Dario Scarcella
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Blockchain: No More Wild West
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Giulia Magnani London 09/07/2018
The word Blockchain seems to have become a recurring element in our recent lives: we read about it in different news sources, it appears on our social media feeds and we constantly hear about it in everyday conversations.
We spoke to Dario Scarcella, founder and CEO of Capexmove. He told us about how he is using Blockchain technology to revolutionise the way individuals and companies carry out loans. What is Blockchain technology and why is it generating such vivid hype? The first Blockchain was developed in 2008 by an individual that goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, even though the actual identity of its creator/s remains unknown to this day. It was born with the purpose of powering Bitcoin, the world’s first and most popular cryptocurrency. As it gained popularity, it is now being implemented across a huge variety of different fields, such as finance, law, and also in governmental organisations. Blockchain is a decentralised and growing record of information, controlled and managed by a peer-to-peer network, which lies on the principles of transparency and authentication. Some claim it has become the most disruptive technology in the 21st century following the rise of the internet, and it has the power to completely revolutionise the way we interact with one another. Dario has told us how Capexmove has made use of this technology to change the way individuals and companies lend and borrow from one another. The story behind Capexmove After having completed a Masters in Finance at Tilburg University, in the Netherlands, Dario worked in Amsterdam in an investment fund for a period of time, during which he continued to build up a personal interest in blockchain technology and the use of cryptocurrencies. He realized that a common problem many faced was the fact that a large number of individuals and entities are in possession of vast amounts of crypto wealth but do not desire to liquidate it. The solution to this issue came to him after participating in a hackathon in London in 2017, where he met the founding members of their future company, Capexmove. Capexmove’s goal is to help companies and individuals to fulfil their potential with better access to capital. As Dario explains, Capexmove is a marketplace for tokenized loans that takes place along the Ethereum blockchain. Through the Capexmove platform, any entity or individual can either request or issue a crypto-backed loan. Borrowers use the value of their cryptocurrency assets in order to access liquidity, whereas lenders can benefit from the interest on the cryptocurrency lent. Loans are all managed through smart contracts. Capexmove is a completely new and innovative product and its main goal is that to provide owners of crypto assets a way for them to leverage their value without being forced to sell them. Dario has showed us one of the ways the blockchain technology can be implemented and be beneficial in solving a common difficulty. As a firm believer of the power of blockchain Dario advises anyone who is interested in entering the sector to read into the huge amount of resources available on the matter, as well as follow the different courses that are offered. Debt tokenisation is Capexmove’s unique selling point, which has surely helped Dario and his team to attract interest and move quickly forward with their project. In fact, just recently, they’ve been selected for testing their platform in the FCA’s regulatory sandbox. Dario aims to take Capexmove to the next level with their first funding round to be completed by December 2018. In the short term, the platform will be rolled out in the UK first, and subsequently across the rest of Europe. With blockchain’s Wild West period in 2017, The Fintech Times expects 2018 to be the beginning of blockchain’s true realisation and legitimisation. Like with every service, the adoption rate and evolution shows its true capability. Although Capexmove is a new player in the industry, it is offering a service that can bridge the current gap between owning crypto and traditional assets. |