‘Plowing the Blockchain Industry’ – Xbrick aims to build a world-class crypto currency exchange
With the recent price hike of Bitcoins to as high as US$7,600, digital asset investment is obtaining global recognition and has become a new form of value investment. Values of certain digital assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum have increased several thousand times. The temptation of quick gains is not the only thing that attracts global investment and speculators; the blockchain technology itself has enormous value and potential. Blockchain is the underlying technology of Bitcoin and the value of this technology has been recognized as countries compete to invest heavily in this field. Recently the EU announced a 30 billion Euro investment in blockchain technology innovation; R3, a finance technology firm, also stated they had started a joint development with 22 global banks on an international transaction system. R3 aims to launch a commercial blockchain system based on ‘multi-functional transaction unit’, which allows central banks to trade existing currencies with any new crypto currencies through blockchain technology.
Value drives the future. It is the new technologies, such as blockchain, that will drive future global growth. There are a wide range of digital currencies available for investment and retail investors now focus on which digital currency assets they should invest in to maximize returns. Currently they do so by analysis of available information from crypto currency exchanges, such information as currency supply, transaction volume and level of community activities. Reputable exchanges are very strict on which new currencies they will allow to trade on their exchange: the exchanges typically require the digital currency to satisfy technical requirements, as well as meet criteria on the project team and community development. To a certain extent the exchanges have ensured the credibility and value of these digital currencies and will help investors to identify good blockchain assets more efficiently. It is therefore very important for investors to choose an international trading platform carefully. With big brand names in place like Poloniex, Bittrix, Coinbase, etc., there are also a number of rising platforms with strong backgrounds and capabilities. We are fortunate to have the opportunity for an interview with two guests associated with one of the new leaders in this field: global crypto currency exchange, XBrick. Leafer Zhao is the CEO of XBrick, while Stuart Gray has advised XBrick on the platform implementation and they will share some insights into the new generation of digital asset trading.
Journalist: What is your view on the relationship between blockchain technology and the development of the global financial market? What role do crypto currency exchanges play? What is the position of XBrick?
Leafer：Blockchain has certain properties such as its decentralized, distributed ledger that have been recognized by leading financial institutions as increasing the security of the global payments system. Blockchain is the underlying technology on which Bitcoin is based and in the near future will become the core of the global financial system. The application of blockchain has expanded from financial technology into multiple areas like Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), supply chain management and digital asset trading. We see this as not just a technological revolution associated with traditional finance, but expect it to have deep impacts on many areas of our lives. A crypto currency exchange is an extension of blockchain application so there is no conflict of interest. Global exchanges often focus on sound blockchain assets and provide a secure platform for digital asset liquidity with lower transaction costs than offered by the traditional payments system. They also help to promote wider blockchain development and as the value of digital currencies on issue now exceeds US$200 billion they provide greater public recognition of the entire blockchain industry. XBrick is created based on this vision of providing secure, low cost access to quality digital currencies. We maintain high standards and are very selective in relation to which digital assets are traded on the platform; they must pass strict assessment criteria to be launched on our platform. We offer this platform only to valuable global digital assets.
Journalist: When did you start to develop XBrick? There are plenty of such platforms around, what are the unique advantages of XBrick?
Leafer：We have been working on XBrick for over 12 months since November 2016, and we plan to launch it in November 2017. Globally there are a number of platforms, but very few can excel in security and user experience and customer service. I believe XBrick will be the best option for digital currency investors in meeting each of these criteria. XBrick is a trading platform for top-tier global blockchain digital assets, built by a world-class team of blockchain technology specialists. The trading system has been rigorously tested and is secure and stable, supports multiple languages. We employ bank-standard SSL encrypted data transfer, cold and hot wallet insulation. We also have multi-layer and multi-cluster system infrastructure, and the high capacity engine technology which enables 2 million transactions per second, which is significantly better than the industry average. We have also built in an automatic ID verification system which prevents global money laundering. XBrick also has an experienced team with ex-directors and senior executives from various ASX listed companies, reputable boutique private equity firms and Goldman Sachs. They have extensive experience in global investment banking and risk management.
Journalist: There are mixed views on crypto currency exchanges in different countries. How would you like to deal with regulation in future?
Stuart：XBrick aims to create a world class platform. It will not be limited to investors in one particular country; investors around the world will be able to trade on XBrick. After discussions with our advisers, Dentons (Australia), one of the world’s largest law firms, we chose to locate the platform in Australia because we believe that it has the right balance of regulation to encourage innovation while protecting investors. XBrick has put significant effort into ensuring it complies with all existing legal requirements and XBrick has pioneered an advanced, world class anti-money laundering ID verification system in order to prepare for potential regulations.
Journalist: You mentioned that XBrick has built in a world class anti-money laundering ID verification system. Will this process be very complicated? How long will it take for a new user to have their ID verified? Will this put a barrier on new user registration?
Leafer: The ID verification system is cutting edge as our team takes account of the source country of identification documents and has designed appropriate ID checks for users. For example, users in the USA can use their Social Security Number (SSN), New Zealand users can use their local driver license and Chinese nationals could use their national ID card and bank card. User experience has high priority in XBrick so the website is very easy for new user to register and use. The entire registration and verification process will only take 1 to 5 minutes, from submitting their information to completing the verification. We have clear registration instructions on our website. New users can fill out their personal information online and the system will connect to global databases and run real time verification online. The verification process is fully automatic and requires no manual operations. It can take 5 minutes, but if you are familiar with internet you can finish in just one minute.
Journalist: Does XBrick have smart phone Apps? Will it support Android or IOS? If yes, when can we expect to have them?
Leafer: XBrick does have smart phone Apps and will support both Android and IOS. The App will go online at the same time with the XBrick website (
www.XBrick.io).
Journalist: Could you please talk about the future plans of XBrick?
Leafer: XBrick aims to build a world-class digital crypto currency exchange. Our first step will be to establish our trading platform brand in European and American market, as well as the Asia-Pacific region. We will be primarily working on markets in UK, Australia, China, New Zealand, USA, Japan, Singapore, Russia, etc.
Journalist: I’ve heard some words that XBrick has plans to go public and get listed. Is this correct?
Leafer: We do have plans to expand our investor base over time but unfortunately, I cannot make any comments on it at this stage, but please stay tuned.
