AiThority Interview Series With Martins Liberts, Co-Founder at Debitum Network

At Debitum Network, we believe blockchain technology can put the needed trust into the otherwise trustless lending business.

Know My Company

Tell us about your journey into blockchain technologies. How did you start Debitum Network?

We started as a tech company around 6 years ago. We ran into some financial issues and saw that small companies have trouble getting support from traditional financial institutions, so we started a finance company. We saw that alternative finance was hard to grow internationally due to the locality of business (contact with local businesses, local risk assessment and debt collection to name a few).

After some time, an idea of an advanced ecosystem for alternative business lending combined with our passion for the newest technologies allowed to create Debitum Network, a decentralized and global alternative lending/borrowing ecosystem.

How are blockchain investors different from the traditional ones?

Blockchain investors tend to be pioneers who are open to taking more risks. This is because they are looking to be on the frontline of a new technological revolution. Blockchain investors are ok with the fact that a company has to do a lot of research and development before actually launching their product. At the same time, the decentralized infrastructure of crypto allows many smaller investors to take part in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and Security Token Offerings (STOs) and to contribute to and be part of a project.

What are the challenges and risks of dealing in blockchain? How does Debitum Network protect investors from the risks?

The most common risk is the practical realization of a certain idea, as many ideas do not require a full implementation of the blockchain. However, blockchain needs to be fully adapted to fiat, and it needs to comply with all the necessary legal regulations of the company’s country of operation.

How do you compete in a blockchain-heavy ecosystem?

We are very pragmatic in our approach – we put users and their needs first, then technology second. Many other projects tend to put technology first, and then forget about the user and their needs of simply receiving the service as opposed to having fun with blockchain. This is why we concentrate on personal touches such as user experience and focus on making it easy to sign up to our service, improving customer support, and so on.

What are the foundational tenets of your Blockchain for the public?

Our vision is to provide the lending industry with the much-needed transparency and trustworthiness it requires, and this includes lending to businesses. This level of transparency will allow the public to see how different businesses act on their l****, and how third-party service providers have been acting in the past. This decreases and removes the need to trust a centralized financial body such as a bank. Instead, it gives users the opportunity to check out the previous lending behavior of lenders and businesses who are seeking funding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uJP6qzEL7U&feature=youtu.be

How do newer technologies like AI/ml, Automation and Big Data come together with Blockchain? How do you leverage these technologies at Debitum Network?

These technologies can use data collected via blockchain to automate various transactions and operations. We intend in the future to add AI/ML technologies to previous sets of data about activity – this will allow us to predict the quality of a certain service, plus the probability of a defaulting on a loan. We believe blockchain provides the necessary opportunity for the automation and integration of AI/ML and similar technologies.

Where do you see the lending market in the next five years gaining more transparency? What role do you predict for the blockchain and cryptocurrency for businesses?

We believe blockchain technology can put the needed trust into the otherwise trustless lending business. Currently, one needs to carry out huge due diligence, and each lender is carrying out these processes individually. With blockchain technology and platforms such as Debitum Network, we go one step further and allow a potential lender to rely on existing objective facts and third-party information. In addition, crypto may change the whole lending business as there are many crypto holders who would be willing to provide fiat l**** (with third-party fiat funds) and use their crypto as collateral. This approach opens previously unimaginable lending opportunities

Could blockchain be misused for the weaponization of digital resources? How safe is the general user from the digital risks?

The only real risk that blockchain carries is the need for users to take full responsibility for their actions, which is a change in philosophy. Currently, users may make mistakes and a centralized body such as a bank is able to correct them – for example, the cancellation of a wrong payment.

In the world of the blockchain, the user is fully responsible for their actions and nobody can correct them. It is logical that if there is no centralized watchdog, then each party should be accountable. The real question is, is whether users are ready for such a change of responsibility and involvement; will it force decentralized blockchain solutions to rely on centralized organizations to correct user errors? We are living in exciting times – let’s see how this develops in the future!

The Crystal Gaze

What AI and blockchain start-ups and labs are you keenly following?

I am following Singularity and ENIGMA. I think we still need to wait to see large-scale AI or ML usage combined with a blockchain solution. The main reason for this, is that blockchain solutions still need to be adopted and integrated into the mainstream.

As a blockchain leader, which industries do you think would be the fastest in adopting these technologies with smooth efficiency? What are the new emerging markets for AI technology markets?

Finance.

The most popular blockchain project is Bitcoin – it’s a payment platform and an alternative to fiat money. I believe finance will be the first industry to see the mainstream integration of blockchain solutions into daily life. That’s why we are hyped about our own Debitum Network project, as we provide a real-use case right out of the box.

What’s your smartest work-related shortcut or productivity hack?

Prioritize tasks for each day and deliver on those! People often underestimate great planning, but having a list of tasks each morning and ticking them off as you go brings you so much closer to completing them!

Tag the one person in the industry whose answers to these questions you would love to read.

Jack Gavigan from ZCash.

Thank you, Martins! That was fun and hope to see you back on AiThority soon.