Dominique: Welcome to today’s AMA with Yves Petitjean, co-founder of VETRI!
Yves: Hi everyone!
Dominique: Our first question today is from Jan. “How did you come up with the VETRI idea, Yves?”
Yves: As you probably know, VETRI was born out of Procivis, a digital identity software company focused on eGovernment solutions. From this initial idea of digital identity, we spun the thought further to include all personal data which makes up our digital footprint and to include the possibility for individuals to not only control but also benefit from their data. The monetization of personal data is only possible to the extent that it is linked to a verified eID and in that sense, the Procivis eID and VETRI are a perfect complement to each other.
Henrik Zakaryan: Hi Yves, soon after testing we are going live. To reach more people we have to be reachable, but how I see it, VETRI is going nowhere with exchanges.. so what do you guys imagine for the future? For example me, I would never send money to Bitfinex/Ethfinex and Lykke is a very difficult exchange. So how will people get their tokens in the future? We invested for a product but the product needs also exchanges to work.
Yves: That’s a very good question and one that we can only properly address when considering the development of the sector, ie crypto exchanges as a whole. VETRI is continuously evaluating listings on new exchanges but as we have done it in the past, we will only announce a deal once it is closed.
Palino Pinko: Hi Yves, hi Dominique! What is your work as a co-founder?
Yves: I am the co-author of the original concept and whitepaper of VETRI. During the period before and during the ITO, I was the acting CFO. Since then I have taken on a more operational role, making sure our vision is transformed into a tangible product.
Richard Feynman: Hi Yves. I’m wondering if there is any plans on adding snapchat, Google, LinkedIn, Tinder, Instagram etc. in the app. Like you have now (soon) for Facebook. Further will I be able to upload medical data, like different values from my blood analysis?
Yves: Hi Richard, we very much plan on rolling out the integration of the apps that you mention, however that will be dependent on the needs and requirements of the data consumers that we partner with
LTP: Dear Yves, thank you for being here. Which markets will be rolled out next?
Yves: D/A/CH region as a strategic priority. However, we will have an opportunistic approach with respect to what partnerships we are able to secure with data consumers
Richard Feynman: Thanks Yves! That makes sense. I’m also interested in knowing if the “new” GDPR laws, will be an opportunity for VETRI? I mean in helping companies meeting the compliance? Maybe it’s a stupid question idk.
Yves: VETRI is certainly facilitating adherence to and compliance with GDPR. That said, each company’s governance will also need to be aligned with GDPR and thus VETRI is no guarantee of compliance with the said law.
Dominique: We have another question coming in from the German speaking channel: Ultimately, I’d expect VETRI to be a solution that protects me from the big tech companies which collect my data. Basically, a blockchain based VPN that erases all my traces on the web and lets me monetize them with different services. Is that where VETRI will be headed?
Yves: The very concept of ownership of data is completely new and one that is only made possible by the alignment of blockchain technology and adapted regulatory framework. VETRI is only one of the solutions currently being developed and that is part of this emerging ecosystem for the next digital age. VETRI primary aim is to provide an alternative to the existing platforms dominated by big tech. It is not going to replace them overnight but rather will coexist alongside them as an emerging sector
Maxi: Hi Yves, would like to know how you feel about this? Is competition good even if it’s from such a big player?
Yves: VETRI is SSI agnostic and applauds any initiative that adheres to the principles that decentralized identity should possess. In that sense we will work for our solution to be compatible with any of the emerging leaders in the field.
Lars: Hi Yves. The VETRI App will pay users in VLD. Withdrawing these tokens and exchanging them for fiat isn’t a big problem for people that are familiar with crypto (assuming we will have sufficient volume). But what about the users that don’t know how crypto works? I guess this could be the majority of people that download the app later on. How can they get their money out of the app without much hassle?
Yves: That’s a very valid question and one that is relevant for the whole crypto space. VETRI alone will not be solving all of the issues associated with usability but is certainly assessing all currently available options as a matter of priority.
Dominique: great, thank you Yves for your answers inspite of the technical difficulties. If there are no more questions right now, we’d wrap it up here
Yves: Thank you all for your very pertinent questions today. I shall look forward to our next AMA and hopefully with less tech difficulties.
