Financial services organization Fabriik is one of the CoinGeek Zurich Conference sponsors on June 8-10. We recently caught up with Steven Walt, General Manager of Fabriik Markets, where we discussed several topics, such as the latest developments in the financial technology industry.
Can you give us a brief overview of what your company does as well as the problem it aims to solve or the service it looks to provide?
Steven Walt: Fabriik is a financial service company, and we are looking to disrupt the global financial system, but our focus is to solve accessibility. Around 1.7% of the global population does not have access to the financial system. We believe there’s a better way – an alternative system that opens up access, so everyone has full control of their finances. This is our long-term mission. So, we are launching a regulated digital financial service ecosystem. We will provide a safe, open, and transparent ecosystem where everyone can transform, hold, trade, and potentially grow, every asset they own in one accessible place.
Fabriik consists of several businesses: Fabriik Markets – run by a team and me; it is a one-stop-shop for all things liquidity. We offer three services: market making, where we boost liquidity for digital asset issuers and exchanges. The other two are the Trading Desk and Trading API, where customers can buy or sell digital assets through our white-glove, private OTC trading desk or API.
Fabriik focuses on the underbanked or individuals who don’t have access to financial services that others have. Can you talk about what the company’s products and services do for them?
Steven Walt: Outside of Fabriik Markets, we have a few other services, including Fabriik Tokenization, a platform where you can create and transfer tokens. We also have multi-asset Custodian, a powerful platform because you can tokenize one of your assets and store it in a pure qualified custodian. You can then use that custodian to trade that asset. So many different services come with a unique combination of tokenization and a qualified custodian. In addition to that, we will be launching Fabriik Exchange soon. So if you have a token, you can have it created on the exchange all from one centralized platform.
What do you think about the tokenization of assets, and what do you believe is the future?
Steven Walt: I think tokenization is inevitable; it is a trend that will only grow over time. You can create a digital representation of something from the real world and have it sent across the globe in a fraction of seconds. I believe it is a natural progression of the financial system.
When can we expect the Fabriik exchange to be online?
Steven Walt: We hope to launch it soon—it should be in the hands of everyone in the next couple of months. So we are doing very innovative things that we will share shortly.
How did Fabriik grow from a start-up to a company with over 100 employees?
Steven Walt: We currently have a fantastic team of 150 people, and I have been with the company early on. Our growth happened for several reasons—it is a combination of everyone’s strategic vision, tracking, and creating the need in the marketplace.
We started with Fabriik Markets and to round out our complete portfolio, we need to qualify our custodian and provide an exchange platform. It has only been possible because of our team’s hard work and vision.
NFTs are a hot topic now, as more people create digital asset-related tokens or digital art collectibles. Does Fabriik have plans to launch an NFT platform?
Steven Walt: There is a massive opportunity in the NFT space, not only digital but trying to implement the same into the real world. Therefore, I am excited to see what our CEO Roy Bernhard has to say about this.
Is there anything regarding Bitcoin you’re excited about right now?
Steven Walt: I am specifically excited about performance improvements on the protocol level. Outside of that, another aspect that intrigues me is mitigating the dust attack. You will be able to take the dust and donate it back to the miners because it removes the motive of the attack in the first place, and it also allows you to clear the wallet with otherwise unspendable transactions.
I am also excited about the work we are doing to support Transmira—merging the real world with the digital world through tokenization. So, for instance, if you have AR 3D art collected in the digital world, it can be potentially redeemed in the real world, and we are providing a tokenization platform to make that possible.
What are you looking forward to the most about the conference being in Switzerland?
Steven Walt: The CoinGeek conference taking place in Switzerland only makes sense. It is a very progressive country for digital assets and blockchain in general. A few months ago, we saw the Blockchain Act came into effect, which has put Switzerland ahead of most countries as far as digital asset regulatory framework is concerned. This provides a blueprint for other major economies and should be commended. At Fabriik, launching fully compliant products and services is fundamental to us. Regulation is the lynchpin of our ecosystem model.
Why did Fabriik decide to sponsor CG Zurich?
Steven Walt: We are passionate about the power of blockchain technology, and we are proud to be a part of the Bitcoin SV community. The conference provides a perfect platform to connect with other community members, learn and share new ideas on how to collaborate on future projects.
What is the core value of conferences for businesses and individuals?
Steven Walt: It is an excellent opportunity to learn what’s going on in the industry and understand what others are trying to implement professionally and personally. From a professional standpoint, there are many areas that companies specialize in, and it makes sense to partner with them to combine and form the most optimal product.
Do you have any presentations or speakers that you are looking forward to attending at the conference?
Steven Walt: I am looking forward to listening to Thomas Lee, the managing partner and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors. I am impressed by their outstanding research. I am also interested in tuning into Naseem Nicholas Talab, a former trader, and author. His world overlaps with ours, so that piques my interest.
If there was one takeaway that you want the audience to know after seeing you and your team at CoinGeek Zurich, what would it be?
Steven Walt: When our audience thinks Fabriik, they should think of access to a comprehensive financial ecosystem where they can hold and transform trade or grow every asset they own, all in one accessible place. Fabriik Markets is the digital asset trading arm of this system, which provides the one-stop shop for liquidity for all components of our ecosystem.
Are you aware of any legacy banks and financial institutions picking up in the digital asset space? What capacity do you see them getting involved in the new emerging market?
Steven Walt: I am seeing this happening all the time. A few Swiss banks are either already in the digital asset space or getting into it. I can see them getting invested in different areas like storing space, allowing clients to gain exposure to digital assets, while other institutions can be involved in lending space.
The Fabriik team will be on hand at the CoinGeek Conference in Zurich to share their insights on how blockchain can ignite the power of data: Roy Bernhard, Chief Visionary of Fabriik and the Bayesian Group, is joining the panel on Non-Fungible Tokens on day 2 at 12:15 CEST; while Daniel Skowronski, Managing Director of Fabriik Exchange, will be on The Future of Trading & Digital Assets panel at 15:30 CEST. Register to watch the CoinGeek Conference for free.
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