#invector-labs

Towards More Programmable and Robust Security Tokens: Five Protocols that Should be Part of…
▻https://hackernoon.com/towards-more-programmable-and-robust-security-tokens-five-protocols-that

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Towards More Programmable and Robust Security Tokens— Five Protocols that Should be Part of Security Token PlatformsThe market for security token platforms seems to be getting crowder every weeks. In a market with only a handful of actively traded security tokens, we already have over 50 platforms that are promising to be the future of crypto-securities. On paper, most of those platforms look incredibly similar which contributes to the noise in the market. To differentiate signal from noise, security token platforms must evolve their technical capabilities in order to support more sophisticated offerings. And we don’t need to start from scratch; the #ethereum ecosystem offers a rich set of protocols that can easily improve the feature-set of the next generation security token platforms. (...)

#security-token #blockchain #cryptocurrency #invector-labs

Some Thoughts About Security Token Networks: Part I
▻https://hackernoon.com/some-thoughts-about-security-token-networks-part-i-d94518e7f32e?source=r

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Recently, I wrote about the emergence of security tokens in permissioned blockchains as a “local maximum” phenomenon or an approach with strong short term perspectives but with questionable viability long term. The last part of that article explores the idea of a security token network that enables public availability with privacy constraints to link together the different participants in the security token ecosystem. Coincidentally, shortly after my article came out, we saw the news of Provenance raising $20 million on a security token offering(STO) to build a very similar model. Today, I would like to explore some ideas about the thesis of security token networks, its value proposition and risks.As a market dynamic, the emergence of security token networks might be influenced by two (...)

#invector-labs #cryptocurrency #ethereum #blockchain #security-token

A Local Maximum Paradox: Permissioned Blockchains and Security Tokens
▻https://hackernoon.com/a-local-maximum-paradox-permissioned-blockchains-and-security-tokens-ec4

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Security tokens have evolved exclusively as public #blockchain scenarios but that trend seems to be rapidly shifting. In the last few months, I’ve talked to at least a dozen of startups that are embarking on the journey of building crypto-security platforms for permissioned blockchains. These types of solutions seem obviously targeted to enable the infrastructure for banks and institutional investors to leverage security tokens while mitigating the risks of public blockchains. Whereas the value proposition of permissioned blockchains for security tokens might look clear in the short term, there are some very interesting economic and technological arguments that should be considered for the long-term viability of this trend. Today, I would like to present some ideas about (...)

#security-token #invector-labs #cryptocurrency #ethereum

Identity: The Elephant in the Enterprise #blockchain Room
▻https://hackernoon.com/identity-the-elephant-in-the-enterprise-blockchain-room-6f31ed8d4132?sou

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The adoption of permissioned blockchain technologies in the enterprise is a road full of challenges. The so called Web3 stack based on decentralized ledgers is still fundamentally immature to enable sophisticated enterprise business processes. Among the building blocks missing from enterprise blockchain platforms, identity raises to the top of the list as one of the omnipresent challenges of this new generation of enterprise solutions. At Invector Labs, we are regularly faced with the challenges of enabling identity management capabilities in permissioned blockchain solutions. As a result, we have developed certain ideas of the key capabilities and models of an identity layer for enterprise blockchain solutions which I would like to outline in this article.Over the last five years, the (...)

#hyperledger #ethereum #invector-labs #cryptocurrency

Programmable Disclosures and Security Tokens
▻https://hackernoon.com/programmable-disclosures-and-security-tokens-656857ad27b4?source=rss----

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Very often we hear voices in the security token community claim that we need better projects in order to improve the momentum of the crypto-securities markets. I often find that argument a bit shortsighted as I don’t believe the quality of token offerings alone is enough to enable market making and liquidity in the security token ecosystem. In my opinion, security tokens are still missing some fundamental building blocks in order to become a relevant financial mechanism. Among those building blocks, disclosures and information symmetry mechanisms are fundamentally required to achieve any level of fairness in the security token market. I’ve a vocal proponent of disclosures and security tokens in the past. Today, I would like to explore some new ideas about this area that I think might be (...)

#cryptocurrency #invector-labs #security-token #blockchain #ethereum

Some Reflections About Identity and Security Tokens: Part I
▻https://hackernoon.com/some-reflections-about-identity-and-security-tokens-part-i-e9ed2da93a6b?

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Identity is the key element that differentiate security tokens from other #blockchain protocols. In the current generation of security token platforms, identity is constrained to the use of “white lists” which represent a directory of investors approved to perform specific transactions. While white lists enable identity-based capabilities, they do not represent a form of identity in and out itself. As the security token space evolves, identity should evolve as a standalone protocols that are used across different security token platforms. Achieving this requires a careful balance between securities law, the characteristics of distributed ledger runtimes and decades of research in identity management protocols. In this two part article, I would like to explore some ideas about identity (...)

#invector-labs #cryptocurrency #ethereum #security-token

Some Things I Wish I Had Known About Permissioned #blockchain Solutions
▻https://hackernoon.com/some-things-i-wish-i-had-known-about-permissioned-blockchain-solutions-3

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At Invector Labs, we are fortunate to be working on highly sophisticated permissioned blockchain implementations for some of the top brands in the world. Differently from other technology trends, there are not well-established best practices and techniques for implementing this type of solutions. As a result, we constantly encounter scenarios in permissioned blockchain apps for which there are no prescribed solutions. While some of those challenges are pretty obvious some others challenge the conventional wisdom of traditional software development. Today, I would like to explore some of those non-obvious challenges of permissioned blockchain systems that you are only likely to encounter if you are building this type of solution in the real world.Most of the permissioned blockchain (...)

#ethereum #invector-labs #enterprise-technology #cryptocurrency

The Fantasy of Self-Service Security Token Issuances and Some Ideas to Fix It: Part II
▻https://hackernoon.com/the-fantasy-of-self-service-security-token-issuances-and-some-ideas-to-f

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This is the second and last part of an article that demystifies the idea of self-service security token issuance platform. In the first part, we explored some of the challenges of self-service security token issuances. Today, I would like to discuss a potential solution that balances technical viability without incurring in any of the fundamental limitations of the current set of self-service security token issuance tools.The idea of building tools that simplify the issuance of security tokens seems incredibly compelling particularly considering the complexities of the current issuance models. However, complexities should be expected in early stage technology markets and trying to abstract them too quickly results in the creation of tools that are not correlated with real world (...)

#invector-labs #security-token #ethereum #blockchain #cryptocurrency

The Fantasy of Self-Service Security Token Issuances and Some Ideas to Fix It: Part I
▻https://hackernoon.com/the-fantasy-of-self-service-security-token-issuances-and-some-ideas-to-f

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Issuing security tokens shouldn’t be this hard. That’s a phrase that I constantly hear from one my mentors in the #blockchain space explaining that most security token issuance these days involve writing smart contracts by hand. Almost as an overreaction to the complexity of the security token issuance processes, there have been several attempts to promote self-service issuance tools that promise the creation of security tokens with a few clicks. Today, I would like to explain some of the fundamental flaws with that approach and propose what I consider is a better alternative.The security token space has adopted two extreme positions when comes to crypto-security issuances. On one extreme, every security token requires smart contract developers to write a lot of repetitive code and (...)

#invector-labs #ethereum #security-token #cryptocurrency

Five Challenges of Permissioned #blockchain Solutions and the Tools and Protocols that can Help You…
▻https://hackernoon.com/five-challenges-of-permissioned-blockchain-solutions-and-the-tools-and-p

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Five Challenges of Permissioned Blockchain Solutions and the Tools and Protocols that can Help You Solve ThemImplementing permissioned blockchain solutions is both equally fascinating and really challenging. Every day, there are new articles in mainstream media outlets claiming how blockchain technologies are going to transform many industries but the reality is not that glamorous. While blockchains bring tremendous value to established enterprise business processes, most permissioned blockchain implementations are not getting passed the pilot phase. After the initial excitement, most teams realize that implementing permissioned blockchain applications at scale require tremendous levels of technological skills and quite a bit of infrastructure building in order to integrate the new (...)

#cryptocurrency #ethereum #invector-labs #hyperledger

About the Relationship Between Stablecoins and Security Tokens
▻https://hackernoon.com/about-the-relationship-between-stablecoins-and-security-tokens-a26e43f15

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Crypto news last week were dominated by the headlines of J.P Morgan announcing the intentions to launch its own stablecoin dubbled “JPM Coin”. My initial reaction to the news were mixed. On one hand, the JPM Coin represents a strong validation for the stablecoin market and will certainly pave the way for new banks to join this trend. However, we can’t be oblivious to the fact that commercial-bank-backed stablecoins are likely to contribute to the fragmentation of the space and basically be a temporary solution until central banks decide to issue their own stablecoin(more about that in a future post). The launch of the JPM Coin made me reflect about a thesis I’ve been exploring lately about the relationship between stablecoins and security tokens. With stablecoins quickly consolidating as (...)

#invector-labs #ethereum #blockchain #cryptocurrency #security-token

Querying the #blockchain: Why The Graph Might Become One of the Important Protocols of the Web3…
▻https://hackernoon.com/querying-the-blockchain-why-the-graph-might-become-one-of-the-important-

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Querying the Blockchain: Why The Graph Might Become One of the Important Protocols of the Web3 StackData access has played a prominent role in any technology trend in the history of software. Data access technologies such as databases, search engines or query APIs are so ubiquitous that we barely think about them when architecting software solutions. As Web 3.0, decentralized applications powered by blockchain technologies evolve, infrastructure blocks such as data access will become more relevant. However, solving data access in the blockchain have proven to be a very challenging endeavor that forces developers to spend significant amounts of time writing infrastructure code. Among, the Web3 data access solutions in the market, The Graph Protocol is that one that I particularly like (...)

#invector-labs #ethereum #cryptocurrency #blockchain-technology

Some Ideas About Collateralized Multi-Asset Security Tokens: Part I
▻https://hackernoon.com/some-ideas-about-collateralized-multi-asset-security-tokens-part-i-7dea8

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When people ask me about the things that excite me the most about security tokens I often respond “the ones that we are not working on right now” ?. I firmly believe that the biggest opportunities in the security token space are not about tokenizing existing assets but reimagining the financial system using open programmable protocols. Programmability give us an opportunity to create new forms of finance that are difficult or simply impossible to create within the walls of traditional financial systems. One of those new forms of crypto-securities that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it recently is what I like to call collateralized multi-asset digital securities(CMADS). Even if you don’t like this thesis, I beg you to help me find a better name for this type of security token ?The (...)

#blockchain #ethereum #security-token #invector-labs #cryptocurrency

Some Ideas to Unlock Programmability in Security Tokens
▻https://hackernoon.com/some-ideas-to-unlock-programmability-in-security-tokens-19407dbd4bb7?sou

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Programmability is one of the holy grails of the security token trends. From some perspectives, you can argue that the promise of security tokens won’t materialize without programmable interfaces and strong developer ecosystems that can help us reimagine the world of securities. Despite its potential, programmability remains a highly theoretical idea in the realm of crypto-securities where more platforms have, somewhat logically, prioritized the focus on regulation than on programmable interfaces. Obviously, creating viable programmable models for security tokens is far from trivial particularly considering the immaturity of the ecosystem. Recently, I’ve been thinking about a few strategic paths that can help unlock the value of programmability for crypto-securities in the short term (...)

#cryptocurrency #ethereum #blockchain #invector-labs #security-token

20 Controversial Observations (Not Predictions) About Security Tokens in 2019: Part II
▻https://hackernoon.com/20-controversial-observations-not-predictions-about-security-tokens-in-2

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This is the second and final part of an article that outlines some perspectives about security tokens for 2019. As we discussed in the first part of this article, the points explored here are not intending to be grand-predictions about the market but rather short term developments that are likely to take place given the current state and evolution of the space. Let’s continue through our list:11)More Vendors Jump Into Token Issuance but we Start Differentiating Winners from LosersI’ve been vocal before about the fact that security token issuance is likely to get commoditized in the long term. However, token issuance platforms still have a long runway ahead of them before the possibility of commoditization appears on the horizon. The low technological entry point for security token (...)

#ethereum #blockchain #invector-labs #security-token #cryptocurrency

Thin Protocols, Lack of Network Effects and A Theory of Value for Security Tokens
▻https://hackernoon.com/thin-protocols-lack-of-network-effects-and-a-theory-of-value-for-securit

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Understanding how value is created and accumulated in a technology market is the most effective, and arguably the hardest, way to develop a unique thesis about the space. In the case of security tokens, formulating a value creation thesis seems to be particularly difficult given the early fragmentation of the space. After a year of frantic development, hundreds of new players, many more press releases and the first group of issued tokens, we still don’t have a clear picture of how the main value creation avenues in the security token space. Today, I would like to explore a few basic ideas that might provide some clarity into how value will be created and accrued in the crypto-securities market.The challenge of formulating a theory of value for security tokens is particularly difficult (...)

#cryptocurrency #security-token #blockchain #invector-labs #ethereum

Cashflow on the #blockchain Part III: Reimagining Debt with Security Tokens
▻https://hackernoon.com/cashflow-on-the-blockchain-part-iii-reimagining-debt-with-security-token

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This is the third and final part of an essay focused on security tokens for debt instruments. The first part covered some of the fundamental benefits of debt-based security tokens while the second part outlined the key principles of a protocol for tokenized debt. In this part, I would like to focus on how debt crypto-securities can help us reimagining traditional debt vehicles or even create new forms of debt products that are nearly impossible to build in the current financial infrastructure.The magic of crypto-securities goes beyond the creation of on-chain, digital wrappers for existing asset classes and allow us to create new security instruments that are not possible within the constraints of existing financial processes. The combination of cashflow and underlying assets, makes (...)

#ethereum #security-token #invector-labs #cryptocurrency

Against Security Token Standards
▻https://hackernoon.com/against-security-token-standards-ae896cc5bb4?source=rss----3a8144eabfe3-

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Recently I was speaking about the future of security tokens at a #blockchain conference in Europe. During one of the satellite receptions to the event, I was approached by a prominent figure in the crypto world whom apparently had been reading some of articles about security tokens and had developed some very interesting theses about the evolution of the space. A technologist by background, this person was struggling to reconcile the computer science-centric methods of the blockchain space with the semi-centralized, red-tape-first approaches that he is seeing in the security token market(I have the same problem BTW). At some point during our conversation he bluntly asked me “there is one thing that I still can’t understand about the security token community: What’s the obsession with (...)

#cryptocurrency #security-token #ethereum #invector-labs