KwikTrust is a next-generation e-validation platform that provides more secure file validation and management than ever possible before. The platform is also home to the SuperNFT, enabling a unique class of NFTs that raise the bar for security, identity, provenance and ultimately trust, opening the door for new asset classes across finance, deeds of ownership, and intellectual property. KwikTrust’s vision is to become the global standard for managing and transferring assets in the digital world. We had the opportunity to sit down with the KwikTrust executive team to discuss the e-validation platform, the world of NFTs and how KwikTrust will be leading its future with SuperNFT.
Q: Tell us about the origin story of KwikTrust and where you stand today.
Simon Read, CEO: I was working on a project to buy another business and we were going through the due diligence process which was extremely slow and laborious. The sheer volume of data to collate, review and validate with third parties made the process inefficient and expensive. I thought there must be an easier way to do this! At the same time, I was starting to get interested in blockchain technologies and potential use cases so I joined the Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme to learn more.
Blockchain is just such a perfect solution to validate the information and create a tamper-proof record. Coupled with the dawn of NFT technologies we are really at the start of some very exciting possibilities for how people can create and transfer digital assets in the future. In the case of KwikTrust, we tested the business assumptions with a law firm who suggested we also add in a KYC step to validate the identity of the person creating the asset and record that on the blockchain too. From there we saw the opportunity to lock together the owner’s validated identity together with the provenance of the asset they created to form a transferable NFT. We call this the SuperNFT as it is more secure than the traditional ‘old school’ NFT as it can’t be lost or stolen, and it has the potential to open up new asset classes. We also filed a patent application for the SuperNFT.
KwikTrust’s vision is to become the global standard for managing and transferring assets in the digital world. We launched our MVP last June and now have several hundred registered users who are pilot testing with us. Looking ahead we will be issuing the KwikTrust KTX utility token in Q1, and have a slew of partnership announcements over the coming weeks culminating in the minting of the world’s first SuperNFT which we plan to do at a major NFT conference in March.
Q: What are the current challenges plaguing the NFT space that is holding the industry back?
Simon Read, CEO: We are seeing some really exciting growth in NFT markets but this has been largely restricted to the realm of digital artworks. For the NFT to reach its full potential it needs to extend into new asset classes, for example as a store of value for financial assets and deeds of ownership for both digital and physical assets. The current challenges plaguing the NFT space are that people don’t trust NFTs enough yet as a store of value higher value assets because tokens held in digital wallets can be lost or stolen. Whilst you might buy a digital artwork on an NFT, would you store your savings, your share portfolio or the deeds to your property on an NFT?
NFT sales hit $592 million over the last week (source) but the market is dominated by a handful of artists who produce digital artworks, still, this is a tiny fraction of transactions that take place across financial markets or property markets. At KwikTrust our view is that the future of NFTs lies in storing and transferring any asset your mind desires, but to achieve this, first people need to trust NFTs and to trust NFTs they need to be more secure.
Q: How can the SuperNFT be a game-changer for the entire NFT landscape?
Simon Read, CEO: The NFT market is still in its relative infancy and we haven’t seen the true potential of NFTs yet, beyond the digital artworks that we are seeing today. As a store of value, it has much more potential.
The SuperNFT locks the owner’s validated identity to the asset. The benefit of this technology is that if the NFT is lost or stolen it can be prevented from onward sale and can be quickly returned to its legal owner.
This is a real game-changer for the NFT market as it creates the infrastructure to establish trust in NFT technologies and open up new asset classes. In the future, we will see more assets – digital and physical – represented as NFTs.
Q: What are some of the current use cases of the SuperNFT? And can you tell us about any exciting partnerships you have that will proliferate your vision for SuperNFT and greater KwikTrust?
Simon Read, CEO: Our plan is to mint the world’s first SuperNFT at a major NFT conference in March. We have several options open to us that we are assessing including a physical artwork collection by a major artist that has been donated to a charity, that can be represented as a SuperNFT and sold as a fractional ownership DAO.
We are also looking at a project that will help to protect rainforests by providing an opportunity for communities to purchase and own areas of rainforest to prevent deforestation. There is also a proof of concept underway to create an insurance product on a SuperNFT.
Other use cases we have identified include recording property deeds as a transferable digital asset; recording intellectual property origination on the blockchain with a date and time stamp and linking it to the inventor’s identity, and storing financial assets such as stocks, shares and bonds on a SuperNFT as transferable digital assets.
Q: What utility does KTX token bring to the KwikTrust platform and to SuperNFTs?
Simon Read, CEO: We’ve designed the KTX utility token to be the central element of the KwikTrust ecosystem. The primary use of the KTX is to mint the SuperNFT. As the use of the SuperNFT increases so will the demand for the KTX.
Other platforms and marketplaces can also use our technology. To integrate the KwikTrust protocol and SuperNFT into their ecosystem they will need to obtain and maintain a minimum balance of 5,000 KTX. There are also a host of other uses of the KTX including discounted services, and there are staking pools and other incentives for token holders. For these reasons, we encourage people to buy and hold the KTX for the longer term to gain the best benefits.
Q: How do you plan on growing the KwikTrust client base and the greater community to become the premiere e-validation platform that displaces traditional giants like Docusign while attracting retail and enterprise customers alike?
Christina Ashley, CMO: KwikTrust has an inherent advantage over giants such as DocuSign, in that we were born as a secure, blockchain-based solution. From the start, we used this technology, whereas our competitors have not. In essence, we aren’t trying to make an old solution fit a new model. We approached the problem from a different angle from the beginning.
Our sights are set on becoming the number one platform for e-validation and digital signatures. Our plan to do this is simple – Continue to provide cutting-edge solutions that incorporate innovative technology and meet users’ needs. We’ve already taken that step with several features and now the SuperNFT has us poised to completely shift the NFT market paradigm.
In terms of clients, both enterprise and retail – initially, we focused on building out use cases for the legal sector. While this allowed us to home in on outreach and development, we are now moving forward into new areas. Upcoming partnerships and pilots include use cases in legal, entertainment, health and fitness, environmental, and charitable sectors.
With the launch of the SuperNFT, new partnership announcements, an ambassador program that is set to begin in the coming weeks, aggressive marketing campaigns, and a stream of product development, you’re sure to be seeing a lot of us.
On a global note, to ensure everyone can benefit from KwikTrust, we have a new educational strategy that will help to bring on board not only users that are familiar with the benefits of blockchain technology but also those who may not understand how it can further help their businesses.
The stage is set for KwikTrust to keep developing and growing.
Q: How is KwikTrust’s governance structured and how may it change in the future with the dawn of DAOs?
Yasir Qayam, COO: A DAO is essentially a programmable organization of people that form around a shared mission and foster an emergent online community. The current state of DAO’s is generally centralized, however, the DAO landscape is swiftly changing. In the future, the concept of individuals working for large organizations will change, the roles will become more decentralized. Instead of just work-to-earn, people will be able to “create-to-earn” alongside work-to-earn. This will require DAO’s that can coordinate these tasks in a “non-traditional” manner. The earning opportunities will be a function of contribution to various tasks defined in DAO.
KwikTrust is already leveraging many of these features in marketing and creative content creation.
Having the KTX token will allow the token holders, in the future, to vote on features they want to see in the product. The token will also allow us to reward ecosystem contributors using the KTX token.
Of the total quantity of KwikTrust tokens generated, 40% are allocated to the community which enables us to reward the community for their contribution and maximize user engagement.
We are very excited about the future of blockchain technologies and the opportunities that the SuperNFT will create.