I was approached recently by a representative of DutyFoundation, who also happens to be a long-time friend of mine. He asked me if I would like to interview the DutyFoundation CEO and co-founder, Jindrich Smid. Given the intriguing clues on the so-called DutyCoin I have been seeing around the internet lately, I didn’t hesitate for a second. During our conversation, we have covered many issues, several of which I have selected for you. So, sit back and enjoy this food for thought.
Welcome Jindrich, thank you for taking the time. Ready to dive into this purely blockchain-oriented interview?
Thanks for having me Trong, Sure I am, let’s do this.
Alright, first tell me, what is your history in the world of blockchain?
Well, we go quite a way back. I still remember reading an article about the infamous pizza that cost 40.000 BTC. Hardly anyone did foresee the potential of this technology at that time. As many aficionados did, I also bought certain amount of BTC. But as you remember, then came the attacks on multiple exchanges where I lost my investment. Later, I took part in projects concerned with BTC payment systems’ implementation within various e-shop interfaces. At that time, I started wondering how to bring the technology somewhat down to earth and open it to wider public. The thing is that common people care only so much about the technical aspect of blockchain solutions…and that’s how DutyFoundation was born. It was built on this very idea to bring something new and meaningful.
Could you elaborate a bit on what do you think will be the effect of blockchain technology penetrating global markets?
We should expect no drama, no fireworks. I rather tend to think it will gradually uncover new channels of market exchange. Further down the road, it may bring significant changes to the way we live our lives or how the states are governed. We need to realize that we are currently in the steep part of the technological innovation curve and it is only a matter of time before we turn our heads to new resources, new planets. Gold, diamonds and other commodities of state reserves may be in the near future challenged by the blockchain based equivalents and this would definitely create some dynamics on the global markets.
Lately, we can observe rising animosity between certain governments and crypto currencies that are being introduced to the respective national markets. Can you see this sentiment changing any time soon?
It is the inability or unwillingness of these states to accept this technology. Public authorities tend to portray cryptocurrencies as an instrument of money laundering and furthermore they fear losing the control they have enjoyed employing for decades. Yes, they are losing control. But it is the kind of control they did not deserve in the first place, thus black-listing such innovative solutions is not an answer. The technology is here to stay. So now the question is if all the parties involved can benefit from this technology. I propose that there really is a win-win situation answer to this question. And it is exactly what we have found in the DutyEcosystem framework.
What is the main asset of the DutyCoin solution? Where can we see the substantial innovation, I’ve been hearing about?
These are THE questions I ask myself every day, so I don’t forget about the fundamental ideals we try to build our project on. Actually, one of my close friends asked me recently: Why do you even do that. I knew he simply didn’t see it happening at any point in the near future. And I tried to explain as I am doing right now. I told him that it is not the technical solution what matters what makes it unique. It is the idea behind it that sets us apart from any other blockchain solution introduced to this day. We think we can bring real benefits to both the customers and the businesses. We aim at simplifying and unifying all duty-free zones on a global scale. And by doing that, we see a new country-independent and democratic economy emerging with individual airports representing the physical grounds on which this economy will grow. That’s what we bring to the table of current blockchain innovation.
Is there something else you guys are working on right now we should know about?
For the moment, our objective is to develop the DutyEcosystem framework. And that takes a lot of time and effort. As we not only deal with the technical aspect of the project but also personal one, we go through many meetings and presentations to make sure that upon launching, we will have achieved the best setup possible for the final B2B and B2C market environment. But currently we work probably the hardest on DutyExchange branch of the project and also DutyAPI that will be the key feature of the B2B aspect of the DutyEcosystem.
When can we expect the ICO?
We have decided to hold an exclusive pre-sale in November. The proceeds will be used primarily to scale up our marketing and to stabilize the whole project to maximize the output. There will be the official ICO taking place in the beginning of the next year when we will introduce our project to major exchanges. There are two we have been involved in talks with but at this point I cannot say more.
Alright, that sure sounds promising. If you want to use this opportunity to reach out to the readers and tell them where they can learn more about the project, this is the moment.
Thank you Trong, you can join the community on Slack where my colleagues will answer all your question or follow us on Twitter. There is a lot more coming, so stay tuned.