The world of online commerce has changed ever since the concept of Bitcoins was introduced. There are several new companies and businesses that have sprung up to the opportunity and are either providing services pertaining to cryptocurrency or blockchain. The Amsterdam-based unicorn Bitfury is one such full-service bitcoin and blockchain company that is a leading security and infrastructure provider for Bitcoin and Blockchain.
We recently had a chance to interact with the company’s CEO and co-founder Valery Vavilov, who shared some insight into the company and about the booming bitcoin/blockchain scenario. Vavilov also shared six important factors lined to blockchain that are shaping the tech world in Europe.
Bitfury’s beginnings
Vavilov was immediately attracted to the concept of Bitcoin when its whitepapaer was published by the mysterious Satoshi Nakomoto. It was the digital currency’s concept of a global, censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer currency that captured his attention. “I believed that bitcoin and the blockchain technology that underpinned it would make our world far more transparent and trusted and could help us finally make trusted systems that work for the people,” says Vavilov.
Bitfury has grown notably in its eight years of operations and this is being attributed to the team’s three core company values. These values are — to be game changers, to make the impossible possible and, above all, to do good. Alongside working on digital currencies and blockchain, the company has also ventured into the field of Artificial Intelligence or AI.
Notable challenges and the secret of growth
We all know that working on a project in the emerging tech can be difficult since sometimes, the founders are the ones holding the torch and lighting the way. For Bitfury, the notable challenge it faced was the regulators’ lack of comprehension of the rapidly emerging new concept and their struggle to keep the legislation updated with respective technological advancements. Tech companies work on the guidance and regulation set by the regulators and these need to be concise, which is only possible with an in-depth understanding of ever-evolving technologies.
While most startup founders want to know the secret recipe for success, being a game-changer, as per Vavilov, is what’s required. Most startups that are based around an idea to solve problems and are disruptive enough to always keep improving and innovating. This is what’s said to make the impossible possible and is a key ingredient to the company’s success recipe.
Investing in AI
Bitfury recently launched its AI unit that will operate alongside the company’s blockchain services. The company believes that AI and machine learning (ML) will enable finding insights in data that is yet to be used and this can potentially revolutionise health care, transportation, employment and other industries.
According to Vavilov, “Bitfury has been a leading technological innovator since our founding in 2011, and our years of expertise building hardware and software solutions for the blockchain industry have given us the world-class expertise to build hardware and software solutions for the AI sector.”
6 ways blockchain is changing the tech world in Europe
Vavilov also shared his insight into how the blockchain is changing the tech industry in Europe.
- The first factor being influenced by the technology is said to be trust since by design, Blockchain adds trust into any untrusted system.
- Secondly, the technology is bringing transparency to government agencies and services. Bitfury has implemented blockchain for improving trust in government registries in Georgia and state auctions in Ukraine.
- With the help of a blockchain system, digital currencies are becoming increasingly mainstream for financial institutions, merchants and investors.
- The issue of personal identity and data ownership is being solved by Blockchain implementation.
- Blockchain calls for a more open-source innovation and encourages collaboration.
- Blockchain is the basis of new digital technologies that are being implemented in areas such as cryptocurrency, identity, along with real-world assets like land titles, and more.
Image Credits: Bitfury
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