Last September 2017, we founded iComply Investor Services Inc., a startup that brings together a team of exceptional leaders in business, technology, and finance. We've been inspired by the recent advancements in blockchain-based fundraising, initial coin offerings (ICOs), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). These breakthroughs have shown the potential for reshaping our entire world, including global capital markets, central bank-issued digital money, and online identity.

Our market and technical research indicate that blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will disrupt numerous areas, such as government-issued identities, know your customer (KYC) regulation, data privacy, and corporate registries. Blockchain, as a permanent and publicly transparent database technology, is ultimately a compliance tool, unlocking the holy grail of regulatory technology (regtech).

We have developed an innovative technology using blockchain smart contracts and successfully tested it on the Ethereum network. Ethereum's smart contract layer enables the inclusion of logic to control transactions with 100% transparency and auditability. We believe that within 10 years, over 90% of Tier 1 financial institutions will adopt some form of blockchain technology and I will cover a handful of the most promising use cases in this article.

In recent years, ICOs have emerged as a popular method for raising funds in the blockchain space. However, many shady companies have taken advantage of this fundraising method. For instance, Tezos raised over $230 million in 2017, but its ICO has been mired in allegations and lawsuits. In contrast, The Ethereum DAO, which issued tokens prior to 2017, has faced scrutiny from the US SEC, as its tokens may now be considered securities.

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are organizations that operate through rules encoded as computer programs on a blockchain. While DAO advocates claim “code as law”, the technology may be more suited to “code as corporate governance”. Unfortunately, the Ethereum DAO was exploited in 2016, resulting in the loss of over $70 million USD in Ether-a top cryptocurrency. Proper identity verification could have protected DAO community members from such fraud and theft by ensuring that all participants were genuine and accountable for their actions.

Potential use cases for blockchain and artificial intelligence technology include:

Embedded regulations, governance, and compliance in smart contracts for capital markets: Smart contracts can automate the enforcement of regulations and compliance in capital markets, reducing the risk of human error and increasing efficiency.
Blockchain-based corporate registries and global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) registries: Blockchain can facilitate the creation of a global, transparent, and permanent LEI registry, automating the verification of GLEIF standards and reducing the risk of fraud.
Central bank-issued digital currencies for enhanced transparency and accountability: Digital currencies issued by central banks can provide greater transparency and accountability in the monetary system, as all transactions would be permanently recorded on a blockchain.
Enterprise identity access management and multi-org portable digital identities: Blockchain and AI can streamline the management of identities and access permissions across multiple organizations, increasing efficiency and security.
KYC, AML, and digital identity verification using blockchain and AI: Blockchain can provide a secure and tamper-proof infrastructure for verifying and sharing identities, streamlining the KYC process, and reducing the risk of identity theft and fraud.
Government-issued identities powered by blockchain and AI: Governments can leverage blockchain and AI to create a digital identity system that is secure, transparent, and easily verifiable, ultimately reducing the risk of fraud and identity theft.

We have been fortunate to raise funds from truly "smart money" investors, including the technical co-founder of Uber, a former CFO of Apple, and the former President and CEO of Standard & Poor. Our world-class team of advisors includes Jeff Bandman (United States CFTC), Praveen Mandal (ChargePoint and Silicon Graphics), and Thomas Linder (MME Legal in Switzerland and Ethereum Foundation). Each of these advisors brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our team, ensuring that we are well-equipped to tackle the challenges ahead.

Our first product is an Ethereum-based platform that allows users to configure and deploy smart contracts with rules embedded into the logic of each transaction. Currently, blockchains are slow, but our proprietary technology enables us to scale Ethereum's transactions to millions per minute. While this is still not enough to cover the scale needed for the use cases we foresee, we believe that Moore's Law applies to this nascent technology in key areas such as scalability, performance, security, privacy, sustainability, and credibility.

Our vision for iComply is to accelerate the adoption of key technologies, including blockchain and AI, to ensure that every transaction involving money or identity has permanence, security, privacy, and transparency. We have shared our vision with a select group of family members, friends, and investors, who have generously offered support, advice, and funding. Their contributions have helped us assemble a truly unicorn community of passionate change-makers.

As we work tirelessly to make this startup a success, I may not be posting as much to my blog. However, I invite you to join us on this exciting journey by checking out our website at www.iComplyis.com. Stay tuned for updates on our progress and the innovative solutions we are developing to revolutionize the worlds of finance, technology, and compliance.

Thank you for your support and interest in iComply.

We look forward to sharing our successes with you and making a significant impact in the world: to fintech and beyond!!!