It’s not the technology, it’s what you build with it

Trust, speed, and security.

Those were the selling points discussed on Tuesday at BetaKit Talks: You Don’t Know Crypto – presented by WonderFi, an event that assembled CEOs and builders in the crypto space to discuss the applications of their work for the broader technology sector.

“When people think of crypto, they typically think of trading, but there’s so much happening beyond that,” said Dean Skurka, CEO of WonderFi, which co-hosted the event. “There’s a real crossover between what we’re building, and what the tech community needs to solve their problems with innovative solutions.”

“There’s a real crossover between what we’re building, and what the tech community needs to solve their problems with innovative solutions.”

Held at the East Room in Toronto and headlined by Skurka, the event featured a panel of industry experts and innovators, who were challenged to articulate the benefits of blockchain technology without relying on terminology that can sometimes be inaccessible to those outside the community.

To help, the audience received a goody-bag stamped with a QR code, which led to a glossary of common Web3 terms and their explanation.

Blockchain is most commonly associated with cryptocurrencies, but Skurka wants more people to understand its applications beyond the coin.

WonderFi is not only the parent company of two of Canada’s largest crypto trading platforms, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, but recently launched an innovation and development arm, WonderFi Labs, focused on the applications of decentralized technologies and building innovative global products.

“People aren’t really concerned about the underlying technology; it’s really more about the experience, and what you’re able to do with the product,” said Skurka. “That’s something we’re trying to solve for at WonderFi Labs; bridging to the next wave of blockchain participants in a way that’s intuitive and removes a lot of the friction.”

Through the event, he hoped to bring increased attention to what the panel described as an early-stage technology, one that has applications for some of today’s biggest challenges, including cybersecurity, data sovereignty and the realities of a global economy. 

The overall sentiment of that conversation was simple; blockchain is much more than cryptocurrencies and NFTs and will one day be the underlying infrastructure of most global transactions.

“In the ‘80s it was crazy to imagine sending mail on the internet,” said Jelena Djuric, the co-founder of digital asset issuance platform Noble. “That’s going to be money. One day it will be crazy that we had to go into a bank branch, initiate a wire, have a swift code, and all this stuff — like no, I can send money to someone in Africa on blockchain in two seconds.” 

Though it is still early days for Web3 innovations, the panelists were eager to share some of the opportunities they believe the technology can facilitate.  

“When you look at the cloud and why cybersecurity is such an issue right now globally, it’s because you have this need for trust of the data management system. You have to trust a third party and trust their cyber security,” explained Jackal Labs co-founder Patrick Dunlop. “Putting the data permission on blockchain rails gives us the ability to actually move to that deeper level of trust and increase the cyber security and digital privacy of files or anything else we want to put on those rails.” 

Dunlop said that while finance and cryptocurrency were among the first and most prominent use cases, there are plenty of opportunities for this technology to build a more protective layer onto digital interactions of all kinds. 

“It’s very early, and there’s a lot of work still to be done,” said Shana Derman, Senior Manager – Quality & Integrations at staking solutions provider Figment. 

Derman said she was attracted to the industry for the opportunity to protect the integrity of online media and digital assets.

“We discovered this technology, and said ‘this makes perfect sense: let’s build the infrastructure on the Blockchain for transparency and trust and loyalty,” she said. 

Blockchain also offers a way for companies to replace shares and options with more secure and traceable tokens, explained Inference Labs co-founder Colin Gagich. After his company raised $2.3 million this past April Gagich and his co-founder put most of the funds on a public blockchain and implemented rules that offered investors a clear line of sight on how the funds were spent. 

All of the Web3 founders expressed their belief that blockchain technology could be of huge utility to Canadian tech companies, allowing them to grow faster and with more autonomy.

Though the technology offers many promising opportunities, Skurka acknowledged that there are still barriers those operating in the Web3 ecosystem need to overcome. 

But he expressed his commitment to supporting the country’s  passionate community of blockchain developers as best he can, whether through WonderFi Labs or through events that help bring the community together.  

“We’re focused on using our position in this market to support entrepreneurs that are developing in this space,” he says. “We think a lot of what’s exciting about that development moving forward is happening on chain and through WonderFi Labs, and we continue to invest and support that next wave of blockchain entrepreneurs and products across the country.”

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Whether you attended the event as part of the tech community new to crypto, or are eager to dive in now, WonderFi has a special offer just for you. Sign up through this link on their crypto trading platform Bitbuy and receive $50 free to kickstart your crypto journey. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn and grow in the crypto community!