Top C hange makers 058
EDITOR’S PICKS 01. The system records the history of all transactions that take place and the rating given to them by both parties. 02. Alirhayim is still reeling in the success of his recent token sale, a special accomplishment for his young start-up because it’s the first of its kind in the region.
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erify describes itself as a distributed reputation protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain that facilitates trust-based transactions. In simple terms, the system records the history of all transactions that take place and the rating given to them by both parties. For those that build a good reputation, it offers benefits. Yazin Alirhayim, the enterprising entrepreneur behind the concept, explains further: “The Verify protocol assigns participants a reputation score that is dynamically adjusted based on their participation in the network. Each transaction or participation in the network is ensured using CRED tokens; i.e. an insurance policy for every transaction that happens in the network. The insurance policy is set to protect both buyers and sellers. It is important to note that a transaction does not necessarily mean payments, but it means any kind of participation between parties in the network.” So, what does this mean for buyers and sellers? “Our platform solves significant challenges both for the buyers and sellers. So, for instance, first-time buyers can be assured that they won’t be short-changed by the buyer. Meanwhile, sellers can transact with the confidence that they will receive timely payments from the buyer. The idea is to make it easier for people to transact online. But, it’s not just that. The beauty of the platform is that you can build applications on it. We’ve added Verify payments as an application on our platform and this gives our users an added benefit,” he explains. The region’s first token sale Verify began operations in 2017 and straightaway considered going down the route of an initial coin offering or ICO. An ICO, which is also referred to as a token sale, is when investors back up a company
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in exchange for digital coins. “We recently completed a US$2.5 million token sale that was oversubscribed by three times. We had over US$7 million in commitment and had to turn down majority of these funds. Our goal in the short term is to establish dominance in a niche market by building a compelling blockchain-powered solution that no existing financial instrument can compete with,” he beams. “This funding will go towards covering our operational expenses for the next 18 to 24 months. We are currently hiring for several key technical and business development positions.” Alirhayim is still reeling in the success of his recent token sale, a special accomplishment for his young start-up because it’s the first of its kind in the region. Token sales differ from traditional equity investments in that the company is not selling “stocks”, but a utility token that buyers would be able to use when on the platform. In Verify’s case, the tokens