Cryptocurrency

Shaping the Future of Digital Economy with Blockchain: Interview with the CEO of Tokocrypto

With the rise of blockchain-based applications built on Web 3.0, humanity is striving to tackle the most pressing challenges of the data-driven economy. The question of the reliability of information records has long posed a concern for society; away from the reality of everyday life, where each citizen is required to obtain a Covid-19 Green Pass containing a unique QR code, the black market of document forgery and paid falsification is growing. The cases of personal data leakage on the internet space are also not exclusive: Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica Scandal is one of the most illustrious past cases that has left its deep footprint on the history of data privacy violations. That naturally prompts the industry to come up with novel solutions to the problem; and blockchain, by achieving a high standard of technological advancement through data encryption and distributed ledger foundation, seems to be giving an appropriate answer.

Tokocrypto leveraged the power of this cutting-edge technology to come up with what is now the front-running crypto exchange platform in Indonesia. By participating in the discourse with industry experts at The Kripto Odyssey (T.K.O) Summit 2021, one of the most prominent events in the space, it raised the question of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and the role of blockchain in directing this trend mass-scale. While bringing to public awareness the huge storage of possibilities stored within the network, Tokocrypto also presented its development roadmap for Toko Token (TKO), the platform’s core asset which plays an instrumental role within the Tokocrypto’s Metaverse ecosystem. By effectively addressing the industry’s challenges through facilitating the transition from DeFi 1.0 to DeFi 2.0, the platform pushes the whole economy beyond the realm of conventional to explore new horizons beyond the physical domain.

In an attempt to gain a deeper insight on the topic, I joined the CEO of Tokocrypto for an open conversation on the future of the digital economy.

Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Let’s start with the first question: how can Tokocrypto be characterised to anyone who has never heard about your platform? 

Tokocrypto is Indonesia’s no. 1 most trusted crypto assets digital exchange. We are the first entity in Indonesia to be registered under the Trade and Futures Exchange Ministry (BAPPEBTI).  Established in late 2017, Tokocrypto recently joined hands with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, to upgrade our platform to Tokocrypto v2.0 with the latest technology and security. This will allow our users to create their own alternative finance in an efficient, transparent and scalable manner with industry-grade security and liquidity. Tokocrypto is also a hub for education and news on blockchain technology through close collaboration with Southeast Asian blockchain communities, universities, the public, and the Indonesian government

At Tokocrypto, we pride ourselves as the most trusted platform in the region. Tokocrypto’s attitude when it comes to this is to adopt a no holds barred approach when it comes to minimizing the operational risks of our systemic networks in terms of its vulnerability to hackings. In terms of the steps which we have taken, Tokocrypto has commissioned blockchain security form Certik to conduct annual audits of our network whereby the latest audit report by Certik which is dated 31 March 2021 is accessible at https://certik-public-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/Tokocrypto-Token-CertiK-Final-Report-For-Tokocrypto.pdf

Additionally, our data information system is ISO 27001 certified whereas our cloud management system is ISO 27017 certified which is a first for a crypto exchange in Indonesia thereby offering utmost protection for the data privacy and safeguard the investments of our 2+ million registered users. 

What is your role as CEO in taking the project off the ground? What served as your inspiration for building the vision for Tokocrypto?

The genesis of Tokocrypto can be traced to what is colloquially known as Kimchi premium or as the Indonesians call it, rendang premium. Kimchi premium essentially refers to the difference in the trading price of crypto assets on South Korean exchanges as compared to foreign exchanges thereby resulting in there being market inefficiencies which in turn brings about arbitrage opportunities. The idea of starting Tokocrypto is rooted in the objective of providing Indonesians with access to the best trading price for crypto assets. 

As for why I chose Indonesia even though cryptocurrency was not so common in Indonesia or even Southeast Asia back in 2018, its because I recognized the potential for cryptocurrency as a financial bridging mechanism to connect the 180+ million unbanked Indonesians from across the 17,000+ islands in the country whereby the realization of cryptocurrency’s potential is made possible by the Indonesian government’s digital transformation agenda which has already borne fruit with the number of Indonesians having access to internet connectivity standing at 192.5 million as of 2020 whereby this is the highest in Southeast Asia.

What are the core principles on which the proposition of Tokocrypto rests? What makes it stand out from the rest of the market?

With around 66% of the population in Indonesia being unbanked (~180 million people out of 275 million population), there is certainly much opportunity for crypto to tap into in Indonesia. Unlike conventional financial institutions whose services are constrained to a certain extent by physical limitations, crypto-based financial services are available in a fully remote manner. In the context of Indonesia which has a sprawling geography, crypto-based financial services are a Godsend for the unbanked as these services are accessible by Indonesians from all four corners of the archipelago as long as they have a smartphone with internet connectivity whereby this is not too much of an issue with Indonesia’s smartphone ownership and internet connectivity rates standing at 67% and 70% respectively.

Fair to say, Indonesia has all the requisite conditions to support the wide use and adoption of cryptocurrencies. From its high unbanked population to the government’s digital transformation agenda which has bolstered the country’s smartphone ownership and internet connectivity rates, the societal context and infrastructure support renders the prevalent conditions in Indonesia ripe for the rise of the crypto revolution in the country. Long story short, crypto-based financial services are more efficient than conventional financial services in Indonesia because more Indonesians own a smartphone with internet connectivity than bank accounts.

Please, tell me more about your participation in the Kripto Odyssey (T.K.O) Summit 2021. Why has this conference been chosen to unveil your White Paper to the public? 

The fragmentation in the crypto space across Asian region is largely due to a diverse industry and local regulatory landscapes. Tokocrypto aims to lead crypto initiatives across the region by bringing together trusted local crypto communities and enthusiasts in a quarterly event which acts as a knowledge sharing platform. The first TKO Summit was held in July 2021, and now the most recent on in December 2021. 

We see TKO Summit as a part of our transparency in communicating the most recent and thorough updates of our activities to our hodlers, our education efforts to crypto enthusiasts and even beyond, as well as to keep the community together, by listening to their aspirations through our event activations, quizzes, surveys, and more. 

Another central topic is the launch of Toko Token (TKO), your platform’s native asset. What are the core benefits of holding TKO, and how is it going to be distributed among the community?

For TKO’s tokenomics, Tokocrypto has devised a comprehensive token release framework which entails the staggered distribution of TKO as part of our efforts to control the supply and demand dynamics of TKO as well as to maintain the market liquidity levels of the token. Additionally, the tokenomics of TKO have incorporated the quarterly TKO Burn feature through which every quarter, Tokocrypto will utilize a portion of the trading volume generated on our crypto-to-crypto platform to burn TKOs whereby the amount of TKO burnt may go up to 10% of the total supply of TKO. For more information ,you may refer to TKO’s whitepaper which is accessible at: https://tko.tokoscape.com/files/TKO_Whitepaper_V3_Q4_2021.pdf?utm_source=TKOLandingPage&utm_medium=textlink&utm_campaign=TKO_Launch

With regard to TKO’s roadmap, if everything goes according to plan, TKO would be entering into its product finalization phase by the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022 after which the token would encompass a holistic umbrella of centralized finance (CeFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) products, backed by Tokocrypto’s mobile app and ecosystem. As for our referral program, Tokocrypto users who refer new users to our exchange would be rewarded with TKOs though this is only available for Indonesians.

Tokocrypto will be taking things to the next level in the future in terms of the governance of the ecosystem by inviting the Toko community to channel their voice through the concept of decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) as embodied in the form of TKO DAO. This would enable members of the community to have a say when it comes to the development path of the token. 

In essence, TKO DAO would allow members of the Toko community to participate and vote in regards to the development of the Tokoverse. In this manner, TKO DAO would effectively be putting into action cryptocurrency’s democratization ideals, while empowering members of the Toko community who have supported TKO all the way.

Speaking about the crypto industry – what fundamental changes should we expect to observe with the transition from DeFi 1.0 to DeFi 2.0? And what are the core advantages of the latter over the former?

It’s pretty obvious that DeFi 2.0 would absolutely shake the blockchain world. The implication of having DeFis living on up and coming chains such as Avalanche or Solana to name a few, is diversification. Of course the benefits are real, from the gas fees, speed, UI/UX and more, but the wider implication is that the growth of DeFi 2.0 gives builders of blockchain the “green light” to further innovate, it confirms a certain level of agility the industry possesses in adopting technological adjustments that are becoming better and better. Ultimately, this means that the blockchain landscape will grow, adapt, and answer to whatever challenges that we are facing today, or in the future.

Overall, how does blockchain contribute to the speed of technological advancement? Especially, what role will be given to it within the new concept of Metaverse?

In line with the Metaverse mega trend which has taken over the crypto domain by storm, and even beyond, Tokoverse will be launching its own Metaverse, which would incorporate a host initiatives driven by partnerships involving the deployment of the play-to earn mechanism which would allow users to stake over 10,000 pieces of NFT we are in the process of creating, breed them, play them in the Metaverse, and earn crypto by doing so, adopting the play and earn mechanism. 

With NFTs being the intermediary instrument which serves as the connectivity link that transforms the video games universe from one which previously only existed as a virtual reality into a hybrid crossover dimension which has financial significance in the real world, TokoMall will have a central role to play in our upcoming Tokocrypto Metaverse which is set to be a game-changer for the video games universe. It’s clear how blockchain will further propels the growth of the Metaverse, at this stage it’s NFT, but how is it going to be in the next 5 years? Only time will tell, seeing how quick the blockchain world evolve and contributes to diverse technological landscapes. 

Could you break down the composition of Tokoverse, your own crypto universe? What strategy of growth does it use?

In line with the rise and rise of cryptocurrencies, the number of people who deal with these currencies is increasing with every passing day as aptly illustrated by the fact that the number of crypto investors in Indonesia had in June 2021 surpassed that of stock market investors in the country. In many ways, this trend is very much a global one as cryptocurrency edges ever closer to becoming a mainstream financial option whereby the coming to the fore of cryptocurrency has led to the sprouting of various domains such as those of DeFi, GameFi and NFT. Tokoverse Strategy – Future Development It is in this context that Tokoverse stands out as a crypto-based ecosystem which harnesses the synergistic combination of the domains of DeFi, GameFi and NFT to offer TKO holders a holistic and all-encompassing experience through the ecosystem’s comprehensive suite of services which can be acquired in exchange for TKOs. Moving forward, as Tokoverse continues to grow and the number of TKO users increase in tandem with it, the intrinsic value of both the ecosystem and the token is set to rise in line with theory of network effects thereby rendering Tokoverse to be an industry-leading epitome of the infinite potential of cryptocurrency.

As the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds are increasingly fading away in tandem with the emergence of concepts such as Mixed Reality (MR) which blends together the two worlds to create an alternate dimension in which physical and digital objects can co-exist in an interoperable manner, TKO will be leading the way for the crypto domain when it comes to bridging the physical and digital worlds to facilitate the creation of the MR alternate dimension. With the advent of 5G technology rendering the dawn of the era of Internet of Things (IoT) to be a plausible reality, the next ideological leap is the embracing of IoT’s sub-concept of Internet of Bodies (IoB) whereby the use of wearable bionics could eventually lead to the amalgamation of our minds and body to be one with the MR alternate dimension which for a true-blue TKO user would take the form of Tokoverse. Through the role of TKO as the key which unlocks the door to Tokoverse as a crypto-based MR alternate dimension, Tokocrypto is effectively making use of the innate potential of cryptocurrency to fulfil the fundamental purpose of all technologies which is to improve quality of lives by making complex life-enriching functionalities simple to use. Indeed, cryptocurrency offers an endless array of possibilities for merging the physical and digital worlds whereby TKO as a future-proof utility token would be embracing the future by building it.

What are the partnerships that play an instrumental role in the upscaling and development of Tokocrypto? 

We seek to bridge the digital to the physical world via blockchain, and at the adoption stage we are in, it’s critical to continuously seek to collaborate with diverse stakeholders. One of the most recent integration we have is with shopping.io, this partnership further propels TKO as a token that powers up not just its ecosystem, but also our daily life. Toko Token has also partnered with Djakarta Warehouse Project, one of Indonesia’s biggest music festival, and ASRI, Indonesia’s leading property developer, to name a few

Finally, what are the upcoming projects we may anticipate from Tokocrypto? And what are your plans for the forthcoming 2022?

Bringing TokoVerse come to life will be what’s coming in 2022, this will involve a collective effort from our diverse team as well as our collaboration partners, and I’m very very excited about how TokoVerse will really reshape how the blockchain landscape is perceived in the region.

But if asked what’s gonna come in the nearest future, that will be the launch of T-Hub. Up till now the crypto domain has always only existed somewhere in the digital skies but all this is set to change with T-HUB which will be a ground-breaking crypto community center in the picturesque island of Bali in Indonesia that will allow members of the crypto world to gather and share technical knowledge and expertise as well as champion new ideas. The choice of Bali was made on the basis that it is an internationally  accessible location thereby enabling anyone who wishes to discuss, brainstorm, build, create, improve, or just simply live the crypto lifestyle to do so by visiting T-Hub.

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