SWISS BLOCKCHAIN STARTUP NEWCOMERS 2018 MARKET …...decentralized payment protocol & ecosystem....

Copyright © 2018 BlockNovum. All rights reserved.

NOVEMBER 2018

SWISS BLOCKCHAIN STARTUP NEWCOMERS 2018

MARKET SCREENING & ASSESSMENT

BLOCKCHAIN & CRYPTOASSET

INVESTMENT RESEARCH

Copyright © 2018 BlockNovum. All rights reserved. 2

BLOCKNOVUM’S STARTUP NETWORK AND RESEARCH CAPABILITIES LET USKEEP TRACK OF THE NEWEST PROJECTS

MARKET SCREENING – METHODOLOGY

DEFINITION OF

RESEARCH UNIVERSE

BLOCKNOVUM DEALFLOW &

STARTUP OVERVIEW

STARTUP NEWCOMER

MAP

NEWCOMERS

• Project founded in 2018,

or

• Initial funding (VC, ICO,

or similar) secured in 2018,

or

• Visible initial traction in

2018 (e.g. beta release)

BLOCKCHAIN

FOCUS

• Usage of blockchain

technology, or

• Service providers for the

blockchain ecosystem, or

• Manufacturer of hardware

products / blockchain

infrastructure

SWITZERLAND

BASED

• Founded and operational

in Switzerland, or

• Headquarter based in

Switzerland, or

• ICO according to Swiss

regulation

Network of Founders

Engagement in Community &

Reputation

Research Capabilities

• Wide network of great

founders →

Introductions

• Attending relevant

events, meetups,

pitches

• Online Research

• BlockNovum Startup

Database

• Screening of startups

at conferences, co-

working spaces,…

• BlockNovum’s public research reports provide

exposure for startups → Attracts dealflow

• Reputation as a high quality institutional-grade

research provider

106 Projects identified

Focus of this report:


MARKET SCREENING OF 106 PROJECTSSWISS BLOCKCHAIN NEWCOMERS 2018 – PART 2

TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE

FINANCIAL

OR

GA

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ION

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PERSONAL USE

RE

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IL &

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INM

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→ Download part 1 here

https://blocknovum.com/market-screening-of-swiss-blockchain-startup-newcomers-in-2018/


SELECTION OF 10 HIGH POTENTIAL PROJECTSSWISS BLOCKCHAIN NEWCOMERS 2018 – PART 2

TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE

FINANCIAL

OR

GA

NIZ

AT

ION

AL

PERSONAL USE

RE

TA

IL &

EN

TE

RTA

INM

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T


→ Download part 1 here

TOP 10

https://blocknovum.com/market-screening-of-swiss-blockchain-startup-newcomers-in-2018/


HIGH-LEVEL ASSESSMENT OF ALL 106 COMPANIES BASED ON 4 CRITERIA TO SELECT 10 HIGH QUALITY STARTUPS

SELECTION OF TOP PROJECTS

SELECTION CRITERIA

(100% Independence 1)) Business model and product

➢ Innovative solution for which BlockNovum projects high market demand

➢ Promising business model to generate returns

Traction and continuous progress

➢ Trackable progress via Beta release, MVP, regular community updates

➢ Project managed to win relevant partnerships, clients, or awards

2Quality of founders and team

➢ Professional background, experience,

academics, personal assessment

Eligibility for early stage investments

➢ Company is looking to raise capital via Seed /

VC funding or Token Sale

1

3 4

Note: 1) BlockNovum’s assessment’s are fully independent of the researched startups. No remuneration was received for this listing. The selection was solely based on the quality of the projects.


HIGH-LEVEL REVIEW OF 5 SELECTED BLOCKCHAIN PROJECTSFINANCE STARTUPS

Company

Note: Illustration of long-listed startup profiles. Profiles for other startups in this report are also available on demand. Long & Short-list assessment criteria can be customized by client request.

Description

Leva is reinventing private equity (PE) through

automation. Their solution makes transactions

more efficient and gives PE funds a simpler way to

set-up smart investment syndicates and funds.

Through Leva investors get unprecedented access

to PE and can better diversify their portfolio with

PE assets. MVP developed and tested.

Oakura supports early stage ventures through its

decentralized access to capital and business

expertise. With a marketplace built on the

blockchain, Oakura uniquely aligns the incentives

of startup ecosystem stakeholders by paying

service providers (investors, industry & technology

experts) with OAK, representing startup equity.

Payment gateway solution that supports

subscription payments via smart contracts.

Enables subscription payment functionality for

cryptocurrencies to be used for established

services, such as Netflix or Spotify. Automatic

conversion to fiat currency for merchants without

volatility risk. Working product is live.

A$H is an investment app targeting millennial retail

investors. It enables mobile investments in digital

assets and offers social features. This includes

investing /following other users, gamification, and

user content. The app runs on the Melon protocol,

a decentralized fund management system.

Monetization via usage fees & paid content.

The BlockState infrastructure platform is a stack of

software and legal modules that automate

resource-intensive investment banking

processes like the issuance of products, valuation

and custody of assets, clearing & settlement. The

platform reduces costs by eliminating

intermediaries and reducing complexity. Initial

product: Dept capital platform & ETN (CTF15).

Use Case /

Market

• Private equity

market place

• Smart syndicates

and smart funds

• Tokenized private

equity investments

• Startup ecosystem

& marketplace

• Access to early-

stage investments,

and startup

service providers

• Decentralized

subscription

payments with

cryptocurrency

• Digital asset

investment app for

millennial retail

investors

• Blockchain

infrastructure for

financial

institutions (IB)

Team

• Strong entrepreneurial

team with background

in PE & Blockchain

• Founded company with

2x million revenue

• Experience at Partners

Group & Google

• Founders with strong

academic background

(ETH, UZH, MIT)

• 5 team members

• Startup experience at

Teralytics / led 25M

revenue business

• 3 team members

• CEO with successful

entrepreneurial

experience

• Strong technical skills

• 9 team members

• Melonport founders as

advisors

• Diverse professional

backgrounds

• ~10 team members

• Founding team

consists of serial

entrepreneurs with

financial market

experience

• Strong advisory team

Stage /

Investors

• Seed investors: Family

office and notable

private investors

• Start-up founded in 2018

• Winner Global CEMS

Start-up Challenge

• Seed Investment stage

• Startup founded in 2018

• ETH grant awarded

• Details regarding OAK

token tbd


• Founded in May 2018

• Winner of the Crypto

Valley Summit

competition in Nov 2018


• Pre-sale and ICO

cancelled due to switch

to MLN token

• Token Minting in 2019

• Beta version in Q1 2019


• Selected for F10

accelerator program

• Debt capital platform

alpha product release

and CTF15 approval

Cryptoasset

• Leva offers equity

investment

• Potentially a token

sale will be done

Token TBD

• Asset-backed startup

currency

• Represents startup

equity & is used to pay

for services

Security Token (OAK)

• Ambrpay does not

issue a token

No Token

• Leverage of Melonport

Token (MLN)

• Project built on Melon

protocol and usage of

MLN for gas payment

Utility Token (MLN)

• Equity Token was

planned via Neufund.

Might be replaced with

VC funding.

Token TBD

Category

Payment

Syndicate

Investments

Private Equity

Smart Fund

E-Commerce

Investments

Venture Capital

Tokenized

Assets

Investments

Asset

Management

Infrastructure

Investment

Banking

Tokenized

Assets

Social

Leva has achieved a proof of

concept with their working

prototype. Visionary team with

focus on implementation. Leva is

chasing a large market

opportunity with strong partners to

disrupt the Private Equity industry.

High quality founding team, with

prior startup experience and

strong academic background /

technical skills. Startup

marketplace incl. token is

promising use case if right

partnerships can be formed.

Functioning product that initially

serves a niche market, but could

attract attention of large players.

Team with technical expertise

that delivers results. Integration

with more cryptos (stablecoins)

could boost usage.

Big market opportunity for a

digital asset investment app that

targets millennials with

gamification features. Integration

with Melon protocol and using the

MLN token is innovative and

gives access to ecosystem.

BlockState tackles a big market

opportunity where DLT can

reduce inefficiencies in the

financial service sector and cut

cost by $20B until 2022. Strong

founding team and traction with

upcoming ETN.

Point of View


HIGH-LEVEL REVIEW OF 5 SELECTED BLOCKCHAIN PROJECTSTECHNOLOGY & PERSONAL USE STARTUPS

Company Description

Development of a new crypto wallet standard via

a two device approach to make secure key

handling more accessible. Apps are live.

AirGap Vault and AirGap Wallet for private users

marks one of the most secure private crypto

storage solutions.

Airgap Knox for institutional self-custody of crypto.

PassOn builds a systemic infrastructure to bring

inheritance into the digital age by leveraging

blockchain and smart contract technologies. The

infrastructure and standard allows to secure digital

assets and directly transfer them to beneficiaries of

inheritance. Further institutional applications in

digital life insurance and legal transaction services.

Nimiq aims to be the easiest-to-use

decentralized payment protocol & ecosystem.

Nimiq is browser-based and installation-free.

Wallet, apps, and mining are user friendly with

GUI. Nimiq aims to bring the benefits of blockchain

technology to the mainstream by developing a

blockchain / payment protocol designed for the

average user.

Open source protocol to increase scalability of

Ethereum. The TrueBit protocol allows trustless,

secure, scalable consensus on large computations

orders of magnitude beyond what’s possible in

Ethereum today. It leverages game theoretic

principles to effectively increase the on-chain

computation power of existing networks.

Development of an integrated solution to

securely issue, store, trade and manage digital

assets, which meets the highest institutional

standards. In collaboration with daura, Sygnum is

building an integrated equity issuance system to

help companies raise capital from investors by

tokenizing shares. Institutional custody via joint

venture with Swisscom.

Use Case /

Market

• Highly secure

crypto wallet

• Institutional

custody solution

for crypto

• Inheritance

solution for

blockchain

• Third-Generation

Blockchain

Protocol

• Open payment

protocol

• Scalability solution

for Ethereum

• Store, transfer,

and management

of digital assets

Team

• 10 team members with

strong academic IT

background &

experience

• Team made up of

Papers.ch founders

• 8 team members

• Background in IT,

Financial Services and

Blockchain

Development

• Strong advisory board

with legal experts

• ~ 22 team members

• Founders with strong

academic background

• Vast experience in

blockchain

development & system

architecture

• 6 team members

• Ryan Zurrer of

Polychain as advisor

• Highly accredited team

of Ethereum veterans

with excellent

academic backgrounds

• ~23 team members

• Based in Switzerland

and Singapore

• Team with long-

standing experience in

FS

• High quality board

Stage /

Investors

• Project is open source

and supported by

donations

• Supported by Tezos and

Aeternity

• Seed Investments tbd

• Pre-ICO phase

• Seed investment by SIX

• Collaboration with SIX

regarding listing of PASS

token and storage

• ICO in 2017 of ~$10M

• Open source project

• Mainnet deployment in

April 2018

• Active development of

protocol and ecosystem

apps


• Polychain Capital

portfolio company

• Beta release on testnet

on beginning of

November 2018

• Early-stage investment

by Singtel Innov8

• Swisscom and Daura as

partners

• Public launch in the fall

of 2018

Point of View

High quality team of developers

and software engineers. Focused

on execution and developing a

great product. Apps are

functioning & live. Positive initial

customer feedback.

Tackling an unaddressed problem

regarding digital asset inheritance.

By collaborating with relevant

institutions, the PassOn solution

could become the new standard

for inheritance. Legitimacy through

SIX partnership.

By developing a blockchain and

payment protocol that targets the

mainstream, Nimiq differentiates

itself from other protocols. High

quality developer team. Existing

ecosystem of projects / apps.

High potential scalability solution

for the Ethereum blockchain that

stayed a bit under the radar so far.

Protocol has its own token, which

could capture significant value if

Truebit is used for scalability.

Promising team with the right

support of established market

players, such as Swisscom.

Institutional-grade custody is

definitely needed and presents a

big market opportunity. However,

several players are working on

similar solutions.

Cryptoasset

• AirGap is an open

source project

• No token issued

No Token

• New Utility model &

mechanics

• Embedded

transmission policies

in smart contract

Utility Token (PASS)

• NIM are rewarded to

miners for securing the

network (PoW)

• NIM as cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency Token

(NIM)

• TRU is used to reward

Verifiers for correctly

performing

computational tasks

• Details of launch TBD

Utility Token (TRU)

• Sygnum does not

issue its own token

No Token

Category

Protocol

Wallet

Digital

Payment

Inheritance

Asset Transfer

Protocol

Layer

Storage

Wallet

Tokenized

Assets

Note: Illustration of long-listed startup profiles. Profiles for other startups in this report are also available on demand. Long & Short-list assessment criteria can be customized by client request.


DECENTRALIZED SUBSCRIPTION PAYMENTS WITH CRYPTOCURRENCYSHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – AMBRPAY (1/2)

• Ambrpay founded in May 2018. Based in Zurich, Switzerland.

• Founders:

• Dr. Andreas Hauri, CEO & Co-Founder: Former CTO of Mila.com and helped to build two successful start-ups

Coresystems and Mila. In 2015 he helped exit Mila as part of the board. He has a Masters in computer science and

A PhD in neuroinformatics from ETH Zürich. He leads the team of Ambrpay.

• Evrim Kayaci, CTO & Co-Founder: Former architect of ImmoSky AG, Head architect of the Mila.com payment

system, database crack and blockchain/crypto enthusiast.

• Team: Founders + 2 part-time employees and 2 advisors. Sales role currently vacant.

• High quality founding team with strong technical background & previous startup leadership experience.

TEAM & COMPANY BACKGROUND

• Decentralized subscription payments for cryptocurrencies is facilitated by ambrpay’s smart contract.

• Usage of blockchain technology to offer a fully decentralized subscription payment technology, where funds are

fully controlled by the customer and recipient (company).

• Ambrpay is on the application layer not the protocol layer.

RATIONALE OF USING BLOCKCHAIN

• Global business model transformation from one-time purchases to subscription model (e.g. Netflix, Salesforce).

• This implies accumulation of recurring fees and regular transactions instead of one-time payments.

• Subscription Payment Market size $2.6bn and 109% growth1) in 2016 in the US alone.

• Numerous established cryptocurrencies suitable to be used as means of payment (e.g. bitcoin, Stellar Lumens,

Zcash, and various stablecoins such as USDC).

• First crypto payment companies reached $1bn in globally handled payment volume in 20172) .

Despite a significant decrease in payment volume in 2018 (e.g. Bitcoin Cash payment volume decreased by 67%

from March until August), crypto payments offer an attractive market opportunity for the future.

• Payment networks based on blockchain technology have significant advantages to today’s

infrastructure, regarding cost and settlement speed. Once scalability improves, we see a big

market opportunity for the crypto payment space.

MARKET OPPORTUNITY

Tokenized AssetsInvestmentsFinancial: Private Equity

• N/A - Project does not issue its own token

TOKEN & ISSUANCE MODEL

• Ambrpay offers a decentralized solution to accept crypto payments

for businesses relying on a subscription-based recurring payments.

• Ambrpay supports all payment types:

• Lump sum payment, automatic subscription-payments,

automatic micro-payments

• Currency agnostic, supporting most blockchains (BTC; ETH, NEO, ERC20).

• Converts payments directly into USD/EUR/CHF. No price swing risk.

• Easy web and backend integration for merchants and businesses.

• BlockNovum expects a strong increase of crypto usage for payment purposes in the

upcoming years and sees potential demand for a solution like Ambrpay.

• There is no clearly established solution yet for accepting subscriptions

and micro payments in crypto.

• Business model based on a transaction fee is highly scalable and profitable, if your payment

solution is being chosen by a large number of businesses to handle subscription payments.

BUSINESS MODEL AND PRODUCT / MARKET FIT

• Release of the first Alpha version on testnet, using live operating smart contracts and blockchains achieved in June.

• First version of Ambrpay is functional and live on mainnet since September 2018.

• Currently supports ETH subscription payments, with more currencies added until end of year. We see high

potential once widely-used stablecoins are integrated (planned).

• Two onboarded customers:

o Raisenow (Payment integrator)

o Porini foundation

• Milestones as laid out in business plan were achieved and continuous progress is shown.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & ROADMAP

Sources: Ambrpay Business Plan, Investor Deck, Business Canvas, Interview with Andreas Hauri, 1) Forbes 2) Bitpay *) Rating scale: Score per assessment criteria from 1 (very low) to 10 (excellent)

Rating *):

8 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

8 / 10

Rating:

10 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10


DECENTRALIZED SUBSCRIPTION PAYMENTS WITH CRYPTOCURRENCYSHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – AMBRPAY (2/2)

• Existing providers of crypto payment solutions include the following:

o Bitpay (US): Payment processor for bitcoin and bitcoin cash. Global leader

in crypto payment in terms of volume and funding.

o CoinPayments (Canada): Integrated payment gateway for crypto

(1k+ supported coins) with shopping card plugins. 2M+ vendors.

o Coinbase Commerce (US): Online crypto payment processing

for merchants. 2000+ onboarded merchants.

o SpectroCoin (UK): Crypto payment gateway for online

and offline stores, integrated in popular e-commerce plugins.

o PumaPay (Israel): Payment protocol based on block-

chain for merchants, subscription payments possible.

• Market exhibits already several established crypto payment providers

with first mover advantages.

• Coinbase and PumaPay offer crypto subscription payment already,

but might lack integrated payment gateways (B2B).

• Due to the focus on subscription payments and its fully decentralized and currency agnostic

solution, Ambrpay has the potential to carve out its own niche and withstand the existing competition.

COMPETITORS

Tokenized AssetsInvestmentsFinancial: Private Equity

• The crypto payment space has not really taken off yet. Most people rather hold their cryptos for

the potential price appreciation than actively spending them.

• Stabilization of the market, lower volatility, and the introduction of stablecoins with clear KYC/AML

standards could be the ingredients to bring the crypto payment space to more maturity.

→ Significant market potential.

• There exist already a range of crypto payment platforms, with a few leaders but no clear winners yet. Ambrpay’s

focus on subscription payment could be the key feature to help them grow, since subscription functionality is not

offered by most other crypto payment providers.

• Nevertheless, the big challenge we see is that Ambrpay’s tech could be copied by one of the many competitors. By

leveraging their early-mover advantage existing competitors could onboard key subscription businesses faster.

• Overall, high quality founding team with strong technical backgrounds to execute the Ambrpay solution and

overcome technical difficulties. Previous startup experience as a CTO for almost 5 years gives us confidence that

Andreas manages to run and scale-up Ambrpay successfully.

• Ambrpay showed initial traction with releasing the first functioning product in Sept, onboarding first customers,

and winning the prestigious CV Summit competition. They’re raising funds for their seed investment round.

• BlockNovum sees the main risk related to a lack of interest in crypto payments among potential clients and

users. The current market environment and volatility prevent mass market adoption. For the long-run we’re excited

about the potential of crypto payments, but in the short-term there might not be enough interest to build a profitable

business.

• Another risk is the existing competition in the crypto payment space. There is a possibility that they

integrate subscription payments as well, copy Ambrpay’s tech, or undercut Ambrpay via fees.

RISKS 1)

BLOCKNOVUM ASSESSMENT

Rating 2):

8.1 / 10

• Equity investments in Ambrpay via seed funding → Current seed funding round

• No own cryptoasset

• If Ambrpay’s solution proves to be successful, possible exit to established payment provider or merge

with other crypto payment solution

INVESTMENT & EXIT OPTIONS

• Signaled interest (Letter of Intent) of 4 major swiss companies in Ambrpay’s solution:

o Swiss Red Cross, Planzer, Taxi 444, Weisse Arena AG (LAAX)

• Partnerships with Raisenow that already integrated payment systems like Stripe, PayPal for larger Organizations

such as the Swiss Red Cross.

• By Q3 2019, ambition of ~7000 Transactions and ~ 30 Companies.

• Initial focus on two client segments: 1. Blockchain services (Rentable nodes, Magazines, Trading-bots) and 2.

Aid-organizations (Red-Cross, Amnesty international).

• Showed initial traction with winning first partnerships and clients. Chosen client segments good to

test solution in the market. More mainstream partners need to be targeted in the future.

ECOSYSTEM & CLIENTS

• Financial plan forecasts demand of CHF 550k in seed funding for year 1 of operations → Currently raising seed

funding.

• CHF 100k in price money secured from winning CV competition in November 2018.

• Projected break-even in year 4 with estimated revenue of CHF 3.6M and cost of CHF 2.9M.

• Startup has runway for a few months. Reasonable financial forecast and budgeting.

FUNDING & FINANCIALS

Rating:

8 / 10

Rating:

5 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

7 / 10

Sources: Ambrpay Business Plan, Investor Deck, Business Canvas, Interview with Andreas Hauri . Note: 1) “Risks” does not get a rating, but together with “BlockNovum Assessment” summarizes our opinion about the project.

2) Rating scale: Score per assessment criteria from 1 (very low) to 10 (excellent)


• A$H is an investment app for retail investors that gamifies investing, developed by Midas Technologies.

• The app uses the Melon protocol to provide users with a decentralized investment fund.

This cuts out middlemen in asset management and grants full control to the end users.

• By investing users create an asset mix (Melon fund) on the blockchain, which can be used to

invest in all sorts of crypto assets as well as in other users‘ asset mixes on the platform.

• Focus on maximum usability, which is often neglected in the crypto & investment space.

• Gamification and competitions are key features of the app. Target user base of millennial

retail investors.

• Business model: Challenges and competitions in the app cost a small fee. Fees are pooled as

rewards for winners of competition. Midas Technologies takes a cut of these fees as a service fee.

• BlockNovum finds the concept of a gamified investment app for millennials enticing.

There are a wide range of investment apps out there, but very few are focused on

the gamification aspect.

• Usability is one of the main obstacles to wider adoption of many applications in the crypto space. The focus on making

the app easy-to-use for the mainstream audience, might be the key to achieving product / market fit.

• The business model based on a service fee for competition, is highly dependent on the popularity of the

competitions. High volume of participation needed. Some skepticism regarding revenue generation.

However, examples in mobile gaming showed that this model can be highly profitable.

DIGITAL ASSET INVESTMENT APP FOR MILLENNIALSSHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – A$H BY MIDAS (1/2)

• Midas Technologies AG founded in November 2017. Based in Zug, Switzerland.

• Midas Technologies is a software developer, with A$H being their first product.

• Founders: Adrian Gallo (CEO), Philipp Doğan (Strategy) and Konstantin Trott (Communications).

• The team consists of 9 people working full-time on the development of A$H.

• Advisory board consists of both Melonport co-founders Mona El Isa and Reto Trinkler, as well as Thomas Linder

from renowned Swiss law firm MME.

• Team shows some experience in leadership positions at companies in the past, as well as experience in

stock trading and blockchain application development. However, limited academic background.


• Usage of the Ethereum blockchain as the custodian for all assets held by A$H users. Blockchains allow

storage of digital value in an ultimately safe way.

• By leveraging a dapp (the Melon protocol), A$H provides users with a safe and incorruptible way to store crypto.

• Since the app itself is a centralized service layer, leveraging a decentralized asset management protocol like Melon

ensures that assets are safe and controlled directly by the owner.

• From our perspective, we assess the usage of blockchain via the Melon protocol as a sensible decision

and are excited to see the Melon protocol getting traction by actual use cases, such as A$H.


• Target user segment: Retail investors with interest in digital asset management (due to gamification, main focus

probably millennials).

• Target market & market size: We estimate central Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Austria), further expansion to UK

Example US: 25% of adult population is active in retail investing and $1.8tn in asset comes from

non-professional retail investors. Specifically for crypto investors in central Europe, we estimate a

potential user base of 4-5M crypto retail investors, leading to an AuM market size of hundreds of millions.

MARKET OPPORTUNITY

InheritancePersonal: Asset Transfer

• Midas decided to cancel its pre-sale and public sale of a security token in July 2018.

• Instead they are proposing a Token Application Event (TAE) to the Melon community to further align interest

with the Melon protocol. In essence, this allows existing Melon token holders to vote on Midas’ project proposal. If

accepted, new MLN tokens are minted/issued.

• Midas will propose several minting rounds of MLN, each tied to certain milestones that need to be achieved.

• BlockNovum applauds the decision of Midas to cancel their token sale and instead leverage the existing MLN

token. We believe through using MLN, Midas can both raise funds while also increase synergies and strengthen the

Melon community / ecosystem.

• Hence, instead of issuing just another token in the ever-growing crypto landscape, Midas takes an innovative

approach to its token model. The Melon protocol is one of the leading projects in the Swiss blockchain

scene, led by some of Switzerland’s crypto pioneers. Therefore, we believe that Midas’ contrarian

decision could pay-off and set a standard for future projects.


• Q4 2018: Start of closed Alpha version. Iterations on back- and front-end with feedback from Alpha testing.

• Q1 - Q2 2019: Start of the open Beta, Token Application Event, Setting up licenses for EU and UK regulatory

compliance. Marketing campaign via hackathons, workshops for asset management on Melon protocol, and

tournaments.

• Q3 - Q4 2019: Product launch.

• MVP is ready and currently being tested in closed Alpha.

• Ambitious roadmap, but MVP is ready and development is progressing. Planned features include

Giveeth integration for impact investing, prediction market integration, and fiat payment functionality.


Sources: Midas Technologies Website, Questionnaire to founders, Midas Concept Paper

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

7 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

7 / 10

Rating:

10 / 10


Rating:

8 / 10


DIGITAL ASSET INVESTMENT APP FOR MILLENNIALSSHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – A$H BY MIDAS (2/2)

• A$H combines a number of business areas that have been

addressed by other providers only in a separate or

less comprehensive way.

• Two main distinguishing factors:

1. High degree of decentralization in its investment process

(users have 100% ownership of investments).

2. Focus on millennials & gamification features + UX-heavy.

• Graph to the right highlights A$H’s positioning vs. competitors

• Competitors include:

• Robinhood, eToro: User friendly investing apps with social

features, but centralized. No ownership of asset.

• Coinomi, Abra, Eidoo: Wallet with investing functionalities,

but not always decentralized and no gamification and experience-focused design.

• Coinbase, Lykke: Crypto exchange with user friendly app / wallet. No focus on gamification and social

trading. Can easily become “real” competitors, if gamification is implemented. Strong market positioning.

COMPETITORS

• BlockNovum sees a big market opportunity for a digital asset investment app that targets millennials

via great UX, cheap fees, and gamification features. A$H could become the Robinhood of crypto.

• We’re convinced that building the app on top of the Melon protocol provides A$H with a distinct

advantage compared to some of the other crypto investing aps out there. By leveraging a protocol that has been

in development for almost 2 years and joining an existing ecosystem, A$H can benefit from synergies and existing

network effects.

• Another reason why BlockNovum is existed about A$H is because of the team’s decision to use the existing token of

the Melon protocol. The founders realized that leveraging an existing token could be a win-win situation for both sides.

Furthermore, the team showed courage to try a novel approach in token issuance and proved to not shy away from

contrarian decisions.

• The project exhibits traction through the release of the Alpha version and winning the co-founders of Melonport

as advisory board members. Furthermore, the project developed the Alpha version privately funded and is only now

looking for capital. Risks we see are: Possible delays through regulatory approval and/or lack of interest due to the

bear market. Furthermore, a Rejection of A$H’s TAE by the Melon community could slow down / stop development.

• Existing regulations for the global asset management industry do not acknowledge technology-regulated solutions

like Melon or applications running on top, like A$H. → Licenses and approval of European regulators are needed.

• Acquiring the necessary approval requires lots of documentation and can consume a considerable amount of time and

legal costs, which pose a risk that is not to be underestimated for a project like this.

• Furthermore, low interest in crypto investing among the public due to a continuation of the bear market could result in a

lack of interest in an app like A$H. The market environment, the right timing, and an effective marketing

strategy will be key.

RISKS


Rating:

8.3 / 10

• Equity investment in Midas Technologies AG → Open for seed funding

• Investment in MLN token could provide indirect exposure to A$H, if the TAE is approved by the Melon

community. While the MLN token as a utility token, does not provide ownership, it’s value should be linked to the

strength of the Melon protocol and ecosystem.

• If a project like A$H is successful, usage of MLN will increase significantly. Higher token

demand consequently could increase the price of MLN. While we can’t go into details here, we view

MLN as a great example of well-designed token economics.


• No official partnerships but collaborations with Melonport, Gnosis and Giveth.

• A$H is part of the Melon ecosystem. The Melon ecosystem is highly dependent on usage, which could exactly be

provided by A$H with its focus on mobile UX and gamification mechanics.

There is a direct link between A$H’s usage and the Melon engine.

• It is expected that V1.0 of the Melon protocol is finalized in February 2019. Through the release of V1.0 Melon

will be fully functional, which could attract more users to the protocol.

• By joining an existing ecosystem of another high-quality crypto project, A$H can draw from existing network

effects and the reputation of the Melon protocol. While it’s still early, A$H is well positioned regarding

partnerships in the blockchain community.

• However, for mainstream adoption further collaboration with established financial institutions and

banks are necessary. This could pose to be a challenge, but acceptance & infrastructure is improving.

ECOSYSTEM & CLIENTS

• Privately funded since the beginning.

• Midas is open for private equity deals in a range between CHF 50k and CHF 1 Mio, as well as bigger investments

by VC firms.

• A$H is funded until March 2019 when the TAE will provide funding for the next development steps and

the product launch.

• Project has enough runway to continue development for 4 months and chances are good for TAE, which will

provide further capital. However, risk that project runs out of funds / is delayed if TAE is not accepted

by community. Further VC funding could boost development and increase geographical reach of project.


Rating:

6 / 10

Rating:

10 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10


Rating:

8 / 10

Sources: Midas Technologies Website, Questionnaire to founders, Midas Concept Paper


DECENTRALIZED PRIVATE EQUITY MARKETPLACESHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – LEVA (1/2)

Tokenized AssetsPrivate EquitySyndicate InvestmentsFinancial:

• Fundraising is a time consuming and costly exercise. On average PE firms take over 13 months to close a fund.

• Private equity is a very large industry, who’s fundraising activity has been growing constantly. In 2017 alone 830 new

funds have raised over US$360bn, while global deal value exceeded US$ 600bn. Leva is targeting the global

private equity fundraising and capital deployment industry, by automating fundraising and tokenizing assets.

• Back office processes like capital calls, fee payments or syndication are inefficient and mostly done manually. Leva’s

smart syndicates and smart funds can significantly reduce costs through automation.

• Illiquid assets are traded at a discount. The tokenization of PE assets and making them tradeable will unlock value

for investors and make private equity more attractive.

• There is a trend towards smaller and more focused PE funds. An attractive market for platforms like Leva, as the

number of funds will increase and therefore, the demand for their services.

• As of 2017, the global PE & VC industry have USD 2,800bn of assets under management. Due to

its attractiveness, AuM are expected to grow at 4% p.a. to USD 3,900bn until 2025.

MARKET OPPORTUNITY

• Leva is reinventing private equity, by automating processes and building a global marketplace. Leva allows

investors to invest in private equity by the click of a button and PE firms to set-up funds and syndicates instantly.

• The team is working towards making investments in private equity easy and accessible to the broader public.

• Leva allows private equity firms to set-up compliant smart investment syndicates and smart funds instantly.

These structures allow PE firms to automate their back offices and have significant efficiency gains.

• By automating processes like the set-up of investment vehicles, fundraising, capital deployment and investor

onboarding Leva wants to make private equity accessible. Their solution makes transactions more efficient and

gives PE funds a simpler way to set-up investment syndicates and funds. Therefore, significantly decreasing

fundraising and operational costs.

• Revenue model: Set-up and maintenance fee for syndicates, as well as finders fee on the primary market.

Transaction fee on secondary market.

• BlockNovum sees the industry moving towards tokenized funds. Some venture capital and private equity

firms have already started setting up their own tokenized funds, proving the interest of the industry towards this

new technology. We see Leva as well positioned to become a leading player in a multi-billion dollar industry, as the

go-to platform catering to the needs of private equity and venture capital firms.

• Open questions are how to incentivize PE funds to switch to Leva’s model, and how existing

middle men will react to this disruption that could make them redundant.


• Leva is assessing the issuance of a fungible security token. Further details are not available to date.


• Leva was founded in May 2018 and is based in Bern and Zürich, Switzerland.

• Founders: Cosimo Donati, Simon Janin, Gabriel Wildberger, and Jean-Jacques Frej.

• The team shows relevant industry experience in private equity, consulting, legal and tech. They have worked in

leading companies like Partners Group, Google, Credit Suisse, Accenture, and Homburger.

• Entrepreneurial experience: Team members previously founded multiple companies and scaled them

internationally. Some even generated double-digit million revenues with millions of customers. Amongst others,

they founded a hedge fund (the largest student-run hedge fund in the USA), an online streaming site, and a

customer loyalty club.

• The team has an impressive academic track record and was educated in some of the world’s leading institutes of

technology and business schools (HSG, ETH, MIT, Harvard, NUS, CEMS, Maastricht, UZH, LSE).

• The advisory board consists of the former COO of Credit Suisse and

former CEO of Julius Bär Switzerland.


• Leva received a No Action Letter from FINMA → Important milestone achieved.

• Leva has a working prototype, which has already been tested with multiple asset managers to set-up compliant

smart investment syndicates instantly and to raise capital.

• They have onboarded private equity firms, with an expected yearly syndication volume of CHF 30m.

• Leva has exclusive partnership agreements with multiple family offices in Switzerland and Liechtenstein .

• In Q1 2019 they expect to execute the first transaction .

• The team is now focused on acquiring more customers and engaging in strategic partnerships.

• In personal interviews with the founders, the team convinced with its focus on implementation.


• The blockchain technology enables to fractionalize a single high value asset into small parts, hence makes them

on a primary market more accessible and on a secondary market more liquid.

• Individuals need to be sure that their share of an investment opportunity is recorded with certainty and

consistency. Using blockchain, as the main ledger of accounts of assets, delivers exactly these desired properties.

• Smart contracts allow to automate and replace expensive intermediaries and complex processes. This enables strong

efficiency gains compared to the complex traditional financial system. For example, smart contracts allow to

automate fundraising, capital calls and asset transfer from asset managers to investors.

• BlockNovum sees clear advantages of using Blockchain technology to build a secure, efficient, and

cost-effective financial backbone for private equity transactions.


Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

10 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

10 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Sources: Leva Website, Questionnaire to Leva, Interview with Cosimo Donati

https://leva.pe/


• Leva develops a high-potential solution of a decentralized private equity marketplace, to make

transactions more efficient and provide PE funds with a simpler way to set-up smart investment

syndicates and funds. BlockNovum sees a clear market opportunity enabled by the blockchain.

• Leva shows traction by having achieved a proof of concept with their working prototype and by having onboarded

already multiple asset managers to their platform.

• BlockNovum got a great impression from the founding team in several conversations. The founders have excellent

academic and professional backgrounds, while also being very focused on implementation. They bring the

relevant experience in the PE sector, that is perfectly supplemented by the strong industry network of their advisory

board.

• If the team manages to overcome the technical challenges of developing the platform and wins further high quality

institutional investors as partners, we believe Leva has everything to become a success story.

DECENTRALIZED PRIVATE EQUITY MARKETPLACESHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – LEVA (2/2)

Tokenized AssetsPrivate EquitySyndicate InvestmentsFinancial:

• Possible competitors are:

o OurCrowd (Israel): Breaks barriers to startup investing, providing global, VC-level deal flow, due diligence and

terms to accredited investors. To OurCrowd Leva is different, as Leva is a tool for asset managers, allowing them

to set-up smart syndicates. Deal sourcing and due diligence is done by asset managers, not Leva.

o Funderbeam (Estonia): Democratizes access to early-stage investment opportunities through a blockchain based

crowd investing platform. Leva’s approach is different, as it is an investor-led platform. Only experienced asset

managers with a track record can create syndicates or funds and raise capital on Leva.

o AngelList (US): Platform for startups, angel investor syndicates, and job-seekers looking to work at startups.

AngelList's goal is also to democratize the investment process. Leva is different to AngelList as they offer an

infrastructure automating capital flows, asset managers can instantly set-up tokenized investment syndicates and

smart funds.

• Further competitors include projects that tokenize securities and alternative assets, including Neufund, Swarm

Fund, or Melonport. The high attractiveness of tokenized company shares will attract further competitors. For instance,

“Equi” – a US startup co-founded by Steve Wozniak – aims to tokenize illiquid company assets.

Hence, BlockNovum sees several noteworthy competitors, but is also convinced that Leva’s unique

value proposition allows them to clearly distinguish their platform.

COMPETITORS

• Technical development of the platform is complex and requires a highly talented tech team.

• In order to scale the platform internationally, they need to onboard high quality asset managers.

• Adoption of the blockchain amongst institutional investors and asset managers is still low, which could lead to delays

in the active usage of the platform by institutional investors to raise and manage funds. Importance to win some high

quality first-movers to gain legitimacy and put pressure on other funds.

• Challenging to build and scale a two-sided network (asset managers & investors).

RISKS


Rating:

9.0 / 10

• The Leva team is pursuing an ambitious plan to revolutionize the private equity industry and the way we invest

→ Open for equity investment via seed round

• Potential exit channels include:

• Globally active private equity funds

• Traditional exchanges / Crypto exchanges

• Banks


• Leva has already onboarded multiple asset managers who will use Leva to raise funds and set-up smart

investment syndicates.

• The platform has an automated KYC and AML process to onboard investors and asset managers on a global scale.

• Through exclusive partnerships with family offices, Leva aims to secure both sides of the market place.

• Leva is now aiming to onboard further asset managers, venture capital and private equity firms.

• Existing partnerships and onboarded asset managers show relevant traction.

• BlockNovum sees a high potential for Leva to win further high-quality partners and clients to its

ecosystem via their strong network from past PE experience and their high profile advisors.

ECOSYSTEM & PARTNERSHIPS

• Leva raised initial pre-seed capital in 2018 from a family office and private investors.

• The team received a grant from the Bern Economic Development Agency.

• Leva is now raising their seed round. Financial plan and runway assessment not available.


Rating:

8 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

8 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Sources: Leva Website, Questionnaire to Leva, Interview with Cosimo Donati

https://leva.pe/


DECENTRALIZED STARTUP ECOSYSTEM & MARKETPLACESHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – OAKURA (1/2)

Sources: Oakura Website, Questionnaire to Oakura, Interview with Daniel Naeff

• Oakura’s token economy, the “Oakonomy”, has the potential to enclose the world’s top startup hubs and create

powerful connections between innovation economies across the globe. Owning a portion of it allows anyone to

financially benefit from the value of an entire portfolio of early stage deeptech & blockchain ventures.

• Individuals with expert knowledge and industry insights can participate in the value growth potential of startups

by contributing to their success.

• Oakura solves the scalability- & location dependency issues of funds and accelerators, and removes the by-

passing problems of traditional marketplaces.

• Any place where high-growth businesses are built is a potential market for Oakura (global target). The

infrastructure is decentralized and location-independent, and can thus be implemented anywhere.

• 2017 saw 11,042 venture capital deals with over $164bn invested in startups globally. Hence,

through innovation in the VC space, Oakura could disrupt the space and gain some of that market share.

• Founded in February 2018 with locations in Zurich, Zug and New York.

• Diverse and International team with strong business backgrounds. CEO helped to scale a big data startup

internationally up to 60+ ppl , CTO worked at Google & Yahoo with 20+ years of experience, COO ran an

international multimillion company, Legal counsel is an expert leading in blockchain.

• Received a grant from ETH and attracted numerous high profile advisors from top startup hubs across the globe

(Silicon Valley, NYC, London, Berlin, Crypto Valley).

• Strong ties to the world’s top academic institutions such as MIT, ETH, NUS, UZH, U-Michigan, Johns Hopkins.

• Interview with founders convinced BlockNovum of the team’s value-driven approach to create a more

inclusive, diverse and efficient way to capitalize on innovation faster.


• Alignment of incentives between startups and its supporting experts and advisors.

• Tokenization of startup equity and efficient transfer of assets across borders: no FX costs, credit risk, transaction

fees and quick settlement. Allowing a previously mainly illiquid asset to become globally available.

• Gradual decentralization of governance through voting and participation in decision making.

• A transparent, immutable rating allows for clarity on the participants abilities.


MARKET OPPORTUNITY

• OAK is Oakura’s security token. It’s purpose is to align the participants incentives and to share any potential

revenues of its entire ecosystem.

• More details on the token economics and its issuance model aren’t disclosed yet, which is why

this category is not rated yet.


• Oakura combines the traditional business model of early stage venture funding with the benefits of crypto tokens.

Oakura creates a transparent and inclusive ecosystem of investors, startups, and service providers that is co-

owned by the community.

• Startups can apply and turn shares literally into smart money (tokenized equity), which gives them access to a

network of top notch experts/advisors and aligns their incentive with those of startups.

• Experts/advisors can profit from the potential upside of the ventures they support while having the downside risks

hedged through an entire portfolio.

• The network effects created by a world-wide innovation ecosystem are monetized through a central platform that

enables borderless remuneration of sustainable value creation.

• BlockNovum finds the concept of a startup marketplace held together by a token, representing a portfolio of the

participating startup’s equity, highly interesting. We see such a solution bringing benefits to all involved players, while

setting the right incentives.

• Nevertheless, the project is in an early-stage an it’s not fully clear to us yet how Oakura will monetize

their platform / how the business model is set-up.


• Acquired top tier research partnerships, Oakura has attracted cutting edge experts, initial startups and created

valuable partnerships.

• PoC successfully finished mid November 2018 and first transactions through the network.

• Q1 2019: Release of beta version to early adopters; further build-up of local expert network.

• Q3/4 2019: Oakonomy platform live; expert network build-up in the next top three startup hubs; onboarding of the

first startups from outside Switzerland; expansion of industrial partnership base.

• 2020 - 2022: Covering high-quality deal flow from three of the world’s top tech universities;

partnership with security exchanges; first revenues.

• Project shows traction via PoC and first formed partnerships. Ambitious roadmap with clear goals of

expanding internationally. However, limited availability of details at this stage.


Tokenized AssetsInvestmentsFinancial: Venture Capital

Rating:

8 / 10

Rating:

10 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

10 / 10

Rating:

8 / 10

Rating:

TBD

• Research grants & private investors to provide sufficient runway (details can’t be disclosed publicly).

• Open for equity funding in case of strategic partnerships - otherwise fiat and/or crypto in exchange

for OAKs.

• Preparing to raise capital via private and public STO (Security Token Offering).


Rating:

9 / 10


• BlockNovum was impressed by Oakura’s founding team and their ability to execute on

Oakura’s vision. The team brings strong business backgrounds combined with top tier academics.

The high quality standards of the team towards partners and their value-driven approach was

convincing as well.

• Oakura’s solution of a startup ecosystem that combines the traditional business model of early stage venture funding

with the benefits of crypto tokens is highly interesting to BlockNovum. By setting the right incentives with a clever

token model and acquiring high-quality partners & ecosystem service providers, this innovative approach of startup

funding might introduce a new model for Venture Capital.

• The project shows traction via their proof-of-concept that successfully showed first transactions in mid November 2018

and through winning initial partnerships, such as the UZH Blockchain center and partners in Asia and the US.

• While there are some risks around the execution of the Oak token / the Oakonomy and the technical development of

the platform, BlockNovum believes that Oakura has the right team & strategy to build a successful startup

ecosystem that benefits all involved players.

DECENTRALIZED STARTUP ECOSYSTEM & MARKETPLACESHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – OAKURA (2/2)

Tokenized AssetsInvestmentsFinancial: Venture Capital

• The novel approach of Oakura combines the characteristics of tokenized funds (e.g. SpiceVC),

accelerators/incubators (BnkToTheFuture), crowdfunding systems (Neufund), company builders, expert networks

and market platforms (Gerson Lehrman Group) in a unique way by aligning the different participants’ incentive anew.

• With each participant of the startup ecosystem, the Oakonomy can leverage the network effect of platforms. Once

established, such networks provide a sustainable competitive advantage that is very difficult to emulate for later

entrants into the market (first mover advantage).

• Its unique incentive structure puts startup success first and marks the biggest differentiator to other projects in this

space. Due to this unique approach, BlockNovum sees no direct competitors with a similar business model.

However, one of the main advantages of VCs is that next to capital they provide the necessary expertise,

network, and emotional support for startups. Hence, Oakura’s main competitors are probably

in the existing VC industry.

COMPETITORS

• Since the project is heavily focused on the Oakonomy, a well-designed token economics models is crucial.

Furthermore, the technical realization of tokenizing startup equity and combine it in the OAK token will be

challenging. Hence, we see some risks in the right implementation of the token.

• Finding the right balance between technical development of the platform / marketplace, while also gaining high

quality partners for the ecosystem.

• Potential “Chicken and egg” problem: How do you get high quality startups in the ecosystem if you don’t have the

relevant investors / service providers? How do you get the investors, if you don’t have the startups?

General risk that startups might prefer traditional VC funding, or that investors don’t want to hold an Oakonomy token.

RISKS


Rating:

8.8 / 10

• Security token investment:

o No minimum investment size required, bonuses available for larger token investments.

o Liquidity provided once secondary markets are available, otherwise p2p possible.

o Allows participation in the financial upside of an entire innovation economy.

• Equity investment: Eligibility to be discussed with Oakura.

• Various investment options available both via equity and security token investments, which provides

attractive opportunities for investors.


• Oakura was able to secure initial partnerships with cutting-edge experts, relevant industry players and network

multipliers, initial funds and family offices.

• Publicly disclosed are partnerships with related research institutions and entrepreneurial initiatives such as the UZH

Blockchain Center, ETH juniors & Entrepreneurs Club and Swiss Innovation Agency (Innosuisse).

• More recently, first partnerships could be tied with network partners in Asia and North America.

• The project has set a high pace of building its ecosystem and stands a realistic chance to increase its reach of

high quality partnerships in- and outside of Switzerland, enabling individuals & companies alike to access

experts with specific industry- and technology expertise.

• Since Oakura’s network value is based on their ecosystem & partnership, this is one of the most

crucial metrics for the project. We see initial traction with valuable partnerships, but still see room for

growth.

ECOSYSTEM & PARTNERSHIPS

Sources: Oakura Website, Questionnaire to Oakura, Interview with Daniel Naeff

Rating:

8 / 10

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

8 / 10


DIGITAL INHERITANCE AND ASSET TRANSMISSIONSHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – PASSON (1/2)

• PassOn founded in Spring 2018. Based in Zug, Switzerland.

• Founders: Stephan Wippermann (CEO) and Remo Stieger (Executive Chairman).

• Both founders have long-standing experience in the financial service sector, incl. leadership roles.

• Team of 8 professionals with board expertise in IT, law, finance and business. However, apart from the

founders the other team members hold positions at other firms/startups next to PassOn. Some concerns regarding

time & commitment.

• 9 high quality advisors from different fields (SIX, legal & compliance, marketing, insurance).


• The PassOn infrastructure uses three levels of the blockchain technology:

o Storing digital records: Secure, auditable, and immutable record of digital and physical assets.

o Exchanging digital assets: Peer-to-peer transfer of digital assets without intermediaries.

o Smart contracts: Simplify and automate processes related to inheritance of assets.

• Since a will is basically a ledger of a person’s assets and their beneficiaries, the usage of blockchain

technology makes sense. Combined with ownership transfer and the use of smart contracts, PassOn

has a great case for using a blockchain solution.


• Initial focus on Switzerland as a market, followed by expansion to Europe.

• Recent cases where millions of cryptoassets were lost due to an unexpected death, showed that an easy-to-use

and secure solution is needed, resp. there is a clear market opportunity.

• It’s challenging to properly assess the market size and potential share of PassOn. However, by providing

the infrastructure, PassOn has a scalable business model to make inheritance more efficient and

generate revenue via fees and services provided.

MARKET OPPORTUNITY


• PASS coin is a utility token facilitating the transfer of value, either upon the passing of their owners or as part

of other transactions.

• PASS’s smart contract allows users to setup transmission policies in order to pass on ownership of their digital

assets to any configuration of beneficiaries they have chosen. The transmission of the PASS Coin is for free.

• Holding a certain amount of Pass coins in the PassOn Wallet, “unlocks” different policy functionalities.

• According to PassOn, PASS will be a utility token 2.0, which addresses some of previous concerns around the

legal and regulatory classification of utility tokens.

• While PASS shows some token characteristics that could increase its value, the token price model would need to be

assessed in more detail to fully judge the token’s ability to capture value.

• Some valid arguments for PASS coin, however a similar solution could be built without introducing its

own token. → An in-depth analysis of PASS coin would be needed to properly assess its investment

suitability.


• PassOn develops the infrastructure to bring inheritance into the digital age.

• By leveraging blockchain technology, PassOn’s solution enables the direct, safe and immediate transfer of

bankable and non-bankable, traditional and digital assets to beneficiaries.

• Problem to be solved: Today’s inheritance procedures and regulations are complicated, slow, expensive, and rely on

3rd parties to be executed. In addition, digital assets do not have convenient transmission solutions and are often

irrevocably lost.

• Solution:

o PassOn Wallet: Digital banknote that specifies heirs. Automatic transmission of assets on specific date or giving

rights (to private individuals or institutions like notaries) that allow the transfer via a voting process (multi-sig

wallet). Smart contracts act as digital will and automatically transfer wealth via PASS coin & selected dig. assets.

o Transmission Policies: Automated contract and settlement aspects of policies, reducing cost of

in asset transfer involved institutions, such as insurance companies (e.g. claim processing).

• Real world use case with clear advantages compared to existing situation. Solves a problem that might not be

evident right now, but that will become more and more relevant as the number of digital assets

increases. PassOn’s solution together with the infrastructure they build, is interesting for individuals, as

well as for banks, insurance companies, and institutions such as notaries.

• Revenue-based business model revolving around the usage of the PASS coin: 1. Fee to access

platform for 3rd parties, 2. inheritance service fee, 3. integration service fee, 4. tokenization service fee.


• PassOn AG is building an infrastructure that is notarized, visible to the authorities and transparent to all

stakeholders that are involved.

• FINMA regulatory assessment pending (token classification).

• Proof of concept exist with fully operating smart contract and functionalities.

• Roadmap shows creation of PassOn wallet and apps until July 2019. Roadmap is not very detailed

and therefore hard to assess, which leads to a minor rating deduction.


Sources: PassOn Company Presentation, Interview with Remo Stieger, Whitepaper, Website

Rating:

9 / 10

Rating:

10 / 10

Rating:

8 / 10

Rating:

7 / 10

Rating:

7 / 10

Rating:

6 / 10


DIGITAL INHERITANCE AND ASSET TRANSMISSIONSHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – PASSON (2/2)

• There is very little competition yet in the digital inheritance space. A few exceptions are:

o Heir.io (US): Next generation inheritance planning & digital wills solution.

o Savehaven.io (Singapore): Solutions for inheritance, asset distribution and asset control.

• Both projects are currently also conducting a token sale, but both are not based in Europe. Furthermore, we have

our doubts about the quality of these projects, looking at the founders and their backgrounds, feasibility of their

solutions, and existing cooperation / partnerships with regulators / involved institutions in the inheritance space.

• Another competing «solution» is that certain exchanges (e.g. Coinbase), allows the withdrawal of tokens and funds of

deceased clients, if a death certificate is provided. However, since most tokens are held in cold storage or personal

wallets, this is not a real solution to the problem.

• Overall, PassOn is one of the only projects working on a solution in the digital inheritance space

that exhibits the necessary expertise, partnerships, and ecosystem support to execute their vision.

COMPETITORS

• PassOn is tackling an unaddressed problem regarding the inheritance of digital assets.

While inheritance of digital assets is seemingly not a pressing issue for most people,

the imminent tokenization of all types of assets (bankable and non-bankable) requires a solution

to handle the secure and automated transmission of these assets.

• We also see a high potential for a blockchain-based solution to improve current processes and efficiencies at

institutions involved in the inheritance process (banks, insurers, notaries).

• Through its collaborative approach with relevant institutions and proactive stance regarding legal and regulatory

questions, PassOn has the necessary support to become a trusted solution and business partner.

• We also see the partnership with SIX as one of the key advantages of PassOn. SIX with its digital asset exchange

could prove to be an indispensable partner in building up the PassOn solution and infrastructure.

• While we are convinced of the overall project and the founding team, we have some concerns if a utility token is

the right instrument to raise capital. An investment in the PASS token would require a further in-depth assessment.

• We currently see the main risk related to PassOn’s ICO and securing sufficient funding to start development.

The crypto market prices fell significantly again in mid November, continuing the bear market. This could deter

investors from investing in an otherwise high quality project.

• This concern is supported by the general market trend away from utility tokens towards security tokens. While a

successful ICO is still a possibility, we have our doubts if investors can be convinced of the token’s unique

“advantages”. A lack in funding could slow down the development of PassOn’s solution or delay/stop the project.

RISKS


Rating:

8.0 / 10

• Main focus: Token sale

PassOn is open for private sale of tokens and ICO is planned in the beginning of 2019 (1 PASS = 1 USD +/- 1 CHF)

• Token Sale Hard Cap: $100M

• Further option: Equity investments (next to SIX) an option, if it makes sense from a strategic perspective.

• Due to partnership with SIX a future listing on SDX (next to other exchanges) could be a possibility.


• PassOn AG works closely with regulators, established market players and lawmakers to build a new global

standard.

• SIX took a minority stake in PassOn in October 2018, while also collaborating together with PassOn on

establishing the infrastructure for digital assets (SIX is launching a digital exchange SDX in 2019).

• PassOn is collaborating with existing institutions to make the transmission of digital assets efficient, secure, and

compatible with new technologies → Prototype in collaboration with notaries.

• Partnership with Center for Entrepreneurship of University of St. Gallen.

• The backing of SIX and their ecosystem, plus PassOn’s close collaboration with institutions in the

inheritance space, provides PassOn with legitimacy and the necessary support.

ECOSYSTEM & CLIENTS

• SIX as a minority investor, with positive signaling effect.

• Due to initial investment and starting capital a runway of a few months until end of ICO should be

secured. However, it seems that ICO is the main source of funding to continue the project.


Rating:

10 / 10

Rating:

7 / 10

Rating:

9/ 10


Rating:

7 / 10

Sources: PassOn Company Presentation, Interview with Remo Stieger, Whitepaper, Website


BLOCKCHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS SHORT-LIST ASSESSMENT – BLOCKSTATE

Get in touch if you are interested in:➢ Assessment of other startups

➢ Introduction to founders

➢ Further research reports

(See overview next slide) Contact us >

mailto:[email protected]



• Market screening & startup research based on your requirements:

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➢ Specific industry and use case (e.g. payment providers)

➢ Other requirements (e.g. projects issuing security tokens,

investment stage)

➢ Overview of all screened projects + Rating matrix

• Short-list assessment & Rating (similar to e.g. LEVA) for:

➢ Other startups in this report (e.g. TrueBit)

➢ Ad hoc project assessments

• In-depth research report on specific startup or

cryptoasset: 10-20 pages

• Qualitative assessment / due diligence according

to BlockNovum’s Assessment Framework

• Valuation to quantify a token’s fundamental

intrinsic value (indication if a cryptoasset is over-or

undervalued)

• On-demand and customized to client needs

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founders and providing early access to

startups

• Benchmarking of service providers

(e.g. custody & storage, exchanges,

investment providers / funds)

• Cryptoasset investment strategies (e.g.

staking / masternode)

• Competitor research and blockchain

project feasibility study

• Crypto mining profitability assessment

Consulting & Early

Access to Founders

Research reports / engagements are on-demand and customized to your requirements

→ Contact us for a quote and more information

• Overview of

startups issuing a

security token

• Selection of high

quality security

token projects

Security Token

Projects

Example of reports:

Market & Startup Research

Blo

ckchain

Researc

h

• Assessment and

rating of startup

• BlockNovum’s

assessment

framework (see

short-list template)

Assessment of

Startup X

Blo

ckchain

Researc

h

• Screening for high

quality projects

globally

• Early identification

of trending

startups

Global Startup

Newcomers

Blo

ckchain

Researc

h

Mining Financial

Model

Benchmarking &

Feasibility study

Blo

ckchain

Researc

h

Example of reports:

Contact us >

https://blocknovum.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/BlockNovum_Investment-Research_Bitcoin-August2018.pdf

https://blocknovum.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/BlockNovum_Investment-Research_BNB-October2018.pdf

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Inquiry - BlockNovum Research


ABOUT BLOCKNOVUM


• Customer oriented: Flexibility and customization of our services to your

requirements.

• Blockchain & research expertise: Blockchain expertise and professional

experience in market research, financial modeling, and startup assessments.

• Information advantage: Close proximity to leading blockchain startups in

Switzerland’s Cryptovalley → Early access to founders / promising projects.

• Independence: Investment research and startup due diligence is independent

and in the best interest of our clients (No payments from startups).

• Global coverage: Services to evaluate and research startups / cryptoassets

are offered worldwide. Travel option is available.

• Confidentiality: BlockNovum guarantees confidentiality regarding assessed

projects and your investment focus & decisions.

• Skin in the game: We are convinced of the long-term upside potential of

blockchain assets. Therefore we accept payment in selected cryptoassets.

BLOCKNOVUM ADVANTAGES

• Cryptoasset and Market Research

• Financial Analysis and Modeling

• Business Strategy

• Investment Management

• Strategy Consultant at Accenture

Strategy

• Analyst at BlackRock and UBS

EXPERTISE & PROFESSIONAL

BACKGROUND

• M.A. Banking and Finance, University of

Zurich

• B.A. Economics and Business

Administration, UZH

• Semesters abroad at Hong Kong

Polytechnic University and Vienna

University of Economics and Business

• CAIA Level II Candidate / GMAT 720 (94%)

EDUCATION

Founder, BlockNovum

Zurich, Switzerland

Email: [email protected]

Mobile: +41 (0)78 735 98 54

Remo Kyburz, the founder of BlockNovum, currently conducts all the client research.

While being a startup, BlockNovum expects to grow in the upcoming months as demand for

professional research increases.

In his previous role as a strategy consultant, Remo advised high-profile clients in the financial

sector in topics around Digitalization strategy and adoption of new technologies (Open Banking,

Blockchain, AI). He is a seasoned researcher with extensive knowledge of the cryptoasset

industry and first-hand expertise in investing in blockchain related companies.

CURRENT TEAM – REMO KYBURZ

BLOCKNOVUM IS A SWISS RESEARCH STARTUP THAT AIMS TO BECOME A GLOBAL LEADER IN PROFESSIONAL BLOCKCHAIN INVESTMENT RESEARCH

SELECTED TESTIMONIAL

“BlockNovum’s extensive market research service was

of exceptional quality and provided a data-driven base

for major strategic decisions. We were impressed by

Remo`s expertise, diligence and professionalism.”



ABOUT BLOCKNOVUM & DISCLAIMER

About BlockNovum:

• BlockNovum is a Swiss Blockchain and Cryptoasset investment research & consulting firm. We provide professional assessments, fundamental

valuations, and market research reports for the emerging asset class of cryptoassets & blockchain startups. Our clients include institutional investors

(VCs, family offices, [Crypto]-funds & other asset managers) with an interest in allocating capital to cryptoassets or blockchain startups. Additionally,

we also offer our reports and consulting services to accredited investors, such as business angels.

• Mission: Founded in 2018, we are a young startup that wants to advance the quality of fundamental cryptoasset research to a professional level to

provide institutional investors with high quality market research, due diligence, and valuations.

• If you are interested in similar reports or customized consulting services, please contact us at [email protected]

Disclaimer

The information herein is based on sources that BlockNovum considers reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. All statements made in this report are strictly beliefs and points of view

held by BlockNovum after conducting careful market research. Certain of the statements contained herein may be statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements

that are based on BlockNovum’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ

materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Neither BlockNovum, nor any of its employees shall have any liability, howsoever arising, for any error or incompleteness of

fact or opinion in it or lack of care in its preparation or publication.

The information contained in this report are not a representation by the covered corporations / cryptoassets, nor is any recommendation made here based on any privileged information.

This information is not intended to be nor should it be relied upon as a complete record or analysis; neither is it an offer nor a solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any security or

cryptoasset mentioned herein. Nothing contained herein constitutes investment, legal, tax or other advice and is not to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Investors

should determine for themselves whether a particular service or product is suitable for their investment needs or should seek such professional advice for their particular situation.

This firm, BlockNovum, its employees, and members of their families, may have a position in any security discussed in this report or in related securities and may make, from time to time,

purchases or sales thereof in the open market or otherwise. The information and expressions of opinion contained herein are subject to change without further notice. Additional

information with respect to the information contained herein may be obtained upon request.

©2018, BlockNovum GmbH. All content and figures are original and have been researched and produced by BlockNovum, unless otherwise stated herein. Logos of startups have been

obtained from the respective official websites. Pictures were obtained from Pexels.com. No part of this content may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication,

without the express written permission of BlockNovum.



SWISS BLOCKCHAIN STARTUP NEWCOMERS 2018 MARKET …...decentralized payment protocol & ecosystem....

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