All the excitement of the Web3 movement reminded me of the 2010-2012 period in Southeast Asia. There were abundant opportunities in the region, and everyone was doing something interesting.

Every other meetup excites you and further motivates you to push harder in your own work areas. Startups are pitching not just to raise investments but honestly to share the excitement and the raw passion that they have in solving that problem with their proposed solution.

With an overall emerging market outlook, there was massive potential in many sectors for which entrepreneurs and founders are looking to create solutions. This statement is now true for the Web3 movement.

Caring for Web3

e27 has been starting to shift our content focus into Web3 since the start of 2022. The main reason is the idea that Web3 is a powerful and life-changing concept and definitely means more than crypto tokens and exchanges.

The promise of decentralisation and a community-first model seems to make perfect sense in a world of mixed opinions, capitalism and its zealous growth march, which are detrimental to its own environment. Thus, we are taking a closer look at this space to understand where the innovations are and how they could impact and assist our current tech community, which is made up of Web2 companies. 

Also Read: Web3 marketing: Building a cult-like community

For the past seven months, I have been spending time researching, speaking to new and old friends, learning the basics of the crypto jargon and what terms like “shilling” actually meant and going into multiple rabbit holes of NFTs and tons of discord channels. Dabbling with DeFi, I was also amazed by the number of projects that were attracting tons of money (before March).

Web3 events

As a community platform, events are part of our core, organising and attending events. 

One of the key events I’m looking forward to attending is Coinfest, which will happen next week in Bali. The Indonesian government has done much to encourage the growth of the digital nomads, and a portion of these communities are crypto and Web3 related.

The area where I’m personally interested is going deeper into DAOs and Web2.5 models and concepts. Web2.5 is a small movement where innovative concepts and technologies are created to bridge the ever-dividing gap between the Web2 and 3 models.

There’s plenty to learn more from the agenda with two separate tracks targeting the Web3 natives and the learning general technologists, startup founders and businesses that are attending the event next week.

I’m most looking forward to sessions on how Web2 companies transition to Web3 and how to build Web3 companies. I’ve spent a few months studying this trend and would like to hear from others in the ecosystem on how they think this transition will come about. What are the practical applications of Web3 beyond crypto, and how can conventional Web2 companies embrace the new world order?

Coinfest Asia has a stellar set of speakers from the key well-known exchanges, L1 blockchain representations, banks and investors and most importantly, key support from the Indonesia Ministry of Trade, with Vice Minister Jerry Sambuaga officiating the opening ceremony for the event. Check out the entire agenda and speakers and get involved here. 

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We all communicate with everyone based on our acquired or ingrained philosophies and worldviews. Nonetheless, in a diverse organisational setting, we must tap into our capacity for empathy and be mindful of our language. Vocabulary that may seem innocent to some may be abhorrent and isolating to others. 

From personal experience, I can say any institution can leverage all the advantages of its diverse crew with an inclusive environment that encourages people to bring their knowledge, experience, opinions, and mindsets to the workplace. 

What is inclusive communication?

Inclusive communication uses words or terms that avoid vernacular, biases, expressions, and slang that discriminate against people or groups based on age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, and ability. 

Inclusive communication is not just restricted to daily dialogues but also amplifies the message to more people, making a blog post, job description, or website copy more accessible than before.

Principles of inclusive language

People first: We are more than our descriptors

Use people-centric language that reflects people’s individuality and doesn’t stereotype somebody based on their association or identity with a group or culture. 

Mentioning of personal attributes or characteristics like gender, sexual orientation, religion, racial group, or ability should be context and relevancy based.

Example: Instead of “It’s not that black and white”, use “It’s not that clear.” 

Medical conditions and ability terms: Recognise and be sensitive toward 

“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)”, “Bipolar,” “PTSD,” and “ADHD” are real-world mental health issues. Spreading ableist language (Ableism is discrimination or social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that common abilities are superior) or using such words interchangeably describing day-to-day behaviours undermines the impact of someone’s experiences with a mental disorder. 

Example: Avoid using derogatory terms relatable to mental health issues, like “crazy.” Instead, use “outrageous” or “unheard of.”

Universal phrases: Results in transparent communication

Acronyms, idioms, jargon, and even colloquial expressions or metaphors specific to just one culture or class have become part of most companies’ vocabulary. These can be alienating and impede effective communication for new joiners, candidates, or global teams. 

Example: Working majorly with startups that need quick results, I often use the term “Low hanging fruit”.  Instead, I am consciously practising using “executing easy things that can help make progress toward an objective.”

Gender-neutral language: The most obvious, but is it? 

Let’s take a step back first, Sex and gender are dissimilar. Sex is given at birth, while gender is how an individual identifies. Gender is a broad spectrum.

Now, the most basic way to avoid gendered language in English is by employing gender-neutral phrases when addressing groups of people, their professional titles or when talking about family members to prevent heteronormative language.

Also Read: Why we cannot talk of diversity without inclusion

Example: Instead of “a woman entrepreneur,” use “a woman who is an entrepreneur” or replace “Husband/wife” with “spouse” and Good Morning, Everyone/team/people!” instead of “Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen!”. When unsure, you can always be respectful, introduce yourself and the pronouns you are comfortable with, and ask the same to make whoever you are communicating with feel welcome.

Not sure? Ask around

Inclusive language is subtle. The nuances can be confusing at the least and offensive at worst. The following questions have often helped me be neutral and inclusive:

• Is it essential to refer to a person or group’s inherent characteristics? 
• If so, are the references to personal characteristics couched in inclusive terms? 
• Do the framed considerations reflect the diversity of the audience? 
• If so, is the material accessible to the intended audience? 
• Are you, by any chance, excluding people in the design and delivery of your communication?

Image Courtesy: Inclusive Language for powerful communication by KarmaV

Conclusion

We are all constantly learning. So I’d say there are two key things to remember when practising inclusivity in communications:

First, anyone can make a mistake, no point in harping over it. Rather, sincerely apologise, correct yourself, make a mental note for future reference and move on. 

Second, the underrepresented are not obligated to explain the context behind their pronouns, how they perform their gender or the nuances of their sexuality. They shouldn’t be considered a token of their diverse community. I reckon the best approach is to ask questions you would consider answering without any discomfort.  

For me, inclusive language is not about alarming the ‘woke-meter’, encroaching on freedom of speech, or even being politically correct; it is about respectfully conveying your message. 

Verbiage is fluid. The intention and connotations of words can alter rapidly. It just needs one to be mindful of showcasing value, be inclusive, and empower all audience members.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

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FOMO Pay raises US$13M in Series A funding round to accelerate growth
FOMO Pay aims to diversify product offerings following the crypto adoption curve, including working with regulators on CBDC projects. It will also strengthen research and development capabilities

Graas acquires Shoptimize, SELLinALL following US$40M Series A funding round
Singapore-based Graas was founded by serial entrepreneurs and martech veterans Prem Bhatia and Ashwin Puri. It has revealed its plan to expand further into Southeast Asia and India following this funding round.

MiyaHealth raises additional Pre-Series A funding to expand global footprint
The funding would be used to drive MiyaHealth’s aggressive growth strategy in product development, hiring and expansion of operations globally. MiyaHealth is also planning to kick off its Series A fundraise in the next six months to develop its product suite further.

Exclusive: Bukalapak founders’ fund backs early round of Indonesian coding test firm
Founded in 2021 by Elfino Sitompul and Melinda Wardiman, Algobash offers a tool that helps employers filter top-quality programmers through coding test solutions and pre-employment assessments, according to Tech In Asia.

East Ventures leads Indonesian sustainable proptech firm’s seed round
Founded in 2020 by its CEO Fred Moeis, Kabina simplifies the building process through prefabrication and modular construction. It also uses wood from sustainable sources as its main material, writes Tech In Asia.

Quona Capital secures capital commitments worth US$308M so far for its third fund.
DealstreetAsia reports that the fundraising only reflects the amount raised from US investors.

How the pandemic inspires Natural Trace to create a food supply chain traceability solution
What Natural Trace is offering is believed to be a better solution because, in addition to being food-grade, it is also tamper-proof.

How to venture into blockchain during a recession
Despite the market’s current doom-and-gloom outlook, blockchain as an agent of change remains key to the world’s digital and financial future. Investors should gather their wits and start shopping now, during this market correction.

How to never waste a good a crisis and survive the recession
At the end of the day, opportunity is greatest during times of volatility and this is a great time to build for those with that attitude. So this is how we can grow stronger during the recession.

Is the crypto market dead again?
Given how compelling the principle of decentralising is, it’s not a surprise that people aren’t ready to give up on crypto yet.

Early days of the Indonesian VC landscape and why VCs are like music labels
Southeast Asia is the centre of opportunity, and Indonesia is going to be the centre of development and engineering. But is there a shortage of money in the market?

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Image Credit: © inspirestock, 123RF Free Images

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From plummeting prices to high-profile layoffs and bankruptcies, the crypto bear has fully emerged from hibernation amid high summer. Yet one sector remains bullish, the blockchain gaming industry is, in fact, experiencing explosive growth and thriving in the proverbial crypto winter.

According to a report by DappRadar, in the first quarter of 2022 alone, investors have poured US$2.5 billion into blockchain games, a significant and substantial increase from the US$4 billion raised in the whole of 2021. 

This corroborates strongly with the view from many experts that gaming is truly the best use case for crypto, and blockchain gaming activity has surged 2,000 percent in the last year. 

This isn’t too surprising as the gaming industry is known to be very resilient and, in some ways, “recession-proof”. The idea is that during a recession, people will spend more time at home, seeking inexpensive forms of entertainment or generally look for video games that operate on a longer-tail business model, representing good value for money. 

But with such a meteoric rise comes the question of sustainability. How can game developers efficiently scale up to effectively meet the rising demand for new blockchain gaming experiences, and ensure that their ecosystem is effectively future-proofed?

While demand for blockchain gaming is surging, there remain many challenges that hinder the long-term viability of the space. To drive mainstream adoption, the user experience must be good.

Security and legitimacy are also important considerations due to an evolving business model which challenges who really holds the value in blockchain games. Scams, hacks, and misleading projects are rampant and discredit the good work that has been ongoing to upgrade gaming infrastructure.

We have seen high-profile cases, such as what has been dubbed the “largest exploit” in the history of the space, when popular blockchain game Axie Infinity’s Ronin network suffered an eye-watering loss of US$625 million earlier this year. This presents a huge roadblock to onboarding users. 

Game developers are also well aware of these challenges. For many long-standing AAA publishers from traditional gaming, they will have to manage their reputations, as well as protect their intellectual property (IP), so they have understandably been hesitant about diving headfirst into blockchain technology. 

Fun first

Beyond the barriers of entry, however, a significant pain point to address revolves around the actual gaming experience, and whether it provides something simple, yet seemingly elusive according to critics: fun. 

Too many blockchain-based game developers and publishers today tunnel vision on their monetisation models, project tokenomics or emphasise a play-to-earn model with game mechanics geared heavily towards earning rather than playing.

Also Read: Why the Web3-enabled gaming world still has hope

It’s simply not scalable. Focusing on monetary rewards without prioritising gameplay does not motivate users to continue playing the game. The attempt to financialise gaming without regard for the spirit of why we play games simply turns a fun, recreational activity into a job. It causes the fractionalisation of a player base, turning a community driven by gameplay into one where users are seen as mere market participants. 

This is the fundamental reason why there is still so much apprehension from conventional gamers and gaming platforms, who view blockchain gaming as a cash grab and the antithesis of everything they stand for. 

As it currently stands, games on the blockchain are generally not fun. This is not necessarily down to the aspiring and well-meaning game developers, but perhaps the limitations of current blockchain architecture.

This is very simply how games are judged to be “fun” or “good” in the blockchain. Nobody wants to pay high gas fees to execute actions within a gaming metaverse or wait for 15-seconds to five minutes for a transaction to be confirmed. 

Current consensus mechanisms are geared so much towards decentralisation, security, and privacy that they can come at the expense of speed, performance, and cost. For blockchain-powered solutions to be attractive to game developers and succeed in winning the hearts and minds of players, they need to be highly scalable with high transaction speeds and low/zero gas fees for users. They must have a well-designed user interface, be fully optimised for performance, and be interoperable between various multiverses. 

Bridging two worlds

Another issue for the flagging interest in blockchain gaming is that there has been very little buy-in from major gaming brands, developers, and studios from the traditional gaming world thus far. The process of IP development for blockchain games is complex, and major IP holders are right to be concerned about how their brands are deployed, monetized, and used on a blockchain. 

When we examine how traditional IPs are created, they are usually a derivative of mass-consumed media. For example, Mickey Mouse was popularised by the Steamboat Willie movie, and Gundam mechas have pretty much defined a genre since their debut in the Mobile Suit Gundam TV series.

However, in the Web3 world, without the long-established credibility and brands such as Disney and Bandai Namco, IP conceptualisation begins with creation for a limited number of people, using NFTs as a limited-edition product.

Also Read: Exploring the creator economy in gaming

This means that many NFT developers are spending big on branding to increase the value of their collections rather than investing in-game mechanics, functionality and interfaces in the hopes that their husk of a game will move on to join the mass market.

It is clear that for blockchain gaming to succeed, it cannot do so alone. Rather it must acknowledge its limitations and embrace the value and expertise that traditional gaming brands can offer. 

What we’re seeing now is more and more buy-in from traditional game developers and gaming companies, who are now realising the tremendous value that blockchain gaming offers to players and developers alike.

For instance, the Oasys project, which was just only announced this year, has already been backed by the likes of Bandai Namco, Ubisoft and SEGA – huge brands and stalwarts of the traditional gaming industry, and some of the biggest game companies in the world.

Not one single company holds the key to surmounting the aforementioned problems. Rather, an ecosystem approach is necessary.  Just as more institutional investment legitimised crypto over the years, the interest and participation of traditional gaming company brands will also help accelerate the growth of blockchain gaming.

The Oasys project has quickly recognised this paradigm and quickly brought in as many partners, validators and investors across a wide range of Web2 and Web3 leaders. Aside from working with the aforementioned gaming developers, Oasys also recently partnered with ConsenSys to produce an industry-first, gaming-optimised wallet for players, as well as announced a collaboration with Mythical Games, a leading crypto-native games developer, to serve as an initial validator.

By leveraging the strengths of different stakeholders, there is a more efficient use of resources and industry expertise to propel growth. The time is now for all of us collectively in the blockchain gaming industry to dig deeper and build a robust gaming architecture that can not only ride out winter but also emerge from it stronger.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

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With Malaysia being one of many countries that are highly vulnerable to global shocks affecting its food supply chains, both consumers and producers have been hard hit. Often, food consumers have to contend with limitations in supply volume and options, as well as the quality of goods.

On the supplier side, a lack of insight into the volume of demand for certain ingredients arising from market access challenges makes it difficult to plan, and order management and fulfilment are often done manually. Other factors influence these conditions, such as fragmented stakeholder linkages across the supply chain and rudimentary supply and demand monitoring, making it a challenge to see opportunities for optimisation quickly. Efforts to streamline food supply chain processes come at an opportune moment, presenting efficiencies, resource sustainability, and cost savings for both business buyers and farm producers.

One such solution is spearheaded by Secai Marche, a cloud-based farm-to-table B2B platform that links farmers and food businesses by building more economically viable and sustainable operations of small-scale farms as well as F&B retailers, hotels, restaurants, and cafes through improved access to good & delicious food. This is done through streamlining agricultural logistics, realising cost efficiency and product bundling across farmer suppliers that unlock more options for fresh food ingredients, through a process that enables transparency and optimised product value.

Bolstering the food supply chain

Headquartered in Japan with Malaysia as its first global branch, Secai Marche co-founders Ami Sugiyama and Shusaku Hayakawa have had personal experience in food supply chain pain points, running retail food shops and farms themselves for over a decade. In the past four years, they have built the company to address the pain points of scale challenges for farm operations through full-stack tech solutions from online marketplaces, order management, logistics and fulfilment, which also broadens the array of food options and SKUs that are available to hotels, restaurants, and cafes to choose from as their raw ingredients for their food offerings.

Also read: On a mission to reform and simplify cross-border supply chains

While they started as an online marketplace between food producers and food and beverage retailers, they have since expanded to include order fulfilment as that is what is lacking in current market solutions. Through a marketplace SaaS model, Secai Marche is also the first provider in the region to offer this solution, including cold storage, thereby mitigating food waste challenges in the current supply chain conditions of the region. Their key focus is to enable optimisation, making things efficient for businesses, lessening produce wastage for the farmers, and working with existing warehousing and logistics providers to enable this.

Using technology also generates information that can be used to further optimise the farm-to-table process, realising operational efficiency and greater convenience that benefits farmers, food businesses, and consumers. It also generates positive impacts on sustainability via mitigating the occurrence of food waste. Their data shows that the platform has minimised food loss and waste among their customers’ current supply chain by as much as 75 per cent.

B2B e-commerce for F&B retailers

To address market access and sales channel challenges for farmers, Secai Marche has its B2B online platform where F&B retailers can directly connect with them, much like an online grocery shopping experience for hotels, restaurants, and cafes. It further enables efficiency by providing order management and processing solutions, including streamlining payment collections, thereby addressing multiple collections and variable payment term cycles across buyers.

Also read: How accessible robotic solutions enable business efficiency

The platform also streamlines anticipated market demand, enabling feedback loops for food producers. It streamlines logistics and distribution as well by covering the fulfilment function from farm-to-restaurant through the pick-up goods, quality check, washing of goods, repacking, sorting, picking, and last-mile delivery to restaurants by combining goods with other products and bundling them into one order. Especially for perishables, Secai Marche has been focusing on operational excellence in cold chain facilities to ensure its produce does not lose the required standards — something which many players in the market find challenging to execute.

Through this end-to-end service, restaurants enjoy more product variety and freshness with lesser minimum order quantity requirements, being able to choose products through the online platform, receiving one invoice, and paying everything together, instead of dealing with multiple suppliers and invoices.

Formidable track record

What differentiates Secai Marche is its ability to power a shared supply chain with precision where the delivery needs of various food suppliers can be catered to. To date, they are working with 300 food producers in Japan and Southeast Asia, as well as 400 hotels, restaurants, and cafes, *processing monthly transactions of over USD100,000 (*as of publishing. The current monthly transaction ranges between USD200,000 as of August 2022).

The startup has since raised a total of 2.5M USD from its previous funding rounds to focus on growth by building out its technology stack further, bolstering its talent pool, and expanding its reach to more countries in Southeast Asia. Rakuten is an investor and serves as their strategic partner as well, being the biggest e-commerce company in Japan. Their experience in the field can accelerate Secai Marche’s journey to expansion.

Also read: Strengthening cybersecurity measures in the face of Web 3.0

The Secai Marche team is keen to engage with strategic partners to further accelerate their growth and impact in the markets that they serve, with Singapore as its next target country for expansion, followed by Thailand and Indonesia, and with possibilities of engaging more farmers across the region to source produce.

The startup is also gearing up for its series A raise, expanding its service key units to 3,000 products with transparency in sourcing, serving a growing number of consumers who are more conscious of food product sources. Secai Marche is bullish on its mission to build a better supply chain that connects producers and end users most efficiently, maximising value for them through new direct channels and fulfilment.

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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Secai Marche

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

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Yes, you read that right. Historically, crypto has repeatedly undergone cycles of dramatic rises and abrupt falls. At one point in 2017-18, Bitcoin slumped by an astonishing 84 per cent after attaining a peak of US$20,000. And now, we have experienced another major crypto collapse.

First came the devastating Terra Luna crash. Then, major crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital was assuaged with major liquidity issues. This double whammy consequently led to a massive sell-off in crypto assets, causing crypto to enter a bear market territory, with Bitcoin (BTC) slipping by more than 65 per cent and Ethereum (ETH) by 75 per cent. 

“Crypto winter is here”, so the word goes on the streets. Some investors are even predicting that the slump could persist for at least two years.

But the present situation doesn’t spell the beginning of the end for crypto. The cogs are already shifting, poised to introduce a wave of change that will positively transform and strengthen the crypto ecosystem. Furthermore, major crypto companies Binance, Kraken, and Polygon are actually accelerating their hiring efforts with over 3,000 open jobs amidst the madness of layoffs and selloffs. 

To understand why crypto remains firmly entrenched in the fintech ecosystem, let’s go back to the fundamentals of why crypto was created.

The guiding principle of crypto

The year was 2008. The world was reeling from the shock of the Global Financial Crisis, which triggered several bank failures and caused many economies worldwide to slow down. 

Crypto was created on the coattails of this disaster, as people began to question and doubt centralised institutions like banks and their involvement in the financial system. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to be created, serving as a means for people to directly control their money without relying on said central authorities. 

Herein lies the key draw of crypto: it is decentralised. It speaks to and encourages the notion of a free world where power is returned to the users, allowing payments to be made swiftly and securely without being hampered by regulatory roadblocks. The 21st-century version of ‘Power to the People’, so to speak.

Also Read: Are we prepared to embrace the possibilities of Web3 beyond crypto?

Let’s not forget this even as crypto nosedives into its current bear market situation. As with every other market that carries some measure of risk, crypto’s core values remain unchanged despite its ups and downs.

And it is these very core values that have spurred crypto to develop interesting use cases beyond just being a vehicle for investments. These use cases ensure that crypto endures well into the future. As more use cases are devised as answers to new problems, the longevity of crypto will be further prolonged.

Without further ado, let’s move on to examine some of the known use cases of crypto.

The use cases of crypto

While it’s easy to write crypto off as just an asset and occasional payment method, the reality is that it’s more than that: it has been used for other innovative purposes, ranging from lending platforms to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Let’s consider three distinct use cases of crypto below:

Lending

Crypto lending is one of the more popular DeFi use cases that have been around in the market for years, with billions of dollars of crypto assets secured across various lending platforms. Decentralised lending protocols like AAVE and Compound Finance allow users to lend, borrow and earn interest on crypto assets without the requirement of a third party or an intermediary. 

While crypto lending started out as a vehicle for crypto users operating in the decentralised space, both AAVE and Compound Finance have launched products to drive more institution adoption into the DeFi ecosystem. Known as AAVE Arc and Compound Treasury, respectively, these products serve as conduits for financial institutions and non-crypto native businesses to directly access decentralised markets.

Even amid the crypto bear market, lending continues to be a popular use case in the world of crypto. Recently in May 2022, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) entered the DeFi space via its digital venture arm SCB 10X, where it will use Compound Treasury for conversions between USD and the USDC stablecoin.

According to Mukaya Tai Panich, chief investment officer at SCB 10X, this is a key step in the right direction for SCB 10X’s institutional DeFi efforts. Despite the recent events, Panich believes that the accelerated education of regulators, board members, and top-level management has helped to mitigate panic reactions.

SCB 10X isn’t the only financial institution to venture into the DeFi space too. Crypto custody firm Fireblocks’ CEO, Michael Shaulov, noted that more high-end institutional clients are exploring DeFi, with AAVE Arc and Compound Treasury helping to ease their transition into this space.

Commodity storage

Centralised cloud storage services are a fantastic idea and have enabled businesses and digital services to scale effectively and efficiently. They store users’ data on the cloud, freeing them from the shackles of external hard drives.

However, this service often comes with a caveat: cloud services are monopolised by a few companies, who control prices, legislation, and even those who use these services.

Enter decentralised storage networks like Filecoin. These systems work to eliminate bad monopoly practices by incentivising storage providers to securely and transparently store their clients’ files. Now, this system may not sound feasible at first, but it actually works. 

For Filecoin, it rewards storage providers with Filecoins when they store data securely. Filecoin verifies such good practices via cryptographic methods. By earning these Filecoins over time, storage providers stand to benefit from block rewards doled out by Filecoin.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

And now we come to our last but most probably best-known use case, non-fungible tokens. You’ve probably seen these around on Instagram and Twitter, with owners and notable celebrities showing off their NFTs (ranging from Pudgy Penguins to Bored Apes) by using them as profile pictures. And NFTs are closely intertwined with crypto. 

Digital assets that represent real-world objects like art, music, in-game items, fashion and videos, NFTs operate on the same blockchains that host crypto. Also known as Layer 1 platforms, these blockchains serve as ecosystems that cryptographically secure NFTs. 

Also Read: Where is the future of NFTs and metaverse heading towards?

Of all the blockchains that NFTs operate on, Ethereum is the best known. It pioneered the ERC-721 token standard, which is currently the most commonly used standard for NFTs. 

While NFTs are typically used for art collectability, their potential doesn’t start and end there. Looking ahead, NFTs can be evolved for business use. This boils down to their ability to serve as immutable proof of ownership. Beyond art and games, NFTs could potentially be used to tie house ownership or even university applications to you. 

Furthermore, a key feature of NFTs is that they are transparent, which means you can track their full journey when you get involved in any transaction. Couple this with the encrypted nature of NFTs and the risk of identity theft and other identity-related risks are greatly reduced.

Regulating the unregulated

Although the manifold use cases of crypto point towards its survival into the future, we mustn’t overlook the white elephant in the room: the lack of appropriate regulation. This might seem ironic since crypto was conceived to be unregulated. 

Yet we can’t turn a blind eye to recent events that made it remarkably clear that some regulation is necessary; it’s pretty much a necessary evil. After all, during the Terra implosion, reports of people losing their entire life savings began to surface, causing them to rapidly lose faith. 

At present, the material value of crypto is impaired by the abuse of a lax system, alongside the wider lack of trust that the public has in it. Hence, when I talk about regulation for crypto, I’m really looking at putting up robust safeguards that regulatory authorities manage to make the overall environment safe for all stakeholders involved. 

Such regulation would theoretically serve as a safety net for investors when the wider crypto market undergoes an unfavourable downturn. This is especially important for less sophisticated investors or investors who have devoted a substantial sum of money towards crypto.

At the same time, we should use this opportunity to hold open talks with relevant stakeholders, educate users, and refocus the conversation on the intrinsic benefits that crypto provides.

It’s also helpful to remember that crypto has a history of being highly volatile, going through steep climbs and sudden slumps throughout its intense 13-year life cycle. 

While seasoned investors would be unfazed by the volatility, the same cannot be said of inexperienced retail investors who were banking on a quick buck.

Singapore’s measures

Project Guardian

Singapore is taking the lead in piloting a project to explore viable methods of regulating the crypto market without being overly intrusive. Dubbed Project Guardian, this initiative is a collaborative effort between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the financial industry to explore the economic potential, harness the benefit of DeFi and value-adding use cases of tokenisation.

Under Project Guardian, a key objective is to manage risks to financial stability and integrity, precisely the core concern that arose following the Terra Luna crash. While nothing is set in stone yet, Project Guardian symbolises an enormous step in the right direction for the broader crypto ecosystem. 

Currently, crypto is risky precisely because of the absence of tangible safety barriers to protect investors from losing their investments. 

Also Read: Cryptocurrency, money laundering and KYC: Why are regulations important?

With initiatives like Project Guardian in place, we could potentially see the crypto ecosystem becoming less speculative and more secure for DeFi participants.

Tighter regulatory measures

At the same time, the MAS has also recently pledged to be “brutal and unrelentingly hard” on bad practices in the crypto industry. While this move has been called out for “not being friendly” by many crypto companies, I think it is, in fact, a step in the right direction. 

I don’t disagree that such tight regulations may hamper the operations of crypto companies. But if the Terra Luna crash has taught us anything, it is that without a clearer regulatory environment, it inadvertently gives space to bad practices that will actually be more harmful to the development of the crypto industry in the long run.

The MAS’ recent stance may be harsh, but it bears mentioning that this is consistent with its opinion that crypto is not for retail investors. While accredited investors are armed with a robust understanding of market volatilities and how to respond to them, retail investors often lack this fundamental knowledge.

I, therefore, believe that the MAS’ crackdown on bad practices will mould the crypto industry to be a better and safer environment for all participants.

Crypto is not dead

While crypto’s bear market situation is undoubtedly a cause for concern, we shouldn’t mistake it as a sign that spells the end for the broader crypto-universe. Key stakeholders are already in conversation to work out viable solutions to better manage the system for everyone. 

It’s also worth remembering crypto’s key selling point as a tool designed to empower the user. Swift and transparent, crypto transactions are not bound to the whims of a central authority; they are instead authenticated by the user. 

That’s why crypto isn’t dead. Given how compelling its principle of decentralising and freeing the financial ecosystem is, it’s hardly any surprise that people aren’t quite ready to give up on it.

That said, crypto is going through a rough spot that could persist for years. While I can’t say for sure when things will pick up again, the crypto community continues to believe in HODL (holding on for dear life) and maintaining diamond hands (refraining from selling crypto investments despite downturns). To this, I’ll add a caveat: only do so if you’re financially able to!

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The Masters of Cashflow Podcast is hosted by Andrew Senduk, and is all about venture capital in South East Asia. He interviews the leading investors in South East Asia, from prolific angel investors, upcoming VCs, and leading CVCs in the game.

Andrew Senduk is a serial venture builder, who raised $ millions of venture capital for his ventures, and is currently the Managing Director at Workmate, Indonesia. Workmate’s vision is to help companies simplify the hiring and management of their blue-collar workforce and by doing so make an impact on the millions of blue-collar workers across SEA. Senduk has built multiple high-growth companies from scratch since 2009 and is a global keynote speaker and author of Ignite Millennial Leadership (2018).

Nicko Widjaja is the CEO of BRI Ventures, the venture capital arm of Bank BRI, the biggest bank in Indonesia based on assets that launched its’ first US$250+ million venture fund. In November 2020, its second fund, called Sembrani Nusantara (SN), was launched, which is a mix of equity and venture debt funds.

Widjaja is an early tech investment pioneer, his career spans over 15 years in venture capital, corporate transformation, and startup ecosystem. He was formerly the CEO of MDI Ventures, a Telkom Indonesia-backed venture capital with investments in over ten countries. Under his leadership, MDI Ventures has become one of the most profitable venture capital firms in the region, with two international IPOs (ASX and TSE) and four trade exits in just four years since inception. 

Indonesia’s ever-growing stature

“Silicon Valley is the centre of innovation, South East Asia is the centre of opportunity, and Indonesia is going to be the centre of development and engineering.”

This is Indonesia’s 11th year of the tech ecosystem, and there weren’t a lot of “pearls” back then. There weren’t any “US$100 million funding” headlines or guaranteed unicorns in the making. Sure an angel check or seed round here and there, but nothing spectacular. It’s amazing to see how the ecosystem has evolved into the eight unicorns Indonesia counts at the moment (2022) and the massive value creation that is produced by homegrown companies.

Investment funds usually have a three-four year investment period and a five-six year harvesting period. This means the first full investment cycle has been completed. In other words, it’s the moment of truth for the ecosystem, and several homegrown startups have “made it” to the big league, unicorn status. On the day of the recording of this podcast, Grab went IPO via a SPAC with a valuation of US$40 billion. A major milestone for SEA’s tech ecosystem.

Corporate venture capital (CVC) vs traditional venture capital (VC)

CVCs differentiate because they follow a strict investment thesis and, therefore, usually are not agnostic. There should be synergy with the core business, and before CVCs invest, they usually ask questions like:

• Does the startup fall in the category of investment? 
• What stage are they in? 
• What market are they serving?
• What is the synergy with the core business?

Is it strange that a company like Grab can double the valuation in 18 months? 

Also Read: How AlphaJWC Ventures built Indonesia’s largest early-stage fund

No, because most companies are still undervalued. Compared to companies like SEA, many homegrown companies have not shown their full potential yet. Even though the pandemic has accelerated growth and digital adoption for many tech companies, there is still much room for growth.

Is there a shortage of money?

Money is overflowing in the region, it’s becoming a commodity instead. Money is not the challenge. The challenge is more on the founder’s side, from who will they accept the money? Investors are increasingly thinking about how they can convince founders to accept their money.

The myth of being an investor is that any startup will take their money. But if that’s the case, you’re not a good investor, because clearly, you’re fishing in the wrong startup pond. Investors need to create stories and make sure they work for startups, and not the other way around.

Role of (hyper) growth nowadays

Growth is not a matter of metrics anymore, it’s about the founder’s vision. Will they stick with the old playbook, or can they evolve into a multiple-arm strategy? Look at how Gojek or Bukalapak have evolved into mini conglomerates.

Comparison between the investment space and the music space

• Investors are the record label
• Startups are the artists
• Verticals (i.e. e-commerce, logistics, fintech, edutech) are the genres

It’s the investor’s goal to make their artist into top-selling artists!

Listen to the full podcast episode here. Check out the podcast on Spotify and Apple.

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Singapore-based fintech startup FOMO Pay today announced that it had secured a US$13 million investment for its Series A round led by Jump Crypto. Other participating investors include HashKey Capital, Antalpha Ventures, Ab Initio Capital, and Republic Capital.

In a press statement, the company said that with the injection of fresh funds, the firm will accelerate its growth and will invest in talent acquisition and its infrastructure. It will also strengthen research and development capabilities, expand geographically, extend its client base, and diversify product offerings following the crypto adoption curve, including working closely with regulators on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) projects.

“2022 has so far been a breakout year for FOMO Pay – we are seeing significant growth across all business lines. Our volumes for the first half of 2022 have surpassed the full year 2021 levels, and our client pipeline is extremely strong. We attribute this success to the hard work of our team and their effort always to put customers first,” said FOMO Pay Founder and CEO Louis Liu.

“This is a milestone year for us as we turn eight. We will continue to strive hard toward building Asia’s first licensed payment ecosystem with interoperability between fiat and crypto currencies, and we are grateful for the unwavering support and belief from our investors, stakeholders and partners. We are extremely proud and grateful to be one of the front-runners in this industry in Singapore.  Singapore has been at the forefront of innovation with a world-leading licensing and regulatory framework. Our goal is to work in harmony with all stakeholders on both developmental and regulatory approaches to achieve the vision of Singapore as an innovative and responsible global digital asset hub,” further added Liu.

Also Read: News Roundup: Singapore’s online hiring demand dips due to COVID-19; FOMO Pay forays into Malaysia

Founded in 2015, FOMO Pay is a payment institution that aims to enable the digital economy with global virtual banking solutions for financial institutions and enterprises. Its flagship solutions help institutional clients connect to e-wallets, credit cards, cryptocurrencies, and more with its global banking solutions.

It was the first firm in Singapore granted approval by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for Digital Payment Token Services. It is licensed to provide Merchant Acquisition Service, Domestic Money Transfer Service, Cross Border Money Transfer and Digital Payment Token Service.

The company said that it is working with several thousands of clients across Web2 and Web3 industries. Over the past year, FOMO Pay has announced several strategic partnerships with firms such as Circle, Acentrik (​​initiative by Mercedes-Benz), and Ripple.

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Image Credit: FOMO Pay

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The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged many creative individuals to come up with solutions to tackle different challenges in our everyday life –including those that may not seem to have a direct correlation with the pandemic. Natural Trace, a Singapore-based biotech startup, is one of those companies that is providing an innovative solution inspired by a tool that is commonly used during the pandemic: the PCR testing system.

The company is developing NaturalTag, which it describes as a world-first DNA-based food-grade tag to protect supply chain integrity. Simply put, this solution is in the form of powder or liquid that is added in minimal amounts to food products and ingredients. Businesses can later use the traces of these additions to track every ingredient in every product along each stage of the supply chain.

In the status quo, businesses use solutions such as blockchain, barcodes and serial numbers, as well as other external, non-food-grade tags, to track ingredients in the supply chain. What Natural Trace is offering is believed to be a better solution because, in addition to being food-grade, it is also tamper-proof.

“With a minimal quantity of NaturalTag microbial identifiers, each containing a natural and unique DNA sequence, the unique serial identifiers are captured into a traceability report, which generates origination information of each ingredient in a food product. Stored in Natural Trace’s cloud solution, companies and growers can retrieve the traceability report with fast turnaround times. This tamper-proof technology makes authenticating the origin of every single ingredient in a food product possible,” the company further explains.

By creating this solution, the Singapore-based startup aims to tackle the food safety, compliance, and integrity issues of the global food supply chain.

To understand better how the product functions, and the work that the team had done to create it, e27 speaks to Natural Trace co-founder Dr Chantal Roth. In this article, we will also look at what is coming up for the biotech startup.

Also Read: How Secai Marche champions farm-fresh food in Southeast Asia

Understanding where our food comes from

Natural Trace was founded by Switzerland-based Dr Roth and New York-based Prof. Lukas Muller, two scientists who specialise in genomics, and several angel investors at the height of the pandemic.

In our interview, Dr Roth explains how they came up with the idea for NaturalTag, starting with the problem that industries are facing when it comes to tracing food origins.

“There is a lot of ambiguity around the origin of raw foods. There is also quite a large percentage of counterfeiting going on. Apart from that, there is also the question about supply chain integrity, product integrity, and compliance … and it is quite a large percentage of the supply chain that is affected. We are talking about the market size of approximately US$3 billion,” she explains. “As you can see, there are existing solutions that are well known. For instance, barcodes or holograms, but they are externals,” she continues.

Dr Roth gives the example of vanilla exports from Madagascar to the US, an expensive product priced at about US$500 per kilogram. The problem with existing solutions such as external tags is that they can easily tamper. “With an external label, you can swap the product with a cheaper product … you can imagine that it makes a huge difference. Clearly, we need to be able to tag the product itself,” she says.

In the market today, there are other solutions such as chemical markers, but they certainly came with their own problems. For example, many of them are not made of food-grade ingredients. “That is one of the big concerns that partners have voiced to us. They told us that they have looked at different products, but nothing is food grade, and that is our big advantage, because our product is completely natural,” Dr Roth says.

Together, Dr Roth and Prof Muller have a combined experience of 40 years in the genomics industry, with a deep understanding of DNA sequencing and the advances in detection technology. Throughout the pandemic, they witnessed how testing tools are becoming more sensitive, affordable, and easy to use. It seems like the right momentum to try implementing the same concept, with all its advantages, for a different purpose.

The founders harvested the microbes that are being used in NaturalTag from food products such as yoghurt, milk, or cheese; once they are able to identify it, then they add a trace amount to the food product that they wish to track. After that, they use the existing PCR technology to detect the tag.

“We have both the short-term and long-term plans. As the technology evolves, we can also adapt our strategy, but in the short-term, we are using the PCR technology for the detection process as it is already well-established,” Dr Roth says.

Also Read: How digital technology can transform the food and beverage industry

As a B2B solutions provider, Natural Trace works with agents worldwide who are reaching out to companies that are looking for a tamper-prrof method of authenticating the origin of their products.

Moving towards the future

In June, Natural Trace announced the launch of its global headquarter in Singapore. In a press statement, the company dubbed Singapore a “natural choice” due to its food innovation and R&D ecosystem, which it saw as a conducive environment for a biotech startup.

It has also secured a partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS) since September to conduct various experiments and testings for its food supply chain traceability solution. An example of food products that they are testing through the partnership includes red wine and how the solutions aged after a while. “We want to make sure that the tag is still detectable after, say, it sits on the shelf for six months,” says Dr Roth.

Beyond the existing partnership, Natural Trace has many big plans for 2022. First and foremost, the company is looking for a professional CEO –a position that is currently held by Dr Roth. The new CEO will join a team that consists of six core members, plus another group that is working on marketing and legal.

Second, Natural Trace is currently fundraising for its latest funding round. After successfully raising seed funding to kickstart operations in Singapore, which counted angel investor CL Goh from Blue InCube Ventures as one of its backers, the company is raising US$3 million in seed funding to support its expansion.

“A large percentage [of the funding] will go into production fixed costs. Another part will go into R&D; it is really important because we are in here for the long haul. So we want to make sure that we can develop our product for the next five to 10 years, make it better and better,” Dr Roth says. “There are also packaging and distribution and some other business functions.”

In terms of the characteristics of investors that they are looking for, Dr Roth says that they are looking for those with the same vision and ideology in building trust and increasing the traceability and transparency of the food we eat.

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Fundraising or preparing your startup for fundraising? Build your investor network, search from 400+ SEA investors on e27, and get connected or get insights regarding fundraising. Try e27 Pro for free today.

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Now that we’re clearly in a recession, many investors are closing the door on blockchain plays for time being. The ‘crypto winter’ we now find ourselves in is largely to blame.

However, I urge investors not to paint with ‘too broad a brush’ in dismissing blockchain-based opportunities. Instead, try to recognise the far broader relevance of blockchain to our future, rather than just looking at it as mere architecture for cryptocurrencies.

In May, one of the market’s largest stablecoins, TerraUSD, lost more than 90 per cent of its value in just one week, despite being touted as a coin that’s “pegged to the US dollar.” This triggered a proper crash and losses of more than US$300 billion for investors across the ecosystem.

At the end of June, Coinbase shares plunged 75 per cent before Goldman Sachs downgraded it to a sell rating.

Reports around that time also indicated that Goldman was looking to raise US$2 billion from investors to buy up distressed assets from troubled crypto lender Celsius. Simultaneously, industry stakeholders discussed a possible deal to see crypto exchange FTX buy out crypto lender BlockFi for pennies on the dollar.

Incidents like the TerraUSD crash are not exactly isolated, with the price of Bitcoin dipping sharply over the past few months. Back in June, its price hovered around US$20,000, 32 per cent lower than the month before and far from the all-time high of US$69,000 in November 2021.

But despite the market’s current doom-and-gloom outlook, blockchain as an agent of change remains key to the world’s digital and financial future. Investors should gather their wits and start shopping now, during this market correction.

Embracing decentralised ledgers

In the context of financial services, blockchain offers a variety of disruptive possibilities. The first and most apparent is bolstered transparency. For nearly every financial service company today, all business activity is built on transactions within a traditional corporate database.

Also Read: Helping crypto native companies navigate turbulent waters

Lots of ink is spilt in the press about ‘what blockchain is’ and ‘how it works.’ If you’re not already in the know, let me sum it up concisely: blockchain tech, while among other things, the foundation of crypto, on a much broader scale, does away with consolidated silos of power by replacing them with decentralised ledgers.

Perhaps the more powerful point is that it enables far frictionless and generally less expensive transactions of all sorts.

Decentralised ledgers are automatic records of transactions maintained across many computers (nodes) that are linked in a peer-to-peer network. For anything to be recorded or executed, a consensus is required across all nodes.

This simple concept is the basis of three global financial revolutions, all taking place at the same time. Apart from crypto, the others are decentralised finance (DeFi) and Web3.

DeFi is a term used to describe peer-to-peer financial services on public blockchains, primarily Ethereum. Web3 is an idea for a new iteration of the internet itself, based on blockchain. Like the other two, it incorporates concepts like decentralisation and token-based economics. We can save explanations of things like NFTs and DAOs for another time.

Another important component of blockchain is lowering transaction costs. The financial services sector is chock full of intermediaries (such as banks) that enter the equation to create trust between transacting parties. Blockchain is a way to create trust without such middlemen.

For example, if you’re a lender seeking to verify the creditworthiness of a potential borrower, running data through a dispersed network of parties on a blockchain for consensus may be more attractive than putting all your eggs into the basket of one credit reporting agency. In such a case, blockchain cuts out the go-between in favour of the crowd and lowers your cost of doing business at scale.

For investors and entrepreneurs alike, these are just a couple of down-to-earth examples of how blockchain can be used to build a better future for everyone.

A rational entrance

Here in Asia, our firm has already begun making in-roads into the global blockchain game by investing in a company called NOBI, one of Asia’s top asset management platforms for crypto assets. The startup helps casual investors who want to diversify their wealth with crypto but don’t exactly know how.

Also Read: Does investing in Bitcoin still make sense?

We believe in this company because it comes with strong fundamentals, addresses a real and long-term demand, and is not dependent on market hype, speculation, or a paper-based valuation.

That said, even with the recent meltdown, at the time of this writing, the total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours was still worth around US$915 billion. Meanwhile, the global crypto market is estimated to surpass US$6.7 trillion by 2025. We believe investors and founders who shy away from it now will lose out in the long run.

If you do have cold feet today, don’t worry. You’re not alone. After all, crypto is volatile. But now is actually an ideal time for investors and founders to venture into the blockchain. Recessions breed rationality.

As a venture capitalist, I look forward to the next few quarters, as blockchain deal prices will be quite reasonable. While formal financial institutions tighten their purse strings, the blockchain ecosystem can leverage opportunities that emerge from this disruption.

Keep in mind that the fluctuating value of crypto is part and parcel of the game itself. Even when prices were at their record highs in 2021, daily price changes across all tokens were not uncommon.

For example, even Bitcoin faced multiple drawdowns before the crash of this year, with six dips of 50 per cent or more from 2012 to 2021. With this in mind, those who can stomach such swings will gain in the long run.

Thesis-driven blockchain in Asia

Ultimately, blockchain is here to stay. We already see clear signs of the crypto market trying to pick itself back up.

For those of us in Southeast Asia, blockchain will continue to transform our financial sector in fundamental ways.

Some countries in the region already recognise the potential of crypto and are willing to welcome it. Singapore, for example, enacted stricter guidelines on cryptocurrency advertisements and passed a bill that provides regulatory frameworks for crypto companies, demonstrating its readiness to adapt to the new financial paradigm.

At the end of the day, smart investors put money on the table shortly after a correction. That time is now. Institutional players should start looking today at Asian venture funds that are thesis-driven on rational blockchain plays.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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