I recently had a chance to sit down for a conversation with GNEISS founder and CEO, Michael Morton, to discuss his vision for what the platform will ultimately become and how it has been built so far to realize those dreams. When I first found out about GNEISS and started using the platform myself, I understood the basic premise of the company, but didn’t quite grasp the larger implications of the technology being developed. It was extremely helpful for me to have an opportunity to consult Morton myself on some of these issues, and I’m delighted to be able to share my updated understanding of the company with you here.
To start, consider the ultimate ambition of GNEISS: to render the entire banking system obsolete.
The banking system creates a huge amount of friction in the capital economy, both in terms of time and material resources. It takes a considerable amount of effort to utilize the resources of banks, and the fees for doing so — the fees that go to pay all of the tellers, mortgage handlers, investors, administrators, economists, etc — are often prohibitively high. Yet, with the invention and continually advancing adoption of blockchain technology, this centralized financial system and the friction that arises as a result becomes unnecessary. Smart contracts, coded into the blockchain and executed by decentralized computational systems, eliminate a lot of the human factor needed to conduct financial transactions in a traditional sense. It reduces or eliminates the need for lawyers and bankers; if you need to borrow money, you can simply create a smart contract, issue a token for people to purchase as an investment, and securize the contract with whatever assets are available instead of making a case in front of a panel of bankers to elicit their approval for a loan.
The power of the blockchain in bringing about a new age in the modern economy is immense, yet it’s not immediately apparent to the average user how it can be harnessed. It’s one thing for me to write about using smart contracts as an alternative way to conduct financial transactions; it’s entirely different for me to actually give you the tools and resources required to do so.
This is where GNEISS comes into bridge the gap.
The purpose of the creation of GNEISS was to unleash the power of smart contracts built in the Ethereum blockchain into the hands of the average consumer. By building an intuitive user interface that allows users to easily create and manage their own crypto assets, GNEISS is bringing to life all of the benefits of the blockchain revolution which, up until this point, have only been talked about as being theoretically possible — but not largely actionable — for the average consumer.
GNEISS is not only a platform for creating tokens in the Ethereum blockchain; if it were, it would not be unique. The thing that sets GNEISS apart from everyone else is its full adoption of the smart contract framework, which allows users to add a time dimension to their crypto assets instead of limiting their functionality to a static nature. To offer an example of the benefits of this, consider that assets created in GNEISS are capable of collecting interest on themselves, charging a transaction tax payable to the initial creator, or existing as collateralized assets that are automatically liquidated if the value of the collateral falls below the value of the asset itself. These features open the door for smart-contract-based tokens to assume the functionality of many traditional financial instruments such as loans or stocks.
But what does this all mean in concrete terms?
Let’s say that I am trying to borrow money, but I don’t care to bother with the banking system and instead prefer to utilize the blockchain to accomplish my goals. I can create an asset in GNEISS, and back it with a certain amount of Ether in order to give potential investors peace of mind knowing that there is a fixed amount of collateral available for collection in the event I fail to uphold my end of the bargain. With my new asset, anyone who is interested in giving me a loan can send me money via purchasing my token. And as a holder of my token, they will be entitled to having me buy it back from them at a certain date laid out in the framework of our smart contract. This example transaction is simple to create and execute, and doesn’t require any of the traditional actors such as bankers and lawyers, to validate its legitimacy.
The GNEISS platform is the only software of its type that is directly working towards the problem of turning the entire traditional financial system on its head. Such a feat is often discussed as a potential use of the blockchain, but, up until this point, has not been presented in a way that is useable to the general public. The time has come for the power of the blockchain to be unleashed in the world of banking and finance, and we hope you’ll take full advantage of it as you see fit.
Any questions, comments, or concerns? Leave them below!