Eric: @G_Desa are you ready?
Gaurang: Yes sir, ready to go.
Eric: Let's start the AMA with Velo.org
Gaurang: cool
Eric: Welcome @G_Desa, can you please introduce yourself to the group.
Gaurang: Sure, I’ll start with a little background on the project and then post a little about myself:
Gaurang: If I were to give a one sentence description for the Velo Project, it would be “a federated collateralized credit exchange and settlement network”
Gaurang: We really are trying to ensure every aspect of the project touches on the entire messaging to settlement chain for value transfer
Gaurang: Velo Labs is building this unique network to be powered by the Velo Protocol — a blockchain financial protocol enabling digital credit issuance and borderless asset transfers for businesses using a smart contract system
Velo Labs’ wants to enable partners to safely and securely transfer value between each other as fast as possible. This is a common theme with other projects in the space, but we built the Velo Protocol specifically to ensure settlement by backing all transactions with collateral
To do this, the Velo Protocol enables its partners (called “Trusted Partners”) to issue digital credits backed by VELO via a smart contract layer, and it uses the Stellar Consensus Protocol to process and settle transactions rapidly
Multiple business use cases are tied to this system, including cross border remittance, lending, and trade finance to name a few
. . . . now little background on myself and then we can get into some more detailed questions . . .
I’ve been with the Velo Project for over a year and a half now, focusing on the aspects of the project related to use cases, economics, and fund flows.
Eric: nice. how did u discover crypto?
Gaurang: Well, around 3 years ago, I started getting into the entire concept of DLT and Bitcoin through a family member who was already involved in the space. I found the concepts to be pretty revolutionary.
Gaurang: Honestly, at the time I had a hard time figuring out how to on-ramp fiat for crypto, but eventually got up the steep learning curve, haha.
Eric: hehe. From which region or country is the VELO team at?
Gaurang: VELO founders are from Thailand, and much of the team is in Bangkok and Singapore
Eric: I keep reading about CP group. Can u tell us more about them and how they relate to VELO?
Gaurang: Having moved to Thailand 4 years ago, I saw firsthand the inefficiencies in the existing banking infrastructure, both in how it poorly served existing banking customers when it comes to cross border transactions and how it shuts out many of the migrant workers and small villages throughout the region.
So being here and being interested in DLT, I joined the firm. As for CP, their influence is huge in the region. More specifically, the CP Group is one of the largest conglomerates in the world. They have operations in over 20 countries and their annual turnover exceeds USD 60 Billion per year. They are also the sole operators of all the 7-Elevens in Thailand. So I was giving my time to CP even before joining Velo when I went to get a late-night snack at the local 7–11.
The CP Group’s relationship with Velo Labs is pretty straightforward. They are Velo Labs’ single largest investor. However, the connections run a little deeper than that. For instance, Velo Labs’ is founded by Mr. Chatchaval Jiaravanon, whose family owns the CP Group.
Mr. Jiaravanon — and truthfully, the entire Velo Labs management team — has many years of experience in the financial services industry. It is pretty rare to see someone of his stature enter the blockchain industry
Eric: Interesting. Seeing as how Velo is a holistic layer of defi protocols. it would not be a stretch to see it used by the CP group to make their operations leaner and more secure. in the future...
I just looked at the chart and it's at an all-time high, congrats!
Eric: What do you attribute to this price action @G_Desa
Gaurang: Yes, precisely a longer term goal of ours. Its only natural once we build out this network that it can be ported over to handle huge trade finance volume of multinationals . . . such as CP
We don’t speculate on price, but we have lofty goals and expectations for the VELO token and the Federated Credit Exchange Network. This is reflected in our decision to make the total supply of VELO tokens 30B. This large total supply is to future proof the system for the next decade. We are tackling a huge global market — the volumes in cross border remittance are near 1 trillion a year alone. Trade finance is even more than that, closer to 10 trillion. So, I can’t say I’m surprised with the progress thus far, and I’m sure this is only the beginning because we have such a strong fundamental use case and solid backing.
Eric: What is the state of the project right now? has it launched? what product milestones are coming up?
Gaurang: It has certainly been active several months leading up to listing! In terms of the next steps, we are expecting to finish our Dashboard, Wallet, and Mainnet by the end of the year. Then, in Q1 of 2021, we expect to see our Digital Credit Issuance system and Digital Reserve System. By Q2 of 2021, we expect to finish the Velo Decentralized Exchange and Velo OTC service.
start@cctip_bot
Eric: so what does the token do?
Gaurang: Business partners use VELO tokens as universal collateral in the Velo Network to be able to issue digital credits (usually pegged to local fiat currencies, which is an important feature when dealing with small countries in SE Asia for example) to then use to transact with any other business signed up to the system. So VELO tokens act as an entry ticket into the Ecosystem and as collateral for real transactions.
Eric: ok. so let's open the group to community questions. Please get ready everyone.
Community AMA
Q: What major issues does Velo Protocol solve in the blockchain space that makes the project unique?
Does Velo have any working products? How can users take advantage of the benefits it offers?
A: A lot of companies have tried or are trying to solve this remittance problem or cross border value transfer problem — there’s Ripple, Facebook with Libra, etc — but these solutions usually just focus on improving remittance’s messaging layer.
Other projects — specifically stable coins — have taken a stab at the settlement layer, but none have successfully solved the issue of how to create true trustless relationships in real-world settlement scenarios.
I believe there are three main reasons why all these other projects have struggled. Namely, they each suffer from at least one of the following: A lack of transparency; limited versatility; or Inadequate regulatory compliance.
With Velo, 1. We emphasize transparency by publicly recording all VELO token transactions and digital credit issuances to the blockchain
2. We emphasize versatility by being able to issue digital credits that correspond to any fiat current. We aren’t limited to a single fiat like USD. This is a big deal since we are aiming to skip the entire bridge currency step that adds high costs to transactions between smaller economies since most flows need to be converted to USD as a middle step
And 3. We emphasize regulatory compliance in the name of real-world adoption by requiring that individuals become Trusted Partners by completing a series of qualification audits and AML/KYC procedures before being able to issue digital credits.
Q: Judging from the Use cases and other financial solutions Velo offers, is it appropriate to say it’s trying to displace the current traditional finance system or compliment it?
A: Definitely complement. Velo Labs designed the Velo Protocol to help existing businesses and financial market participants. Not replace them.
If you only want to tear down existing structures and reinvent the wheel, you are going to struggle with adoption. This makes you vulnerable to collapse.
We are designing a system that takes advantage of blockchain technology while still adhering to the needs and requirements of existing businesses. I believe this paves the way for mainstream adoption and mass utilization. Mass adoption is really the angle we are going for, and that means being able to work with all types of institutions.
Q: According to crypto market capitalization aggregators, there are more than 5K cryptocurrencies in existence today. And I feel 70% of them have no utility, So can you tell me 3 good reasons that your project is here for the long run and have a real utility that will increase demand of token in future?
A: We are focusing on real-world adoption via real-world use cases and are focused on fix the issues in the current system Velo Labs is fortunate to have a strong and growing group of business partners. Many of our partners are in the financial industry so the immediate use case and pain points Velo solves are clear right away. If we’re doing things right, end-users shouldn’t notice any changes other than a more efficient way to handle transactions. Our goal is to make life easier with faster transactions, lesser fees, and more convenience. VELO is the collateral backing the digital credits issues and used in the system. The demand for this collateral asset grows proportionally to the amount of transaction volume in the system. So growing the network and participation is the only path to success and path to improve the system.
Q: Explain more about your partnership with TERRA. What other partnerships are we looking forward to?
A: Yes! Velo Labs recently entered into a partnership with Terra to explore stablecoin swap opportunities using Velo’s federated credit exchange network.
Terra will integrate with Velo to use blockchain tech in cross-border payments in Asia and globally. Also providing payment solutions serving small and medium-sized businesses and international travelers in South Korea.
On future partnerships: the team is always expanding our network and will always be searching for synergistic partners.
Q: Why did you choose to run Velo on the Stellar blockchain? What exciting features does Stellar provide to help Velo development?
A: Good question and the answer will be a bit long, but bear with me.
Stellar has several advantages that make it an ideal platform on which to issue the VELO token. First, it is open source and interoperable, which provides for an inclusive community, as well as better outcomes in areas like discoverability, maintainability, adoption, innovation, and quality.
Second, Stellar is cheap to use. With Stellar, we can conduct 100,000 transactions for only about a dollar. As mentioned, the transaction volume we aim to process is based on trillion-dollar flows, so we need a network like Stellar that will allow us to scale up and accommodate our mass-scale service needs.
Third, Stellar enjoys a strong ecosystem of anchors that gives us access to a wide range of corridors for cross-border payments. We aim to build much more onto this ecosystem, but being able to immediately leverage this existing network has the potential to help cut the operational costs of holding pre-funded accounts around the world.
Lastly, from more a less technical standpoint, Stellar — and their co-founded Jed McCaleb — has a similar core philosophy aligned with Velo Labs mission to provide financial services to the unbanked and underbanked populations of the world. Jed has actually been helping with Velo Labs since the start of the project.
Q: What are your plans to expand out of the SE Asia market and how will you compete with companies like PayPal?
A: Due to our company background and competitive advantages, it’s natural we’re starting with the Southeast Asian market. The SEA region alone has a population of over 650M and tens of millions of migrant workers.
Expanding to a global ecosystem is absolutely in Velo’s plans. Our model can excel with almost any business or currency. To put it simply in comparison to companies such as PayPal: Velo can do it faster, cheaper, and with more transparency.
In the plans are many global strategic partnerships within the blockchain and traditional finance that we plan to fully leverage to reach our end goals. You will hear more about these in the coming months.
Q: I am an investor, so besides trusting in the VELO project, I also want to make a profit so what is the marketing strategy of VELO to attract investors and expand the market?
A: In the short-term, I think our strategy is clear with all these AMAs! We need to spread the word about Velo Labs to people who aren’t yet familiar with us.
We are also putting efforts into improving our branding by increasing the quality and quantity of our output. This means more interesting articles, videos, partner endorsements, just to name a few. We’ve also ramped up our co-marketing efforts recently. You may have seen our recent announcements with Band Protocol, Matrixport, and Terra. You can expect more of these kinds of announcements moving forward.
Finally, we will continue to grow our social media presence, and do our best to keep our communities engaged.
I can also add that, behind the scenes, there are lots of 2B efforts happening as well. The immediate impact of these might not be seen every day by the end-user, but these efforts are incredibly important.
Q: Hello sir, Who is your investor? How do you generate revenue to sustain the project? What are your goals for the end of 2020 and beyond?
A: Velo Labs has some of the best backers in the industry, led by the CP Group. These investors have allowed Velo Labs to raise enough funds to operate for many years. That being said, we are certainly aware that generating revenue will be key to the long-term sustainability of the project. At this point, we are also well prepared. When a partner uses the Velo Protocol to issue digital credits, Velo Labs will collect a fee. These will be small on a per-transaction basis but will add up once we scale the network up to our target volumes.
Q: Which projects in the blockchain market INTIMIDATE you that can surpass $VELO? –What does community mean to you? Do you plan to engage the community in the progress of $VELO?
A: There really are no projects that intimidate us. Like I mentioned earlier, Velo is aiming to work with institutions and businesses of all sizes, both new and old. New and interesting projects are welcome and we will most likely seek to work with them if possible. The digital asset market is in its infancy, there are decades of growth left before we come anywhere close to market maturity and saturation.
As for the community, we are constantly working on expanding Velo to reach its global potential one step at a time. At the same time developing many technologies to do that. We appreciate any insights or suggestions from our communities along this path. We ask those who are interested to try to learn more about Velo Labs and understand it. And to continuously provide feedback to us! All good projects are a collaboration of many minds, and an engaged community is one of the most telling signs that a project will succeed and grow.
Q: There have been criticisms of projects with a utility token, it is often claimed that the token is only there to raise money. Does the #VELO token have real added value?
A: The VELO token absolutely has real added value. In fact, there could be no Velo Protocol and Federated Credit Exchange Network without the VELO token.
VELO tokens must be locked (posted in financial terms) in order to issue stablecoin pegged to any fiat currency using the Velo Protocol. In other words, the VELO token is the catalyst for the Velo Protocol’s Digital Credit Issuance Mechanism.
VELO tokens are also used to ensure a stable 1:1 value ratio between the issued digital credits and the related fiat current. This happens with the Velo Protocol’s Digital Reserve System, or DRS. The DRS automatically rebalances the quantity of VELO tokens backing the issued digital credits as the price of VELO fluctuates in the open market.
Finally, VELO tokens act as universal bridge collateral for the entire Federated Credit Exchange Network. VELO tokens therefore back every digital credit transaction and guarantee settlement!
Closing Remarks
Eric: Okay. Great exploration of Velo. @G_Desa can u invite everyone to ur official channels?
And share where they can buy the token, please.
Gaurang: Sure thing Eric. First thanks for hosting, I had a lot of fun answering these great questions. Secondly, VELO is currently trading on KuCoin and we have plans for most listings in the near future. Lastly, please follow more news on the Velo Project at the following links:
To keep up with the latest Velo Labs news, please follow our official channels:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/veloprotocol
Medium: https://medium.com/veloprotocol
Telegram: https://t.me/veloprotocol
Unofficial: http://t.me/velounofficial
Gaurang, [28 Oct 2020 at 10:03:27 PM]:
Thanks again, everyone!
