Your Questions, Our Answers.
Beyond Protocol CEO Jonathan Manzi linked up with BTS Labs for our first official AMA — here’s the transcript:
BTS Labs: Hello Jonathan, welcome to the BTS Labs community! It’s nice to meet you. Could you briefly introduce yourself and Beyond Protocol for us?
Jonathan: Hello, everyone. I’m Jonathan, Co-Founder and CEO of Beyond Protocol. Beyond Protocol is a stealth-mode distributed ledger technology project based in Silicon Valley. The project was started in 2018 by Stanford engineers and technology executives to provide a platform for device security, coordination, and communication — a new internet for devices.
BTS Labs: Why do you want to enter China’s blockchain market?
Jonathan: Beyond Protocol has developed [IoT blockchain] technology, which makes devices probabilistically impossible to hack. With security as a given, Beyond Protocol allows us to feel comfortable opening up our devices for collaboration. Using them like threads of yarn, the dreamers among us can weave together inventions we would have not otherwise thought to conceive.
From the smart phone — a camera, a touch screen, GPS, an internet connection — applications were built which revolutionized entire industries. Uber and Instagram being two well-known examples of this form of innovation. From Beyond Protocol, mega applications can be engineered on top of any combination of IoT devices — from smart pills to satellites. Imagine a smart smoke alarm paying a drone to put out a fire, and the drone making micropayments to weather towers along the way to determine the best route. Beyond Protocol sets out to be the ethical language of machines.
China is a world leader in frontier technology. From R&D to manufacturing, from innovation to capital, China plays an integral role in Beyond Protocol’s vision to create a universal language for node-to-node communication and value transfer.
BTS Labs: There are many blockchain projects working on combining IoT and blockchain technology — why should we choose Beyond Protocol?
Jonathan: After over a year of R&D, in early 2019, the Beyond Protocol team put forth the first iterations of its novel technology to a handful of partners. The technology allows its partners, with one line of code, to 1. enable secure message brokering between devices through hardware signatures, and 2. equip devices with a cryptocurrency-based payment gateway. At present, there are no out-of-box solutions for either capability.
Beyond seeks to build real, practical solutions for device security and payments from consumers to devices, and soon, within an economy of devices. We envision a future where good triumphs over evil, and technology can work for us to create an exponentially safer and more beautiful world.
BTS Labs: Are you planning an ICO? How can I buy Beyond tokens?
Jonathan: To fund our project, and to seed our cryptocurrency, Beyond will sell its native token from time-to-time ahead of a public listing. To date, Beyond has sold 4.96% of its token supply to project backers and allocated 6.07% to advisers. At out most recent Private Sale pricing, the Beyond Protocol market capitalization is currently $100,000,000.
We have sold tokens to-date in a private presale to parties who we believe can help advance our project as partners.
BTS Labs: When will you launch publicly?
Jonathan: Beyond is mostly in “stealth-mode” for the time being. We plan to unveil key partnerships in Q3 2021 ahead of a token generation event (TGE).
BTS Labs: Who are your key advisors?
Jonathan: Some of our advisors include:
- Anoop Nannra (Global Blockchain Practice Leader at Amazon; Formerly Global Head of Blockchain, Cisco)
- Stephen DiFranco (Former SVP/GM of IoT, Broadcom)
- Brian Forde (Sr. White House Advisor to President Obama; Co-Founder of Digital Media Initiative, MIT Media Lab)
- Greg Silverman (Co-Founder/CEO of Stampede Ventures; Formerly President, Warner Bros.)
- Brian Weinstein (President/COO, Bad Robot)
- Peter Boni (Managing Principal, Kedgeway)
Community Q&A:
BTS Labs Community: What is the consensus mechanism of Beyond Protocol?
Jonathan: Beyond Protocol utilizes a case-dependent, heterogeneous, multi-chain framework.
This is a novel approach to distributed ledger technology, which involves connecting a hierarchy of secondary chains on top of the Beyond Protocol core consensus. This allows for a unique consensus methodology per use case.
Our Technical Overview presentation can be found here: https://docsend.com/view/gpx7jnn
BTS Labs Community: What is Beyond Protocol’s long-term vision, and what benefits can your company goals bring to end-users?
Jonathan: Beyond seeks to build real, practical solutions for device security and payments from consumers to devices — and soon, within an economy of devices. Beyond envisions a future where good triumphs over evil, and technology can work to create an exponentially more safe and more beautiful world.
BTS Labs Community: What are the biggest obstacles you’re facing at this moment? How will you overcome them?
Jonathan: Not enough time for sleep, and coffee! [laughs]
