Retail
Subscription
to Advertise
  • ISSUES
    • 1996 to 1999
      • 1996
        • May 1996
        • June 1996
        • July 1996
        • August 1996
        • September 1996
        • October 1996
        • November 1996
        • December 1996
      • 1997
    • 2000 to 2009
      • 2006
        • January 2006
        • February 2006
        • March 2006
        • April 2006
        • May 2006
        • June 2006
        • July 2006
        • August 2006
        • September 2006
        • October 2006
        • November 2006
        • December 2006
      • 2007
        • March 2007
        • April 2007
        • May 2007
        • July 2007
        • August 2007
        • September 2007
        • November 2007
        • December 2007
      • 2008
        • January 2008
        • February 2008
        • March 2008
        • April 2008
        • May 2008
        • June 2008
        • July 2008
        • August 2008
        • September 2008
        • October 2008
        • November 2008
        • December 2008
      • 2009
        • January 2009
        • February 2009
        • March 2009
        • April 2009
        • May 2009
        • June 2009
        • June 2009
        • July 2009
        • August 2009
        • September 2009
        • October 2009
        • November 2009
        • December 2009
    • 2010 to 2019
      • 2010
        • January 2010
        • February 2010
        • March 2010
        • April 2010
        • May 2010
        • June 2010
        • July 2010
        • August 2010
        • December 2010
      • 2011
        • January 2011
        • February 2011
        • March 2011
        • April 2011
        • May 2011
        • June 2011
        • July 2011
        • August 2011
        • September 2011
        • October 2011
        • November 2011
        • December 2011
      • 2012
        • January 2012
        • February 2012
        • March 2012
        • April 2012
        • May 2012
        • June 2012
        • July 2012
        • August 2012
        • September 2012
        • October 2012
        • November 2012
        • December 2012
      • 2013
        • January 2013
        • February 2013
        • March 2013
        • April 2013
        • May 2013
        • June 2013
        • July 2013
        • August 2013
        • September 2013
        • November 2013
        • December 2013
      • 2014
        • January 2014
        • February 2014
        • March 2014
        • April 2014
        • May 2014
        • June 2014
        • July 2014
        • August 2014
        • September 2014
        • October 2014
        • November 2014
        • December 2014
      • 2015
        • January 2015
        • February 2015
        • March 2015
        • April 2015
        • May 2015
        • June 2015
        • July 2015
        • August 2015
        • September 2015
        • October 2015
        • November 2015
        • December 2015
      • 2016
        • January 2016
        • February 2016
        • March 2016
        • April 2016
        • May 2016
        • June 2016
        • July 2016
        • August 2016
        • October 2016
        • November 2016
        • December 2016
      • 2017
        • January 2017
        • February 2017
        • March 2017
        • April 2017
        • May 2017
        • June 2017
        • July 2017
        • August 2017
        • September 2017
        • October 2017
        • November 2017
        • December 2017
      • 2018
        • January 2018
        • February 2018
        • March 2018
        • April 2018
        • May 2018
        • June 2018
        • July 2018
        • August 2018
        • September 2018
        • October 2018
        • November 2018
        • December 2018
      • 2019
        • January 2019
        • February 2019
        • March 2019
        • April 2019
        • May 2019
        • June 2019
        • July 2019
        • August 2019
        • September 2019
        • October 2019
        • November 2019
        • December 2019
    • 2020 to 2023
      • 2020
        • January 2020
        • February 2020
        • March 2020
        • April 2020
        • May 2020
        • June 2020
        • July 2020
        • August 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020
      • 2021
        • January 2021
        • February 2021
        • March 2021
        • April 2021
        • May 2021
        • June 2021
        • July 2021
        • August 2021
        • September 2021
        • October 2021
        • November 2021
        • December 2021
      • 2022
        • January 2022
        • June 2022
        • February 2022
        • July 2022
        • March 2022
        • April 2022
        • August 2022
        • May 2022
        • December 2022
      • 2023
        • January 2023
        • February 2023
        • March 2023
        • July 2023
        • April 2023
        • May 2023
        • June 2023
  • FOR DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION
  • BT AWARDS
    • BT Top 40
      • BT Top 40 2021 – 2022
    • BT Top 30
      • BT Top 30 2018 – 2019
    • BT Top 25
      • BT Top 25 2011 – 2012
      • BT Top 25 2012 – 2013
      • BT Top 25 2013 – 2014
    • BT Top 20
      • BT Top 20 2009 – 2010
      • BT Top 20 2010 – 2011
    • BT Top 10
      • BT Top 10 2008 – 2009
      • BT Top 10 2007 – 2008
      • BT Top 10 2006 – 2007
      • BT Top 10 2005 – 2006
      • BT Top 10 2003 – 2004
      • BT Top 10 2000 – 2001
      • BT Top 10 1999 – 2000
      • BT Top 10 1998 – 1999
      • BT Top 10 1997 – 1998
      • BT Top 10 1996 – 1997
      • BT Top 10 1995 – 1996
  • ABOUT US
No Result
View All Result
Business Today
No Result
View All Result

Exclusive: Blockchain Centre CEO Says Cryptocurrency Will Render Some Bank Services

in April 2022, Featured
0

Tadas-Maurukas-interview (1)
Tadas Maurukas, Chief Executive Officer at Blockchain Centre has stated that when it comes to the matter of cryptocurrencies “regulators can’t ignore it anymore.”
Jordan Major March 23, 2022

In an exclusive interview with Finbold, Maurukas opined that he is pleased that regulators are actively discussing solutions that benefit all participants in the space, as opposed to disregarding it as they did in 2017/2018. Given all the recent attention blockchain and crypto tech has received recently, he states it is no surprise that authorities are taking it ‘more seriously.’

Maurukas also shared his thoughts on the banks and how they will cope with the competition of crypto in the future. According to the CEO, some of the banks’ offered services will become completely irrelevant in the long term.

Sharing his thoughts Maurukas, stated that crypto encourages users to be their own banks and make the hard decisions for themselves.

In an exclusive interview with Finbold, Maurukas opined that he is pleased that regulators are actively discussing solutions that benefit all participants in the space, as opposed to disregarding it as they did in 2017/2018. Given all the recent attention blockchain and crypto tech has received recently, he states it is no surprise that authorities are taking it ‘more seriously.’ 

Maurukas also shared his thoughts on the banks and how they will cope with the competition of crypto in the future. According to the CEO, some of the banks’ offered services will become completely irrelevant in the long term. 

Sharing his thoughts Maurukas, stated that crypto encourages users to be their own banks and make the hard decisions for themselves.

What were the key goals behind launching the Blockchain Centre?

“There are a ton of companies that want to enter the Blockchain and crypto space. To evolve the technology, to harness its benefits for their existing products, or simply to build something that hasn’t been built before. But a lot of companies often get discouraged upon discovering just how much they don’t know about IDOs, exchange listings, tokenomic models, or finding partners. So, that’s why we’ve created Blockchain Centre, we act as a cross-road hub directing companies to where they need to go.

We already worked a lot with Animoca Brands and their partner network. So, we’ve harnessed this partner network and simply expanded on it. Blockchain Centre now is like a fast-pass ticket to the Blockchain era, creating partnerships amongst existing companies and furthering Blockchain mass adoption by helping new companies enter the space.” 

How are you helping companies enter the Blockchain space?

“We’re like the largest database of partnerships able to connect anyone across the globe. There are a lot of projects that don’t necessarily need to build their in-house teams or technologies – they can take advantage and build on top of already existing infrastructure. We help them find those partners, we help with marketing and even connect them with the right IDO platforms to raise funds. Overall, I think of Blockchain Centre as an experienced mentor – helps companies get started and make as few mistakes as possible.”

In your experience, how has the blockchain technology sector evolved in the last few years? What’s the major development?

“User experience. I mean back in the early days it was brutal, using bare bone wallets, manually calculating gas, no safeguards or double-checks to protect your funds. The number of hoops, you had to go through just to make your first transactions, kind of made Blockchain look like a circus for most. Now, you’ve got companies building Layer 2 super localized solutions, that are easy to use and good for a specific job. User Interfaces have advanced so much that first-time users don’t feel overwhelmed and they’re able to explore the technology further. Instead of panicking every time, they interact with Blockchain tech.” 

What is your relationship with regulators and how have things changed with them since the major crypto bull run in 2017/2018?

“Regulators are a welcome addition to the Blockchain ecosystem. While everything CAN be decentralized and self-governed, until every blockchain user doesn’t fully understand how all of it works – there are gaps to take advantage of those less knowledgeable. I’m happy that regulators are engaging in active dialogue and working towards finding beneficial solutions for all parties involved. Instead of just kinda ignoring the space as they did in 2017/2018. With blockchain and crypto tech getting so much attention recently, it’s no surprise that the whole space is being taken more seriously and regulators can’t ignore it anymore.”

What do you consider are the main challenges related to the cryptocurrency sector, excluding regulatory issues?

“The lack of unity. Everyone wants to stand out, everyone wants to build something new and people rarely choose to use existing technology – there are no “standards” in cryptocurrency. You have a ton of different blockchains, bridges between them are like a workaround solution if we’re not happy with how some.

Usually, instead of offering to help, we simply go and build our own solutions. And the users, pay for all of this – having to learn and use new solutions, new technologies, new interfaces every week. If we could just sit down, agree on a single problem and use the same tools to solve it – the space would evolve much faster in my opinion.”

Do you think traditional banks should be worried about the current expansion of the cryptocurrency market?

“Yes, but probably not for the same reasons most people think they should. Are cryptocurrencies going to replace banks anytime soon? No. Are cryptocurrencies going to make some of the bank’s offered services irrelevant? Absolutely yes.

Take saving accounts for example, with an average of 0.06% interest rate, fewer people choose to save their money in banks because it just devalues slowly due to inflation. They would rather invest in stocks, real estate, and precious metals.

Take a cryptocurrency equivalent of saving accounts – staking. Cryptocurrency staking can offer interest rates varying anywhere between 5 and 20%, much better than the 0.06% offered by banks. Of course, there are risks involved, by people are starting to become more financially engaged, calculating risk, learning about the process and being smarter with their money – the more people are financially smarter, the less business there is for banks.”

Should traditional banks consider offering crypto-related services to users?

“I don’t think that would be beneficial for the users. In most cases, banks try to keep their customers “blind”. The less they know, the fewer questions they ask, the easier it is for banks to make a profit.

Crypto-related services are the exact opposite – you must understand what you’re doing, how the different parts interact with each other, where the money is coming from and so on. Users are encouraged to be their own banks and make the hard decisions themselves. So, if banks offered crypto-related services, they wouldn’t encourage people to learn more – it would be a watered- down, basic experience.”

What do you think about the effect CentralBank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) could eventually have on the crypto markets?

“Humans are often flawed. So, even if the system makes perfect sense on paper, we tend to find ways to corrupt it. That’s kinda what started the whole cryptocurrency boom – it was advertised as a trustless system, impossible to corrupt since it was governed by computers, not people and it was highly decentralized.CBDCs are extremely centralized, there is nothing stopping those in charge from creating more of this currency than they should.I personally don’t see CBDCs having a large impact on the crypto market as they’re two very different things in the eyes of the end-user.”

Bitcoin has been viewed as an alternative store of wealth just like gold. In 2021, the asset was projected to become digital gold. With the current economic uncertainty, how has Bitcoin performed based on this expectation and what’s to come for Bitcoin in 2022?

“If I could predict the future, I would. But sadly, that’s not in my skill-set just yet. In my opinion, as long as people see value in Bitcoin – it will continue to rise in popularity. If we perceive something as valuable and scarce, we tend to want to own it.”

What are Blockchain Centre’s plans for the next two years?

“Our biggest goal is to have the ability to work with more projects at the same time. At the moment Blockchain Centre is a one-stop-shop when it comes to fundraising – we’re able to cover everything from marketing to development and most importantly we save a tremendous amount of time and money for our clients
by only executing strategies that work, think of it as a laser- focused approach to success. This full- scale service is mainly the reason why we’re only working with a handful of exclusive projects at a time – once we onboard a client we dedicate our full attention to the project.

If we’re thinking 2 years from now, we would like to have enough experts at our disposal to provide a full range of services to a larger number of companies – as well as move most out of our services to operate in-house. That’s why we’re focusing on hiring new employees and upskilling our existing workforce. Of course, there are some bigger plans apart from sheer numbers and growth, but we’ll share those once we feel they’re ready.” 

Please login to join discussion

Business Today August 2023

Business Today September 2023

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

© 2023 BT Options. All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • ISSUES
    • 1996 to 1999
      • 1996
      • 1997
    • 2000 to 2009
      • 2006
      • 2007
      • 2008
      • 2009
    • 2010 to 2019
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
      • 2014
      • 2015
      • 2016
      • 2017
      • 2018
      • 2019
    • 2020 to 2023
      • 2020
      • 2021
      • 2022
      • 2023
  • FOR DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION
  • BT AWARDS
    • BT Top 40
      • BT Top 40 2021 – 2022
    • BT Top 30
      • BT Top 30 2018 – 2019
    • BT Top 25
      • BT Top 25 2011 – 2012
      • BT Top 25 2012 – 2013
      • BT Top 25 2013 – 2014
    • BT Top 20
      • BT Top 20 2009 – 2010
      • BT Top 20 2010 – 2011
    • BT Top 10
      • BT Top 10 2008 – 2009
      • BT Top 10 2007 – 2008
      • BT Top 10 2006 – 2007
      • BT Top 10 2005 – 2006
      • BT Top 10 2003 – 2004
      • BT Top 10 2000 – 2001
      • BT Top 10 1999 – 2000
      • BT Top 10 1998 – 1999
      • BT Top 10 1997 – 1998
      • BT Top 10 1996 – 1997
      • BT Top 10 1995 – 1996
  • ABOUT US

© 2023 BT Options. All Rights Reserved