. Furthermore, paper documents much less libraries themselves, are susceptible to unforeseen events such as fires. Databases were created to provide better ease of access to specific documents. The files within these databases would have subcategories such as a name, an address, time stamp, and content specification i.e. sports/food/news etc.

Data models in the 1960s onwards were created, such as the hierarchal model or network model, with the aim to structure databases.

The hierarchal model was developed by IBM- a world renowned computer company founded in 1911. An example of the hierarchal model is the family tree, and the network model soon followed afterwards and was conceptualised in 1969 at the conference of data systems languages (CODASYL), it was the evolution of the hierarchal model in which it now depicted the relationship between the data, for example continuing on with the family tree concept, this would be now seeing who was blood related and who was not. The network model added depth of understanding to the hierarchal model. Here is a link to a medium article that also includes pictures to visualise what these database models might look like, as well as thoroughly explaining the evolution of databases.

Now during this time in which data models were being conceived, databases became computerised folders of written documents, and these databases were stored on hard drives. Data models now work as a framework and guide for software applications developed on computers, to read and understand the databases stored on these hard drives (Imagine a business that has a bunch of random files on a hard drive. Using a designed data model, they would be able to conceptualise the random bunch of files via graphs and statistical charts. The data model provided clarity to business operations).

However, due to the limitations of the technology at the time, data models such as the hierarchal (IBM’s preferred model) and the network model, were still commonly used all the way up to the late 70s, as it was more easily digestible for computers to process than upcoming versions such as the relational data model. In the early 60s the computerisation of databases onto hard drives in itself was an improvement on written work, but these databases were only accessible at a single location and you couldn’t transfer the files to another computer. For this to happen, a hard drive was required to be installed onto another computer. In turn this was not convenient for transferring data, and the data itself was still susceptible to loss if the hard drive was misplaced/damaged/corrupted.

During the 1970s onwards, databases could be stored on physical servers, and within this time period came the creation of the original internet in which data could be transferred efficiently from one physical server, in groups of small blocks, to another without the need for computers to be physically attached all together (This is packet-switching, which was created with the understanding if a computer was able to send a whole message of data in one piece, and within that process it encountered a problem, the whole message would have to be re-sent again). Physical servers were thought of being able to prevent unauthorized access, and provide efficient solutions for failure recovery. However, the problem here is that not everyone can access these physical servers, and therefore these databases. We’re still limited in our ability to share data.

In 1969, ARPA, the advanced research project agency for the united states government, created a network called Arpanet– go figure, that connected Harvard, MIT and BBN technologies through their interface message processing computers, ( machines that would create an open communication between different computers on different operating systems). This was an important milestone in the development of the internet and how we send data, and coinciding with the advancements of later data models, this wave of development lead to the creation of TCP/IP- what birthed the modern day internet.

In 1974 the proposal of the Transmission control protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) was created, and in 1983 ARPA computers shifted to TCP/IP. This was the evolution in how computers communicated with one another. TCP/IP is hard baked into modern day computer hardware and is an automated process. TCP and IP are two separate protocols (agreed upon set of rules) for computers to follow when transferring data.

IP- focuses on finding the address to which data is being sent to.

TCP- focuses on delivering data to the IP address once found.

There are four distinct layers of the TCP/IP model:

 

 

Here is a link for anyone interested in learning in depth TCP/IP. Avast Academy did a wonderful explanation of it.

In 1989 Tim Berners-Lee wrote a proposal for the world wide web. When Berners-Lee constructed the design for the world wide web (WWW) he looked at how information systems could be linked together, he went through different data models. As quoted on his website (Its pretty cool the founder of the modern day internet has a web page in my opinion)

“the system must allow for any information to be entered, and another person must be able to find the information without sometimes knowing what they are looking for… Therefore the system needs to be aware of the generic types of links between the types of subcategories of information i.e. people/tasks/documents, and without imposing limitations.”

Berners-Lee notes that a hierarchal system wouldn’t have worked, and in turn he begins describing a highly distributed network model. A global network system.

Since the early 90’s physical web servers came about helping to aid the development of the internet. Over time modern servers became no longer physical but serviced and accessed on the internet, known as the cloud. This forthcoming of technology in line with the modern internet gave databases more broader accessibility, a wider range of storage options and better long term security (though they are still susceptible to hacking, viruses or malware if care is not taken).

If anyone wants to see the total history of the internet’s development then here’s a link.

Now referring you back to Oracle, (sorry for the history lesson, but it will pay off), this is a company that has been working on database management and support for various data models since 1977, and released various products. Here are a few standout infrastructure service and products offered:

– Analytics:

A public cloud service that provides tools for showcasing data, and gaining insight into the data being shown, for enterprises.

– Autonomous Database:

A cloud database that uses machine learning to automate database optimization, security, backup and updates.

– Database:

Originally developed in 1977, it is a relational database management system in which users can build their own databases upon, in which specified data may be directly accessed via a structured query language. It was designed for enterprise grid computing. Grid computing is IT architecture, that enhances information systems, (a collection of databases each different to each other but in some cases linked to a common purpose) groups of independent modular ( meaning segmented components that work offline) hardware and software components can be connected and re-joined to meet changes in a business operation.

– Database Cloud Service:

Via the advancement of servers, oracle database management system can be used and accessed on their cloud service, in which people can build, scale and secure their created oracle databases. Databases on the cloud can be managed by patching, backup/recovery.

Oracle have also provide service for application development for Applied Advanced Technologies:

– Artificial Intelligence:

Oracle AI applications aim to enable the automation and acceleration of the process of database management through machine learning and natural language processing techniques. In Oracle’s words: By combining several string-matching algorithms to calculate feature sets and using a machine learning model to train labelled data, a best evaluation score is calculated and used to provide a list of recommended terms and categories.

–Blockchain:

As described by Oracle, blockchain provides a collaborative framework for sharing reliable real time data. Oracle have developed their own enterprise edition blockchain, built on Hyperledger Fabric, in which enterprises can run nodes upon. Users can develop independent modular systems for specific customers e.g. people living in different countries.

– IOT:

Oracle’s internet of things, intelligent applications focus on the requirements needed for ready-to-deploy solutions for smart manufacturing; predictive maintenance, connected logistics and worker safety. This application helps enterprises to monitor data and drive insights to make faster and better decisions to prevent things from going wrong in the future.

Their Impact

In an article written by Forbes in 2013, Oracle cloud was reported to have 25 million users and over 10,000 customers. Notable names using the Oracle database were: Ebay, Linkedln, MIT, Netflix, Wells Fargo, Boeing and JP Morgan.

Notable names using Oracle’s marketing cloud service worth noting are: Adidas; AirBnB; B&Q; Clark; Intel; Lenovo; MorningStar; Matalan; Money Supermarket; National Geographic; The Oklahoma City Thunder; Philips; Samsung; Rosetta Stone; Verizon Vodafone.

In accordance with DB-Engine ranking (2021) Oracle ranked as the world’s most popular databases. Here is how it turned out:

 

 

Oracle on their website openly advertise clients utilising their products, here are a few utilising their blockchain:

HealthSync– a company that empowers organizations to share data securely, and help deliver the right data to the right people at the right time, stated that Oracle blockchain platform enables them to aggregate data in a distributed ledger, giving providers a secure single source of truth, for better decision making.

IntellectEU– as a fintech integrator company with $100million annual revenue based in New York, this company focuses on implementing enterprise blockchain solutions and connecting distributed ledger technology infrastructures, with back-office systems of global financial services using their Catalyst Integration Platform. They state using Oracle’s blockchain service that it delivers high performance, trusted data and security right out of the box.

Relation to Quant

On June 15th 2020, Quant Network partnered with Oracle, as a fintech Partner, aiming to deliver financial service infrastructure to oracle clients and for it’s start-up programme.

“Quant Network is a technology provider enabling trusted digital interaction, helping create a secure digital future to the benefit of enterprises, regulators, governments, and individuals. Recognised for having solved interoperability through the creation of the world’s first blockchain operating system Overledger, Quant Network is leading the way for innovation and blockchain adoption across enterprise. Headquartered in London, UK, Quant Network is committed to building an internet people can trust.” – Oracle

“Quant helps Oracle’s customer banks by providing a single API to all supported blockchains to power interoperability across platforms. Giving clients choice and flexibility to freely use any blockchain technology and go cross-platform with only 3 lines of code.”– Quant Network, Gilbert Verdian.

As quoted from Crowdfund Insider, Quant will be using Oracle Cloud to create business applications on interoperable distributed ledger technologies as these distributed ledger technologies will be powered by Overledger, connecting them to global networks and blockchain based platforms (such as Binance).

My View

Fifty years ago, Arpanet allowed for the interconnected transfer of data amongst different computer operating systems as long as they were connected to their network, and during that time period IBM produce data models to help push forth how that data should be structured in databases to connect. Arpanet reminded me a lot of Polkadot’s parachain system, where any blockchain could connect as long as it was a blockchain (this is not a knock against Polkadot by the way). However, only being able to connect to blockchains provides limitation to the endless flow of data in our world.

Ten years later TCP/IP came and we were able to distribute data from different operating systems, different devices without the need for them to compromise their composition as long as they had the two protocols hardwired into them. Tim Berners-Lee proposed the design of the world wide web in coincidence with this technological advancement.

In my opinion the modern day equivalent of TCP/IP is Quant Network’s Overledger.

I’ve made it no secret that I believe Quant is the neurones for the technological body for the internet 2.0, as it allows for true scalable interoperability amongst future and old legacy systems as well as existing blockchains.

However, where the internet was being designed by an individual, there are multiple entities at work bringing us to the 4th industrial revolution, and when I look at their partnership with Oracle, the leading database management company for the last forty years, I can only view this as the coincidence of technology once again with the development of the new internet. Financial data models and databases will be constructed using Oracle’s products on Overledger, giving data a dynamic flow as it can switch from any blockchain and from old legacy systems.

It is also worth noting that during the 90s it was recognised in J. Hunstock study of Interoperable database systems that statistical evidence showed the majority of data integration projects, failed due to an improper structural design to the organisation of their data. Quant Network partnered with Oracle could provide interoperable database solutions for businesses around the world.

Finally, Oracle’s start up programme caters to the next group of financial institutions and banks looking to help create the inevitable, new digital financial system. This partnership for me goes beyond looking through the eyes of a retail investor, it is simply a testament to what Quant Network have designed, their potential for growth, and the quality of their team.

2. Amazon Web Services

What it is

On the 5th July 1994, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, at the conception of the modern day internet, today valued at $1.7 trillion with a revenue in the first quarter of 2020 alone of $10billion. The success of Amazon is well documented with the continued development of the internet, however not as many people will have taken notice of their services beyond their digital marketplace.

The concept for Amazon Web Service (AWS) was derived from Amazon’s inability to scale for their hypergrowth in the early 2000’s. This issue led to the company developing internal systems (companies in this case) to deal with the problem at hand. One of these solutions would be AWS.

CEO of AWS Andy Jassy recalled meeting with Jeff Bezos, over the summer of 2003, and doing an exercise going over what Amazon was currently doing well. They realised that there was a lot more skills they had developed since 1994 in which they had become capable of running infrastructure services such as storage and databases, as well as becoming reliable at running cost-effective data centres by the simple nature of Amazon’s functioning.

They thought of their services as an operating system for the internet.

“If you believe companies will build applications from scratch on top of the infrastructure services if the right selection existed, and we believed they would if the right selection existed, then the operating system becomes the internet, which is really different from what had been the case for the [previous] 30 years.” – CEO Andy Jassy.

In a sense what Andy Jassy was saying, In the same case, today, where Ethereum is the blockchain of choice for many developers to build their blockchain networks upon, Amazon Web Service is the platform in which many developers and companies will build their digital infrastructures from.

Today in the year 2021, Amazon describe their Web Services, created in 2006, as a cloud computing platform that provides services via their global data centres. A developer or company can use their web services to build their own software applications and databases, as well as use the software tools and products provided by Amazon web service partners.

There is a wide scope of industries these products and tools cater for, such as: Education, Financial Services, Healthcare/Life sciences, Automotive, Advertising and Marketing, Energy, Governments, Gaming, Manufacturing, Retail, Travel/Hospitality and Telecom.

Products that AWS provide, but are not limited to are: Blockchain, Compute, Database, Gametech, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Robotics, Satellite, Security/identity and Compliance, storage, and VR and AR.

Renowned featured products that have been released by AWS includes: Elastic Compute Cloud, Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS).

Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)– This is part of AWS cloud computing platform (cloud computing is an on demand computing service, where companies can rent access to the cloud- servers over the internet that store specific software or databases).

AWS users rent virtual machines (substitutes for actual machines using software to deploy and run programmes over) and operate their own computer applications through EC2.

Scalable software deployment on EC2 is provided using a virtual appliance called Amazon Machine Image (AMI) to configure and create rented virtual machines. Amazon call these scalable virtual machines an “Instance” and they can be created, launched, and terminated with users paying by the second the server is active.

Amazon SageMaker– A machine learning service for data scientists to develop and build quickly and easily machine learning models. Data scientists using SageMaker can directly deploy these models into production ready environments. Furthermore common machine learning algorithms are provided which are optimized to run efficiently against large data in a distributed environments.

Amazon RDS– A web service (software) that makes, in Amazon’s own words:

it easier to set up, operate, and scale a relational database. It provides cost-efficient, resizable capacity for an industry-standard relational database and manages common database administration tasks.

Their Impact

Since their launch in 2006, AWS is reported (by statista) to have made an annual revenue of 25.5billion in 2019 alone. In 2020 it was reported to be 45 billion U.S. Dollars. First quarter of 2021… 13.5 billion.

 

 

Amazon web Service Year on Year growth on average since 2014 is 32%.

 

 

However perhaps the most surprising statistic that people have yet to conceptualise is that their cloud infrastructure, based on usage, makes up on average 33% of the cloud infrastructure market.

 

 

Moving on, Amazon’s Web Service Partner Network (APN) is a community of partners that build solutions and services for customers who may be interested in using them.

Amazon state 90% of fortune 100 companies use their solutions and services. `

AWS are not shy to showcase the amount of businesses that utilise their cloud computing network, so much so that they have a page where you can search through the 1800 AWS customer reviews. Here is a link below that you can click to go through in your own time to see for yourself.

Did I go through all of this you might ask? Definitely not.

Here’s a list of some of the global enterprises that use their services:

HSBC; Snapchat; FOX News; NASDAQ; T-Mobile; Coinbase; Netflix; Warner Bros; Volkswagen; AirBnB; Toyota; Standard Chartered; Capital One.

Below are a few quotes from notable companies that had things to say about their product services (EC2; SageMaker and RDS):

FINRA, a non profit government authorized organisation oversees U.S. broker dealers, stated:

“Since March, we have seen market volumes increase by 2-3x…We automatically turn on and off up to 100,000 compute nodes in a single day. We would have been unable to handle this surge in volume within our on-premises data centre.”

FINRA, a financial regulator, moved 90% of their data volumes to AWS using EC2 and were able to analyse and store a daily influx of 37 billion records.

The Dow Jones, a market index with 8.3 trillion market cap (as of 2019) have been using AWS SageMaker:

“As Dow Jones continues to focus on integrating machine learning into our products and services, AWS has been a great partner. Leading up to our recent Machine Learning Hackathon, the AWS team provided training to participants on Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Rekognition, and offered day-of support to all the teams. The result was that our teams developed some great ideas for how we can apply machine learning, many of which we we’ll continue to develop on AWS. The event was a huge success, and an example of what a great partnership can look like.” – Chief product and technology officer for the Dow Jones, Ramin Beheshti.

Netflix, the world’s large internet entertainment service available in 190 countries and 130 million memberships, stated:

“We were able to test Aurora’s parallel query feature and the performance gains were very good. To be specific, for queries doing full table scan or fetching fat indexes with billions of rows, we noticed the query time reduced from 32 minutes to 3 minutes.”

Relation to Quant

Quant Network as of the 19th March 2019 became a technology partner on AWS. By joining AWS Partner Network, the global partner program for AWS, Quant Network will be on a platform that will allow millions of different enterprises to utilise their Overledger Network.

The exposure to multiple industries, in the word of CEO Gilbert Verdian allowed for:

“Use of Overledger to build industry-changing multi-chain applications on an interoperable platform.”

My View

In the previous section of this blog, I touched upon the realisation of Quant Network’s ability to provide interoperable databases and information systems as well as its coincidence with the internet 2.0 and 4th industrial revolution.

Soliciting access to the utilisation of their operating system Overledger, on a platform that encourages the building of digital infrastructure is only reinforcing that view point.

On the surface the partnership with Amazon Web Service could be overlooked for providing just software and tools and opening up another corridor for institutional investors, banks and companies, but in fact this partnership goes beyond that. It’s the type of banks, it’s the type of institutions, and type of companies that utilise AWS.

For better or for worse, Quant Network also doesn’t have the reputation and marketing it perhaps deserves. Simply because they are all about their business and it’s not their priority to scream to the public what they are doing. Their work will speak on their behalf.

So what Quant Network needed is a partnership that reaches a lot of cliental, that will utilise their product.

The first layer of this partnership does that.

The second layer of this partnership is a cascading effect of large to small institutions and companies building their infrastructure using Overledger via AWS and clients of those same institution indirectly utilising Overledger as well.

Slowly and quietly you’ll find Overledger on the precipice behind most major software applications and services across the internet 2.0 without many people even realising.

3. SIMBA Chain

What it is

SIMBA was founded by Joel Neidig and Ian Taylor, in 2017 via a grant awarded from the Défense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies (ITAMCO) and the Centre for research computing at the University of Notre Dame.

Simba Chain, the product of SIMBA, was created to develop a secure, unhackable messaging and transaction platform for the United States Military. Simba Chain is a cloud base, smart contract service platform, aiming to enable users of the chain to implement decentralised applications to be built on the platforms. The decentralised applications (dapps) are stated to allow for secure, direct connections between users/providers, and eliminating third parties.

Simba chain allows anyone to design their own smart contracts (SCD). SCD auto-generates smart contracts from concept models that define a specific asset and transactions that should occur on those assets. A user is stated to only need to define the parameters and method of the asset and it’s transactions and the chain will auto-generate more contracts.

Simba aim to target the use of their platform for the government, developers and enterprises to quickly deploy blockchain dapps for their enterprise.

Various solutions that can be built on the platform are:

Smart contract designs; Media Verification; Power Apps; Gaming + Blockchain; Federal Government Contract; Start-ups-as-a-Service

Use cases developed on Simba Chain: Blockchain tracking for solar energy, Tracking cost, insurance, and Freight with Blockchain Measuring Manufacturing Productivity Supply Chain early warning system Robust Analysis Creating better housing records.

Their Impact

Notable Partners of SIMBA chain include:

Zuckerberg Media, Microsoft, Consensus

Blockchains that SIMBA chain currently supports:

Ethereum; Quorum; Stellar; RSK; Binance; AVA Labs Avalanche; Hyperledger Fabric; Hyperledger Burrow; Hyperledger Sawtooth.

Hyperledger in a 2020 webinar went over different ways they wanted to work with Simba chain such as building a DIY platform or utilising their SaaS options. Other explored ideas were using Simba Chain for educational and training purposes.

They are working to support: R3 Corda; Overledger Quant; Diem (Facebook); Hedera Hashgraph; Cardano.

Simba’s smart contract as a service is available through Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, Oracle, IBM and Azure.

Companies using this service via these platforms can validate their digital workflows, verify audit logs, enable cross-organization collaboration, and track provenance across a network.

Universities are incorporating SIMBA Chain’s education tool into their online and classroom blockchain curriculum to offer student a hands on experience in developing smart contracts, API’s and Dapps that can be deployed on multiple blockchain platforms.

Universities and Academic Institutions include:

– Ohio State University

– Portland State University

– UNC Charlotte

– University of Notre Dame

– Digital leader

– Blockchain Academy

– Morgan State University

– Ivy Tech Community College

In January 2021, Simba chain was awarded a $1.5 million contract by the US office of Navy research to design a blockchain solution to enable demand sensing.

In February 2020 Simba Chain was awarded a five year small business innovation research contract (worth $9.5million) by the Naval Air Warfare Centre to deploy and secure a blockchain messaging and transaction platform.

In May 2020, Simba Chain was awarded by the U.S. Department of Defence a contract of $200,000 to architect a single, proof-of-concept blockchain based system for securing sensitive research and data sets.

In August 2019, Simba Chain was awarded a contract by the U.S. department of defence to develop a solution that would allow the United States Air Force to manufacture, test and deploy 3-D printed replacement parts for aircraft and battlefield weaponry.

Simba chain is also currently being used by companies and people to help solve other real world problems:

DOW Chemical:

A plastics manufacturing and chemicals company with employees in 160 countries, Using Simba’s supply chain early warning system, were provided communication messaging between different systems and entities, all within 30days of the conceiving the idea to going live.

ITAMCO:

One of the funders of Simba chain, were stated in 2010 to be looking to efficiently monitor their production process. Using a custom made software now today developed on Simba Chain they were able to record information about their production process, and store it on their blockchain.

Kyle Luster:

A previous intern at Simba during the summer of 2019, developed a smart contract based system to help create accountable child support. Currently over 25% of children under the age of 21 in the U.S.A live with a single parent, and 56% of them receive only partial or no amount of child support, thus $23 billion dollars in accordance to Simba’s website is recorded to be unpaid each year. Kyle Luster’s system records payments and money owed, but prevents also lawyers from “skirting” the consequences of missed payments. For a lawyer to change the contract they would have to terminate it in it’s entirety which is easier said than done.

Relation to Quant

On the 11th December 2019, Quant network partnered with Simba to make smart contracts that are aimed with use for more than one blockchain, fast, easy and cost effective. Quant stated they would do this by:

“By providing seamless deployment of all interoperable smart contracts based on blockchains supported by Overledger, the partnership removes the existing single-chain limitation, and opens the door to mass adoption of blockchain solutions.”

Quant Network on their site noted that the complexities of smart contract code, in combination with many solutions requiring multiple blockchains meant the process of deployment of smart contracts was slow, difficult, and expensive.

However they went onto state that Simba’s smart contract as a service (SCaaS) eliminated the issue, as their solution auto-generates smart contracts and API keys that interface (come together) on the blockchain. Utilising Overledger, quant’s operating system, to connect to multiple blockchains, meant they also removed layers of complexity and would be able to join Simba chain to current and future blockchains.

My View

In my last blog, I went over a Quant partner called Crowdz, and stated it was one of my favourite partnerships Quant Network had made because they were helping a client expand the reach of a product that would be used for real world solutions. That’s why this partnership is something I can get behind as Quant Investor.

Simba, due to starting up relatively recently in 2017, doesn’t generate the excitement other partnerships explained in this blog have, however being sponsored by one of the most notorious research institution across the world (DARPA) , as well as supporting some of the biggest blockchains in the industry, it must therefore be understood that this is not a normal start up company, as if they were, they would not garner this much attention from big entities unless they’re planning to be utilised for large scale projects.

This partnership that has a lot of unknown potential, but with an educated guess it’ll likely bare fruit to multiple world-wide blockchain projects. Therefore in my eyes this is a long term cliental based partnership, and one I’ll continue to keep an eye out on the future for updates.

4. CONSTELLATION

What it is

“In an interconnected world, citizens of every nation could welcome the benefits of the free movement of travel, goods and services…”

Well, at least that was what was stated by the president of the European central bank (ECB), Mario Draghi in 2019 when he discussed Sovereignty in an interconnected world. Sovereignty is defined as a supreme authority, whether that be a monarchy or government at the forefront of our respective domestic countries, there is an entity at which we can attach this title to. However sovereignty is not limited to Politics and can be expanded to economics and data. The ECB touches upon the economic tension around the concept of sovereignty.

“True sovereignty is reflected not in the power of making laws – as a legal definition would have it – but in the ability to control outcomes and respond to the fundamental needs of the people: what John Locke defines as their “peace, safety, and public good.” The ability to make independent decisions does not guarantee countries such control. In other words, independence does not guarantee sovereignty. Countries that are completely shut off from the global economy, to take an extreme but instructive example, are independent but not sovereign in any meaningful sense – often relying on external food aid to feed their people. Yet being connected through globalisation also increases the vulnerability of individual countries in many ways.”- Mario Draghi

What good is it for a man to gain the world but to lose his soul in the processes, in a sense is what Mario Draghi alludes to with the concept of sovereignty. However at the same time, you can only grow as big as the cage you allow yourself to be in which is a metaphor for cutting yourself off from the whole world. Somewhere in between that there is a balance, not perfect but a balance nonetheless.

Earlier I stated that sovereignty was not limited to politics nor economics, currently data faces similar issues revolving around the concept of sovereignty. Not all data flows around freely across the internet, there are platforms with huge stores of information sell what they obtain to private third party entities, there are institutions and governments that gatekeep information, allowing us to know what we they want us to know at any given moment, and when that data is released and moved freely… can you trust it? Is that data accurate? Is the data whole? Are there missing pieces of information? Are you being bombarded with information sinisterly to influence your decision making? The 21st century is currently being built and reshaped on data, the most common commodity in existence.

There have been different companies and networks conceived throughout the last decade to overcome the issues of data, one being Constellation who built their network with 11 core principles – sovereignty being one of them.

Constellation founded by Ben Jorgenesen; Wyatt Meldman-Floch; Benjamin Diggles; Mathias Goldmann, and Altif Brown explained in their mission statement:

“Bitcoin is widely seen as a response to the global financial crisis of 2008/2009. A decade later we have a crisis of data, where it is global and fluidly shared… but the question is: is that information accurate and reliable. Business and societies are overwhelmed with exponential amounts of information. Further more there is a major interoperability issue between data generating systems that has caused a need for a fact checking layer in the data generation lifecycle.

Constellation is a response to and acknowledgment of the power that is inherent in information and data. We want to shed light on the informational basis upon which a decision has been made and illuminate potential solutions to these problems… Constellation enables the definition of global sovereignty in regards to data but also in a wider sense of governance.”

 

 

 

 

Constellation describe themselves as a distributed network that enables fast; scalable solutions for organizations that need to transfer data securely and build interoperability for connected sensors and devices.

Ben Jorgensen, CEO, stated via his medium blog:

“Like WordPress, we provide an open source framework with robust developer tools that anyone can build on…We provide data assurance tools and incentives while tapping into the unique capabilities of blockchain technology, providing immutability, security, auditability, and traceability [to the data]. Constellation’s decentralized value-based network, called Hypergraph, is built for speed and scalability and leverages a reward layer that is used to maintain the network.“

There are four main components of the Constellation network: Hypercube; Hypergraph Network; DAG token and the wallets/utilities.

Hypercube:

An end to end blockchain business toolkit. There are four main features to the business toolkit.

The first is the deployment of your own blockchain networks using Constellation’s frameworks which aim to make the built networks scalable. The user is required to define the types of data being used, their token strategy, and hosting provider.

The second feature is the minting of your own cryptocurrency. A user can mint either for their own network a Utility token; NFT token, Stable coin or a Governance Token, and the hypercube tool kit will walk through the process of configuring the token economics as well as the legal requirements for protection and compliance.

The third feature is the management of your own crypto/data. Hypercube as well as being a tool kit, has it’s own wallet in which any user can keep track of the $DAG or $LTX tokens as well as their own minted cryptocurrencies.

The fourth feature of Hypercube is the ability to explore and validate transactions on your own network. Utilising the Hypercube block explorer a person can view transaction logs, pending requests, and wallet balances. Alerts can be set up for exploring data as well to gain greater insight into network activity.

Hypergraph:

Also known as Hypergraph transfer protocol, it is Constellations decentralised network. Most blockchain networks utilise a 3 layer solution (1-3) i.e. A design layer, implementation layer and an instance layer, you can read this blog that goes more into depth on that and this one that simplifies everything here.

Constellation built Hypergraph however with a layer 0 solution in which state channels can be built upon by business developers. Channels refers to different networks built by businesses (Think of this like a TV guide in which you have multiple channels all on the same platform i.e. Sky TV). State channels are an evolution of smart contracts and in combination with constellation’s microservice framework, in the words of Ben Jorgensen, allow for:

“anyone will be able to validate data schemas and data sources, mint their own cryptocurrency, and attach business logic and metrics to their L_0.“

 

 

Operating a node on these layer 0 networks will lead to a pay out in DAG.

Constellation also stated on their website:

“there are too many random tokens that are created for public relations stunts. The L_0 token standard allows purchasers and holders of an L_0 token to see the business mechanics. Token types can be designed by the creator of the L_0 token to attract purchasers and holders including “shared rewards” that relate to the success and utility of the token. We provide predefined token types for the L_0 token creator.”

Directed Acylic Graph (DAG):

The native token of Hypergraph that powers the state channels on the layer 0 network. Participation on the network leads to the utilisation or gain of DAG. Purchase holders of the token can send the token peer to peer as a currency between their wallets, where as node validators will receive DAG as a reward for participating in Hypergraph and consensus- a programmatic method to govern and optimize network speed and security. Nodes are distributed and forms the Hypergraph.

“$DAG is not a security and instead provides utility to engage in Constellation’s digital economy. By connecting the economies that exist on Constellation’s Hypergraph, there is a generative network effect in the relative price index of L_0 tokens — thus increasing overall network value.

In order to create a L_0 token or state channel, you are required to purchase $DAG or deploy a node that receives rewards for maintaining the network and participating in consensus. $DAG is the main consensus layer in the network and state channels are applications built with $DAG.. Consensus cannot run without $DAG. If you take away $DAG, you take away the consensus layer.” – Ben Jorgensen.

Constellation offers wallets:

With two different options, and these wallets are formed by the constellation community members. The stargazer wallet, created by stardust collective a decentralised open source organisation, allows for cross chain interoperability, as well as allowing for holding and transacting $DAG tokens. The molly wallet was created by a community member and named after their daughter.

Constellation’s Hypergraph powers the Lattice decentralised exchange:

“By leveraging Hypergraph – Constellation’s feeless network – the platform reduces risk, costs and friction for traders, giving them control over their digital assets while increasing transparency. As well as being the bridge between all blockchain ecosystems, Lattice is a cross-chain asset swapping platform with DeFi incentives and rewards.”

Their Impact

Ecosystem partners of Constellation Network can be divided into 6 categories:

Product related: Molly (wallet); LCX (exchange); Stardust (wallet); Kucoin (exchange) and Yield (App)

Business related: Amazon web service; Splunk; kinnami; IEEE;

Community related (for social engagement): Twitter; Blockfolio; Telegram; Reddit; YouTube; Medium; GitHub; Delta and Crypto News Daily.

Crypto related: Chainlink; Quant; Grafana; Cryptoast.io; DAG explorer

Consortiums: Portland State University; UMass Dartmouth; Space ISAC; mouse belt

Federal: Government Blockchain Association; United States Air Force; Omni air international; Sophinea; dcode

 

 

Businesswire reported on March 2nd 2021 that Constellation Network made significant progress working in the Automotive industry with industry leaders such as General Motors (GM) and Ford, in developing a common standard of communication between autonomous vehicles as part of the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI)

“Constellation fixes the mobility data problem at its root. Our network is designed to offer a neutral standard for hardware-to-hardware communication, while giving users control over their own data. In the context of self-driving cars, DLT that is infinitely scalable is simply the only answer to the delicate balance of guaranteeing user privacy while collecting potentially life-saving data.”- Benjamin Diggles.

On September 1st 2020, Alpha Sigma a hedge fund management company announced that they would be supporting Constellation Network via the purchasing of a series of tokens directly from the company.

“Constellation is setting up to be a market leader for Big Data cybersecurity. Their proprietary Hypergraph network allows organizations and institutions to address threat vectors that pervade data transposition, IoT, and big data initiatives alike.”- CEO Enzo Villani of Alpha Sigma Capital.

On September 20th 2019 Forbes wrote an article explaining how the United States Air Force is partnering with Constellation Network to adopt blockchain.

“Constellation will create a leap in the USAF’s current capabilities with a focus on the agile interoperability of both legacy and future data types. It is a scalable and secure approach to Big Data processing while enabling the merging of legacy system data with existing cloud infrastructure data.”- Constellation Network.

Their Relation to Quant

On the 3rd December 2019, Quant Network partnered with Constellation Network to help enterprises procure (carefully obtain) blockchain technology and enable interoperability with security at scale.

Constellation Network will integrate their secure communications protocol with Quant Network’s Overledger to provide an end to end path from testing in closed environments to production ready real time digital systems.

The integration of their systems was outlined in a paper called “The interent for automation with IOT (internet of things) and Edge Devices.” Quant Network explained in their press release over the partnership how the two blockchain companies will provide security for IOT and Interoperability of data between systems and devices for the wider development of Smart Cities. With billions of dollars stated to have been invested into smart city development, Quant note that progress has been held back by lack of interoperable technology, that is secure and flexible and able to interconnect with many other blockchain technologies.

“The third generation of blockchain technologies includes plug-in-play interfaces with functional operating systems, like the Quant Network, and robust developer solutions that meet the existing needs of data science. With nearly 28 billion devices coming online by 2022, that’s nearly 4 devices for every person that produces 1.7megs of data every second. The Quant and Constellation partnership introduces an end-to-end development ecosystem that accommodates a world of big data.”- CEO Ben Jorgensen of Constellation Network.

“Truly Connected Cities is an exciting prospect and we’re delighted that this partnership with Constellation will make a significant contribution to accelerating their development. We live in a hyper-connected world which is only going to grow, together we’re laying the secure and interoperable foundations to make machine-to-machine communication and data a reality.”- CEO Gilbert Verdian of Quant Network.

The European investment bank outlined in their economic thematic studies the development of potential smart cities in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe in July 2018. The European regional development fund (ERDF) was recorded to have invested 2.2 billion euros per year spread across countries such as Bulgaria, and Romania between 2014-2020.

Barclays on the 13th November 2020 talked about the future of smart cities in which they stated that it has the potential to generate $20 trillion in economic benefits by the year 2026. They stated the following

“The heralded rise of “Smart Cities” was expected to bring data-centric solutions to urban challenges. Whilst Asia remains ahead of the curve, legacy cities (particularly in the West) are now feeling the pressure to upgrade ageing infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic, mounting sustainability commitments, resource constraints and continued urban growth are making a new case for investment. It has never been more crucial to make cities smarter, more efficient, and sustainable for their residents.”

The world economic forum (WEF) on 6th April 2021 explained in an article how blockchain can empower smart cities and why interoperability would be crucial!

“According to the United Nations, the number of cities with a population of 10 million or more is expected to increase from 33 to 43 between 2018 and 2030. While urbanization is said to bring strong economic power due to the concentration of population and industry, it also has its risks – including the potential for increased congestion and environmental problems.

Expectations are rising for smarter cities and with the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, there is a need for more efficient urban management than ever before. Between 2020 and 2024, the smart city market, including the segments of energy, healthcare and security, is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 23%, amounting to approximately $2.1 trillion.”

“In Japan, the cabinet office released a white paper on reference architecture for smart cities in March 2020, which cited interoperability as one of four fundamental concepts that are important in promoting smart cities..“

My View

In my honest opinion, I truly believe this to be the most underappreciated partnership that Quant Network has made as of writing this blog to date. This partnership is ahead of it’s time in terms of the capabilities it will allow for future generations who’ll unknowingly utilise blockchain technology in their everyday lives. The partnership came two years before the WEF made an article on smart cities, one year before Barclays did their article and the year after the European Investment Bank made their own report. Timing is everything and this partnership allows for first mover advantage for a currently niche use case that most 2nd generation cryptocurrencies won’t have targeted and even fewer 3rd generation will have a product ready to implement for.

The potential for this partnership is far reaching with smart cities in development , Constellation’s Hypergraph allows for the development of business to build their own blockchains, not to mention being partnered with the United states air force as well as Omni international and Space ISAC, multiple industries will have their teeth sunk into Constellations network.

Quant partnered with Oracle and AWS (so are Constellation) allowing for enterprises and banks to run interoperable networks helping to shape the new age of the internet and digital infrastructure, means that with these two blockchains joining together we might see cities in the future being ran at the core by Overledger and Hypergraph. From airports to businesses, to banks and restaurants, the scaling capabilities of this partnership in coincidence again with new standards being implemented such as ISO20022 and the Eurosystem, means this partnership alone could open the floodgates of mass adoption and utility for both these projects.

5. LCX

What it is

In the first public hearing since his appointment as the head of the securities and exchange commission (SEC), on may 6th 2021 commenting on a 2 trillion dollar cryptocurrency market, Gary Gensler stated this:

“Right now these exchanges do not have a regulatory framework at the SEC or at our sister agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Right now there’s not a market regulator around these crypto exchanges and thus there’s really no protection around fraud or manipulation.“

The world economic forum in their 2021 agenda at Davos, Switezerland explained in relation to the high interest from central banks globally in digital currencies:

“There are also significant regulatory proposals and guidance coming out of the US government (such as those from the SEC, CFTC, OCC and FinCEN) and Europe (including France, Germany and the European Commission’s Markets in Crypto – Assets Regulation). Unfolding right before us is a potentially momentous worldwide transformation of digital money and its use.“

Among further questions asked in Davos on crypto regulations and the potential of CBDCs, senior minister Tharman from Singapore stated this:

“The private sector players have been a source of fresh ideas and solutions, but they cannot be left on their own.”

John Glen, a member of UK parliament and the economic secretary to the treasury stated that cryptocurrency exchanges are finding it very difficult to be registered under the financial conduct authorities (regulate crypto in the UK) anti money laundering (AML) regulations. As of May 24th 2021 only five crypto businesses had received registration.

“Of the firms assessed to date over 90% have withdrawn their application following FCA intervention. There are 167 crypto asset businesses with outstanding (missing registration documents) applications.” Glen stated.

It is clear from the sentiments of politicians; regulators and global organisations that there is a narrative being played out in the open in which clearly indicates that there will soon be the arrival of strict regulations binding all over the cryptocurrency industry. It is important therefore that as investors we choose the correct platforms to purchase and trade our cryptocurrencies on as exchanges and platforms that are not compliant may be shutdown from usage.

However some exchanges have been built and operate working in tandem alongside regulators.

Founded in Zug, Switzerland by Monty Metzger on November 27th 2017, LCX is a fintech company with it’s headquarters in Lichtenstein, that describe their focus to be primarily on tokenising assets; offering utility and security tokens, and providing advanced trading tools all on the LCX Exchange (their cryptocurrency trading exchange).

The idea for a cryptocurrency exchange was first conceived in 2013 on a napkin (you can find a picture of it on their website). The story goes that his venture capital fund (Digital Leaders Ventures) was unable to invest and participate in the disruptive impact of blockchain technology as the regulatory framework and institutional grade platforms were not present. Monty Metzger frustrated with absence of clarity conceived the idea for their own exchange and in turn LCX.

The mission as stated on the LCX website is for:

“to become one of the world’s first licensed and supervised blockchain ecosystems for professional investors.“

LCX is home to a couple notable advisors such as:

Jimmy Wales – a founder of Wikipedia– notes he wouldn’t integrate cryptocurrencies into its website as it would not provide any additional benefits (I like this personally, it’s a nice rational approach).

Don Tapscott- Co-founder and executive chairman of the blockchain research institute with members including Accenture; Coca Cola; Ethereum Enterprise; Fidelity; Huobi; IBM; Hypeledger; KPMG; LCX; Orion Protocol; Nasdaq.

LCX ecosystem is comprised of six main components:

 

 

The LCX token powers the LCX ecosystem in which was designed to incentive holders to participate long term in the ecosystem. The LCX token can be used to pay all fees associated with services offered on the LCX platform, voucher fees such as those for LCX Terminal, fees also for exchange transactions on all crypto assets.

Their impact

IBS intelligence wrote an article on the 31st December 2021 explaining that LCX was one of the first cryptocurrency platforms to achieve approval of eight licenses under the token and trusted technology service provider act (TVTG), in Liechtenstein. This act is the world’s first comprehensive regulation on cryptocurrencies.

“If one of the banks wants to have [security token] clients worldwide and wants to go through Liechtenstein, they have to work with one of the regulated token generators. We are the only token generator in the region.” – Monty Metzger founder of LCX [coindesk report]

LCX maintains a litany of interesting partnerships that include: The world economic forum; Global digital finance; The blockchain research institute; Ledger; Security token Alliance and Fintank.

On March 22nd 2021 LCX partnered with Monerium to introduce tokenized digital money and fiat trading pairs.

The alliance aims to implement regulated fiat money i.e. digital euro issued by Monerium on the LCX exchange;

Launch an easy to use fiat-gateway on the LCX exchange whilst Monerium handles the fiat side as a regulated e-money institution.

Launch several euro to crypto trading pairs.

Collaborate to research and develop new solutions for security token offering and infrastructure.

On August 11th 2020, LCX choose Chainlink to provide credible references for prices. They aimed to work with the market leading decentralised oracle network, and will provide data to the Chainlink network, aiding to provide secure, reliable, transparent reference prices to the DeFi ecosystem.

On March 28th 2021, Constellation Network chose LCX as a partner with aim of: LCX supporting the listings of tokens created using the Constellation Layer 0 token standard.

LCX and Constellation to collaborate using Hypergraph transfer protocol.

LCX integrating native wallets to support $DAG and listing the token on the LCX exchange as well as the Lattice exchange token.

LCX will provide legal assistance and a legal framework package for additional Layer 0 tokens and businesses which are prepared and worked on in stealth mode.

On May 12th 2020, LCX and ICON Foundation partnered to innovate on security token infrastructure. LCX state that a scalable technology framework for the tokenization of assets, with the potential to unlock trillions is of vital importance.

The partnership will aim to provide an exchange on knowledge and sharing of insights on security token infrastructure, compliance solutions and regulation technology.

Working together to develop new standards for tokenized assets and how it could interconnect with ICON network.

The sharing of operational infrastructure in Liechtenstein and South Korea.

On January 15th 2019, LCX partnered with the world economic forum, joining a select group of global companies. The world economic forum describe themselves as:

“an independent international organization recognized for bringing together leaders and policymakers from business, politics, and the academe to discuss the world’s most pressing economic challenges.“

The partnership involves co-designing frameworks for new distributed ledger technology (DLT) use cases for banking, finance and regulations.

“LCX is aligned with the World Economic Forum to engage in this process and shape the exploration and experimentation of DLT for global financial and monetary systems,” – CEO Monty Metzger

LCX in 2018 engaged in a closed-door WEF working group on Central Banks in the “Age of Blockchain Technology” in Singapore, where the Liechtenstein-based exchange hosted a special session attended by senior executives of 15 central banks.

The aim of the co-design is to address the challenges such as international inter-bank settlements; digital currency regulation; central bank issued digital currency for their domestic citizens; and know your customer/ Anti-money laundering implications.

Their relation to Quant

On April 19th 2021, Quant Network agreed a strategic partnered with LCX to collaborate research as well as integrate both companies technologies towards the advancement of banking and financial sector in relation to the implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), banking stable coins and digital asset securities. The research between the two companies will lead to LCX integrating into the Overledger network as a key partner to transact; settle transactions for digital assets for the community, enterprises and institutional clients.

Below is what LCX CEO Monty Metzger had to say about the partnership:

“Quant plays a key role in global DLT Interoperability. Together we are pursuing the goal of translating this expertise into further growth, using LCX regulatory setup as a basis. In doing so, we hope to define a new industry leading standard that will open up the advantages of interoperable digital assets,”

Gilbert Verdian, Quant CEO, spoke on the partnership:

“We’re extremely pleased to announce this partnership between Quant and LCX, the implementation of CBDCs across the world is now a question of when, not if, though some key challenges remain. Our technology is already playing a critical role in helping to overcome these challenges, and this partnership with LCX accelerate progress still further, by giving financial institutions, commercial banks and end-users in the financial sector even more options to settle between digital assets, securities and currencies.”

On May 19th 2021, LCX founder Monty Metzger hosted a livestream interview with Quant CEO, Gilbert Verdian on their YouTube channel, titled: The Truth About Enterprise Blockchain and Interoperability.

Below are a few key takes from the interview and I advise anyone who’s not had a chance to watch the video to check it out clinking the link highlighted above.

• Quant is aiming for their technology to be embedded at the core of Governments; Infrastructure and Enterprises and to be there for up to 40 years or longer.

• SeeQ, a web-based analysis and visualisation tool built by Quant Network, for tax authorities and regulatory bodies/agencies, enacting as a blockchain explorer for different connected DLTs on Overledger in which full transaction histories can be compiled. It is also available to Overledger customers.

• CEO Gilbert Verdian stated Quant and LCX partnership and the integration of LCX exchange into Overledger’s network was to provide payment choice for banks and institutions as well as users of the network to convert fiat into digital assets seamlessly.

• Quant since 2017 have been thinking about CBDCs, and explained their importance as the evolution of the existing fiat currencies that exist and as a way to complement cash. CBDCs allow people to trust the digital assets, knowing it can be accepted across the globe and it’s backed by banks. Furthermore, it allows for the programming of money i.e., smart contracts to dictate it’s release after requirements of a transaction are met.

• The arrival of CBDCs won’t be the opening of a flood gate but will be a steady progression of stress testing and acceptance.

• Monty Metzger talks about the possibility of a decentralised global currency.

• A fixed dollar value worth of QNT will be required to run a gateway.

• LCX will run a gateway on Overledger Network.

My View

This is the most insightful strategic partnership I have covered in both part 1 and now 2 of Quant Partnerships. This partnership contained the most public statements from Quant Network on any partnership they’ve had to date that I’ve researched which is generally incredible to me.

The main takeaway from the partnership I got was the foresight of Quant Network’s CEO and team as well as Metzger and LCX. The concept for LCX was conceived in 2013, and from that point to the release of their LCX exchange, there have been an array of trading platforms that have come and gone, some forcefully shut down, others proving to be illegitimate scams and conducting fraud. Those that have stayed are all finding it difficult to meet the standards of regulations that are currently being imposed by most governments. It takes foresight to understand that cryptocurrency exchanges will be regulated in the future and you can’t just do what you want. It’s quite the statement therefore that LCX is one of very few exchanges with compliance to work under one of the most well put together crypto frameworks by a government. This not only gives them a first mover advantage when ramping on board CBDCs in the future but allows them to become the exchange of choice for many investors aiming to utilise a regulatory compliant exchange for their investments.

In relation to Quant Network, partnering with a regulatory compliant exchange to help process fiat to digital asset transactions on Overledger is the foresight required to help entice institutions; enterprises and banks to utilise their network. It also helps to scale the number of clients that can utilise Overledger, as partnering with an exchange that can handle an array of different fiat pairs means clients all over the world won’t be excluded.

Future Potential Partnership

The following is a brief overview of different blockchain networks that I personally feel could benefit from a partnership with Quant Network’s and their Overledger adding both value to their own network and to Quant as well as partnerships that I think could be announced in the future.

Vectorspace A.I. – An artificial intelligence centred blockchain that uses patented machine learning (NLP and NLU) algorithms to produce correlated data sets based on hidden relationships. Currently they are in the processes of finalizing documents with S&P Global to licence data and provide data sets for all of S&P clients as well as hedge funds and institutions such as JP Morgan. In an article written by Forbes, spending on A.I. software will top 125 billion dollars by 2025 by businesses. Already collaborating with one Quant partner already, Alliance Block, Vectorspace in my eyes could utilise Overledger to produce interoperable data sets from a created corridor comprised of multiple contributing exchanges or institutions. An example of this would be a few institutions collaborating to share data amongst themselves and wanting their own data to utilise.

Vechain– A supply management blockchain that focuses on building business applications for multiple industries worldwide. Operating currently with offices in Shanghai, Paris, Singapore, Luxembourg, Tokyo and Hong Kong, they are partnered with some notable names such as BMW; H&M; Walmart China; Louis Vuitton; and Renault. Vechain partnered in 2018 with Sentinel Chain to gain interoperability to help businesses in underdeveloped nations and regions. In my opinion Vechain could utilise Quant’s Overledger to help develop collaborations between different businesses as they try to develop their ecosystem and aid their business consensus which is aimed towards large corporations such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Alibaba and Tencent who are able to move their own existing ecosystem onto reliable blockchain platforms and look to expand and connect into other blockchains. Adoption by major enterprises, governments and companies is what is required to build the Vechain ecosystem and that’s why I believe Quant’s Overledger could be a key role in that development.

Algorand– A blockchain platform focused on building next generation financial products; protocols and exchanging value. The Marshall Islands choose Algorand as the blockchain they wanted to build their nations digital currency upon, they also have ecosystem members such as Tether; Voyager; IDEX; Ledger; Monerium; Orion Protocol; Blockstack and Circle. Algorand are working on interchain communication, an initiative for interoperability. The initiative is open to all blockchains to join with the aim to eliminate the requirements of third parties to settle large financial transactions. Here is a blog where you can read more about it. I believe that Overledger could be a valuable partner for Algorand in developing their ecosystem and allowing them to bridge to other blockchains.

Exchanges: Over the next few months in the midst of the launch of the Overledger Network, I expect to see more information in regards exchange listing and perhaps partnerships for Quant Network. Two particular exchanges are Coinbase and Kraken, the latter over the last year having gained a banking charter, and Coinbase having IPO whilst also possessing a custodian licence for digital assets in New York, as well as regulatory approval to list security tokens. I believe that just as LCX is an important on ramp exchange for fiat to digital asset conversion on the Overledger Network, these two may provide and open up the door to a variety of different cliental across the world.