At the KBW event held in Seoul on the 8th, Kim Jong-hwan, CEO of Blocko and Seok Ho-cheol, CISO of Aergo had an interview. They talked about Blocko’s MSP / SAAS , IPO, CBDC, why they call AERGO Layer 1.5.
Mainnet Goal Beyond Argo Ethereum, Supporting Blockchain Adoption as SAAS
[Block Media Reporter Dongryok Choi] The demand for blockchain technology adoption by domestic and foreign companies continues to grow. Blocko is a blockchain technology company that provides blockchain adoption advice and application services for corporate customers. Based on the Argo mainnet, we support the adoption of blockchain technology by various companies.
Block Media had an interview with Blocko CEO Kim Jong-hwan (left) and Argo CISO Seok Ho-cheol (right) about “Corporate adoption of blockchain technology and NFT-based authentication system”. Blocko recently attracted an investment of 5 billion won from the Lotte Group.
At ‘KBW2022: IMPACT’ held in Seoul on the 8th, Blocko CEO Kim Jong-hwan delivered a vision of how personal data can be managed and utilized through NFT in the future under the title “NFT Badge: My Data Game Changer”.
Blocko CEO Jong-hwan Kim and Argo CISO Ho-cheol Seok expressed their ambition to make Argo a mainnet that surpasses Ethereum in the long term. The goal is to form a network necessary for actual business through cooperation with various companies, and to contribute to the activation of companies’ adoption of blockchain technology with SAAS services.
Q) Please give a brief introduction about the project.
Ho-cheol Seok, Argo CISO)
Argo is a kind of Layer 1 main project that has been preparing since 2019 and launched the mainnet. Recently, the project is progressing with the concept of layer 1.5. Layer 1.5 means to make it easy to connect with other layers. We are continuing our development with the goal of a technology that passes transactions with connectivity between networks.
Jonghwan Kim, CEO of Blocko)
Blocko and Argo are working together as technical partners. Recently, it has been actively working to expand its business, such as preparing for an IPO.
When we were founded in December 2014, even Ethereum did not yet exist in the blockchain and cryptocurrency markets. Initially, it started as a service called Coinstack, which develops services and applications related to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
However, watching the blockchain industry grow in various areas, I have seen companies spend astronomical SI costs for blockchain adoption. I thought there were a lot of inefficiencies in this area. Beyond the problem of efficiency, it was impossible to link the existing corporate DB with the Ethereum environment.
We determined that blockchain MSP (Managed Service Provider, a technology consulting provider such as technology consulting and transition, and system construction) companies could create a lot of value in this area. Currently, he is helping various companies and general developers to utilize blockchain technology in a variety of ways. In the long term, the goal is to become a mainnet that catches up with Ethereum.
Q) How is the actual application of the blockchain MSP service?
Kim Jong-hwan, CEO of Blocko)
The initial plan was to provide more efficient options to existing companies in terms of labor costs. It was decided to secure a diverse manpower pool and support it. Blockchain developers saw that they had marketability because they were so valuable.
However, for the actual blockchain development, at least one or two team leader-level blockchain developers were required for individual companies, and it was difficult for these services to produce meaningful results in the market.
So, the company’s recent direction has been set to SAAS (Software as a Service). It is a structure that uses the secured developer pool to develop the services required by the company and allows them to adopt this system. Beyond the simple cost reduction issue, companies that had previously had difficulty adopting such a system can easily adopt the blockchain system.
Ho- Chul Seok, Argo CISO)
You can think of it as a MSP (Managed Service Provider) provided by companies such as Bespin Global and Megazone in the blockchain area.
Q) Do you have any plans to collaborate with global platforms such as opening times?
Jonghwan Kim, CEO of Blocko)
Of course, if there is a related collaboration, we will consider it positively, but the platform company will not like a business like ours. We are, after all, because SAAS is our main business, and in a way, it is a company that allows any company to create existing platforms like OpenSea.
Rather than being tied to a specific company, the goal is to support the adoption of blockchain technology by existing companies in various areas. Currently, we have already cooperated with more than 70 companies.
Q) The government-led digital currency movement such as CBDC continues. Are there any plans to support this kind of government project?
Kim Jong-hwan, CEO of Blocko)
Currently, nothing is being considered, but we participated in the CBDC program in the past 19 years. Eventually, if countries start issuing CBDCs, a global system very similar to the current monetary structure will be created. We believe that the three currencies of Bitcoin, the dollar and the yuan will lead the global monetary system. There are limits to other monetary services.
Q) Recently, Ethereum has also been receiving a lot of attention, is it difficult for them too?
Jonghwan Kim, CEO of Blocko)
Yes. In fact, Ethereum considers Vitalik Buterin to be the biggest risk. Recently, some say, “Ethereum can continue without me”, but the fact that there is a subject who can say such a thing is itself a risk.
NFT-based certification, new value to the market … Innovative use of personal information possible
[Block Media Correspondent Choi Dong-nyeok] Block Media had an interview with Blocko CEO Kim Jong-hwan (left) and Argo CISO Seok Ho-cheol (right) about “Corporate adoption of blockchain technology and NFT-based authentication system”. Blocko recently attracted an investment of 5 billion won from the Lotte Group.
Blocko CEO Jong-hwan Kim and Argo CISO Ho-cheol Seok expressed their ambition to make Argo a mainnet that surpasses Ethereum in the long term. The goal is to form a network necessary for actual business through cooperation with various companies, and to contribute to the activation of companies’ adoption of blockchain technology with SAAS services.
Q) Recently, NFT-based authentication-related technologies such as Ethereum’s SBT and Hanwha’s NFT CV are emerging. I know that Blocko also provides such a service. Can domestic companies be competitive in this market?
Jonghwan Kim, CEO of Blocko)
Recently, many companies are showing interest in the blockchain-based authentication market. Since personal metadata must be included in such authentication-related NFTs, it cannot be free from policy issues. I think that companies that respond quickly to the relevant legislative process will be adopted by the market.
We have been doing block chain business in Korea for a long time, and have delivered opinions from the industry in various areas as well as promoting domestic issues and policies. Rather than creating a guard network in a private block chain, I think it has a competitive edge because it has secured a technology patent for uploading information to a public network and has continued research on various technologies.
Q) How do you see the future of the NFT-based authentication market?
Kim Jong-hwan, CEO of Blocko) In
the long run, it seems that an era will come when various personal information can be used as an evaluation basis. For example, more than 1 million influencers can now be verified through personal authentication NFT. In fact, the regulatory sandbox is now in the process of testing related technologies and collecting data.
When evaluating the credit of these people in the existing market, it would have been necessary to directly collect relevant information, but if NFT technology is applied, it is possible to evaluate their credit without this process. It is also possible to apply individual interest rates to DeFi or CiFi.
Q) Ultimately, market adoption is possible only when there is demand. Do you feel the demand for such authentication services in the existing market?
Jonghwan Kim, CEO of Blocko)
I think there is. Do 1 million YouTubers not have the ability to repay? Obviously, it was difficult to apply. The amount of information you can think of like this is really innumerable. If such an authentication service is established, the financial sector will also evaluate individual credit considering various aspects.
Although it was not reported as a personal information issue, there were times when companies such as marriage information companies asked for authenticated member information. It shows that our authentication data contains meaningful information.
Q) What is the sales structure in actual service operation?
Jonghwan Kim, CEO of Blocko)
Currently, general users can use it without a fee. Efforts are being made to secure MAU (Monthly active user) and advertisement data. It targets a variety of advertisements, and shows a very high click-through rate for advertisements compared to existing platforms. In the long term, we are planning a structure that allows data providers, Google and Facebook to do the work without any central platform.
Q) What will be the direction of NFT-related domestic policy?
Kim Jong-hwan, CEO of Blocko)
is expected to keep pace with global trends. As the International Anti-Money Laundering Organization (FATF) classifies NFTs as not virtual assets, this trend is likely to match. In particular, we do not deal with NFTs, which are classified as some virtual assets, and NFTs for investment and payment settlement purposes.