Once considered an enigmatic concept that was hyped by underground technologists, financiers, and privacy advocates, blockchain in 2021 has made it to the mainstream – to the extent where prolific businesses such as PayPal and even regulatory bodies like the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have begun adopting blockchain as a means of facilitating alternative methods for financial transactions. Of course, this was a long and arduous journey that would not have been possible without the help of early adopters who have not only provided financial resources to propel the industry but also the technical knowledge to create the robust infrastructure we see today.
One of these early adopters is Brad Yasar, the founder, and CEO of crypto advisory firm Beyond Enterprizes, which has built exchanges across four continents and partnered with more than 60 blockchain projects. By establishing the Blockchain Investors Consortium (BIC), Brad Yasar was able to participate in billion-dollar crowd sales and grow communities of investors intent on building a community of blockchain enterprises that aim to revolutionize the global fintech industry.
While growth prospects and returns on investment remain to be important measures of a project’s viability as an investment opportunity, Brad Yasar and his peers tend to lean more towards the way in which these projects contribute towards the advancement of blockchain as a full-fledged infrastructure that can provide better solutions that are inclusive and democratized.
“[Blockchain comes with] so much potential for sociopolitical inclusion, financial inclusion, and creating a successful infrastructure for our future,” he says.
“Blockchain will present so many future opportunities when we switch from cash to cryptocurrency,” he adds.
Opportunities in the making
With the great societal shifts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the chance to find and create new opportunities using blockchain has never been more pronounced. This view was reinforced during Brad Yasar’s presentation during the North American Bitcoin Conference 2020 (TNABC 2020), where he discussed blockchain’s potential to not only change the technological side of fintech but also the way in which we experience or interact with these financial products. During this presentation, he drew the example of using peer-to-peer financial arrangements for purchases made on e-commerce platforms or even car dealerships that would no longer require the need for an intermediary, the physical presence of stakeholders involved, or even geographical boundaries, given their cross-border nature.
These promising opportunities may explain Brad Yasar’s involvement in the projects he has invested in, including Polymath, a platform that allows users to issue and trade financial instruments through a blockchain, and Tezos Foundation, a platform that provides a protocol for assets and applications backed by an ecosystem of smart contracts. Through his involvement in these projects, he is not only investing in revolutionary ideas that may change the way users interact with digital finance, but he is also participating at the beginning of a transformation in the fintech sector. But why does he immerse himself in the idea of a fintech revolution?
“There are currently 2 billion people who do not have access to any kind of banking, and this to me is unacceptable,” he says.
For Brad Yasar, the democratization of finance through blockchain is not only a lucrative idea that could lead to higher returns for investors, but it could also offer a way to finally solve the problem of having an unbanked population that cannot access finance and thus is unable to participate in the today’s economy fully.
“In a way, many of the projects I’m involved in don’t just want to bring superficial conveniences for first-world consumers. They also seek to bring human development through the services they offer by making capital and banking services more accessible to those that mainstream banks have left behind,” he says.
“This way, we can encourage entrepreneurship and the opportunity for people to make economic prospects for themselves,” he adds.
The ‘Angel’ investor
The blockchain community is in constant flux, and no concept truly stays static for very long. Nonetheless, what Brad Yasar seeks to keep consistent is the move towards creating a financial system that is designed to truly meet the needs of users. Through Beyond Enterprizes, Brad seeks to stay ahead of the curve by building and implementing innovative technological solutions while helping others develop their visions for a more democratized financial future.
“As blockchain continues to penetrate the mainstream, I look forward to seeing all the possibilities and improvements that will come.”
