 And here we are on day two of GSR 17 and I'm with Oliver Gale of Bit, Inc. Nice to have you with us. Yeah, pleasure to be here. All right, so tell us about Bit, Inc. exactly what is it, how long you've been around, what do you do? So, in 2013, we started Bit in Barbados. Having discovered blockchain technology and Bitcoin and the power of the ability to decentralize transactions and instruments of money. My partner and I saw an opportunity to improve the financial system, improve financial access and generally speaking, bring new innovation and technology to a sector which has not really innovated and that being the payment system in, you know, 40 years. So that was the genesis of the organization. So people might be familiar with Bitcoin but break it down for some blockchain technology. Exactly what is that? Right, so Bitcoin was the first application of blockchain technology. So it's the most secure blockchain and it's been running for the longest time. However, blockchain technology is at its heart, it's a set of distributed databases or ledgers that allow groups to achieve consensus. So when you think of, and that sounds a little confusing, but when you think of things like who is responsible for creation of money or who is responsible for my land title deeds or how do I prove that a unique good exists digitally, you can do that more easily by having databases around the world that reach an agreement using open source code, which means anyone can view it, anyone can join a network, anyone can participate in the network and really it's a huge leveler of the playing field and in multiple industries. Internet of Things is a store of value and Internet of Things are two applications but blockchain technology has been heralded as the biggest thing since the internet. So are you affiliated with Bitcoin anyway? Bit is agnostic to blockchains. So you know there's a huge experimentation going on. There are thousands of these distributed ledgers which exist, the pace of innovation is rapid. Bitcoin's blockchain is one blockchain that we use because of its security features. It's been in a production environment since late 2009, early 2010. So it has a long track record but in creating a payment network because that is what Bit is doing, it's creating a payment network from the central bank level where you can issue digital cash onto a blockchain down to the banking level where banks can transfer value cross borders more easily, more securely with greater accountability and auditability and then ultimately at the base level is the end user and people who don't have financial access, people who are not included in the banking system or don't have the ability to process payments because it's too expensive, it's too cumbersome or they lack means of accessing a payment system. So from top to bottom, our vision and mission is to empower people and to do so financially by making sure that they have access to a cheap and secure payment network. So we're at a symposium for regulators, who should be regulating companies like Bit. Should it be central banks? Should it be telecoms regulators? I would say certainly the central bank, the Ministry of Finance or the equivalent body should be responsible for any sort of payment network, payment industry, instrument, storage of funds on behalf of the user. But there's also a role for ICT regulators in terms of cybersecurity, data privacy, because as we move increasingly to a world where value is stored in online environments, you need to have consumer protection accounted for and not just from the payment system. What is the integrity of the infrastructure? Have there been any challenges in that regard in Barbados? There are challenges globally. The problems are not limited to Barbados. And the challenge has been that the technology and the pace of it has been rapidly progressing and regulators are, as is normally the case, slow to respond. But what is now happening is regulators internationally, especially in the more sophisticated economies where they have more resources available are finding ways to say, right, we're going to facilitate innovation. Singapore is at the front of that charge once again. And unfortunately, we're finding that the pace in the Caribbean is not serving the interests of the Caribbean and the people in the Caribbean. You mentioned during your presentation about having to travel between countries how difficult that is, how there should be this common currency, essentially, between at least carrot combinations. Yeah, I think, you know, it's one of the it's it's on the agenda for carry comments to have a single market economy. I don't I'm not convinced that it's necessary to have a single currency for all of the islands that what you can do is have multiple currencies through central bank maintains their their ability and right to issue currency for the nation. And that provides a lot of support to the economies. But at the same time, you can create a sort of a multilateral clearing facility where Barbados can do trade with Trinidad without having to go through the US dollar or the European or the Euro or the pound or, you know, they remember we should be able as independent nations to transfer value and do business with one another without having to return to an international currency at all times and blockchain technology enables this. So as a future holder, where do we where do you see yourselves in five years, 10 years company and the industry in general? Yeah, well, I think I think as far as the industry in general goes, we've seen massive growth in blockchain technologies, protocols that use it, applications and insurance applications and distributed computer power process and distributed storage. Decentralized currencies. And so in five years, I think we're going to have a lot of that. We're going to have a lot more of these services provided for the end user. They're going to look very familiar. It will look like Dropbox, for example, but it will be much cheaper. It will look like a mobile wallet provided by a bank or a paypal. But it will be much cheaper. It will be more secure. It will be more readily audited. And, you know, within that context, as far as bit is concerned, I see based on our trajectory that we will be able to connect people directly to one another to allow them to effectively have a bank in their in their hand. They will be able to have custody of their assets. They will be able to transfer value merchants will be able to accept payments from around the world, not just. I mean, if I'm in Trinidad, I should be able to accept payments from around the world and not just with Visa or MasterCard. I should be able to accept Bitcoin or Ethereum or a digital cash instrument issued by the Central Bank of China or the Bank of England. All of these central banks are experimenting with blockchain technology. So it's going to be exciting because what it means is as a young entrepreneur or a business person, you can translate your innovative idea, your business idea into a online product which you can sell to anyone in the world or anyone within the Caribbean. And, you know, our vision is to provide the support and infrastructure so that banks and people and nations can be connected globally. So it sounds like in this regard, these things will get simpler. It will. It will. I mean, by the time, by the time the hurdles are crossed and someone has device in their hand and they're using an application, that's going to be that easy. Yeah. You know, so the good news is the change is inevitable. It's happening. It will happen. It's happening around the world. Right now, it's just a matter of crossing hurdles and trying to make sure that the Caribbean is in the picture. And, you know, it would be, it would be fantastic if we can stay on the forefront or get on the forefront. We managed to do it in sports. We managed to do it in entertainment. Right. I don't see why we can't do it in financial services. I don't see why we can't do it in online commerce, right? It's one of the most beautiful areas in the world. Absolutely. Some of the greatest people in the world. And if you don't have to be in the United States or Europe to serve the United States and European customers, then now let's choose where your head office is going to be. You want it to be in the cold or do you want it to be next to a beach? Sounds perfect, almost. Yeah. We have so much potential. We have so much potential because we're blessed. Every one of our islands is blessed today. Oliver Gale, thank you so much. Thank you. What are you talking about? You too.