Shahaf Bar-Geffen is the CEO and founder of COTI Network, a blockchain-based payments network.
Bar-Geffen has a rich background in the tech field, and, believe it or not, back in 2016, he sold a media company by the name of Web3 to Mccan Erickson Group (IPG). He also founded a company called Positive Mobile –one of the first venues to advertise on smartphones and a company that was also acquired later on.
His crypto passion started in 2015 and became even more serious when he founded COTI in 2018. Since then, COTI had become a noteworthy player in the field.
In this exciting episode, we chat about what is COTI, its close relationship with Cardano, the CVI – which is the crypto version of the famous VIX, and of course the market sentiment and the recent trends – NFTs and the metaverse.
What is COTI? The 2022 Edition
First things first, COTI is a layer-1 protocol that has its own native chain. It’s optimized to do payments – more precisely, consumer-merchant payments.
“This means that we’ve built everything from the grounds up to specifically solve the issues around payments.” – According to Bar-geffen.
Talking about the issues that COTI stands to solve, the world’s underbanked population came to rise, and he argued that the currently existing system is just not cut to handle issues of this kind. Centralization, expensive transactions, lack of transparency – these are all just some of the challenges that COTI tackles, in the words of Bar-Geffen. He also explained some of the technical differences between COTI Network and other layer one protocols such as Ethereum.
Beyond all the features that he explained, we also touched on COTI’s recently launched Treasury, which is an algorithmic and decentralized pool where users can deposit their COTI and be rewarded for their participation.
The pool will grow over time because the entire ecosystem pays fees to Treasury – directly or indirectly. When someone stakes COTI, they are entitled to a share of the growing Treasury, providing yet another use case and merit for long-term holders of the cryptocurrency.
Another product by COTI’s team is the CVI, which stands for the Crypto Volatility Index. According to Bar-Geffen, the CVI tokens can be leveraged to hedge against one of DeFi’s most dreadful sinkholes – impermanent loss.
Cardano and Coti: Love Story
To those who are unaware, Cardano is getting ready to release the DJED algorithmic stablecoin, and COTI Network will be the official issuer. Bar-Geffen revealed some interesting details surrounding DJED and Coti’s involvement.
“DJED has already signed partnerships with more than 10 decentralized exchanges, among the top 10 on Cardano. We believe that DJED will be for the Cardano ecosystem what USDC is for the Ethereum DeFi, meaning the token that everybody uses to build their trading pairs with.”
We also talked about whether or not he feels the future will be multi-chain, and that’s exactly what Bar-Geffen expects. However, he also said that nobody should fade Cardano because they are doing some great work.
“Some people like to make fun of Cardano and these people will be very wrong. This is because Cardano is very strong in engineering – there are hundreds of engineers working there. They’ve published more academic papers than everyone else. […] I also like to remind people that Charles Hoskinson is a co-founder of Ethereum.”
He also argued that the easiest thing for Cardano would have been to build “yet another Ethereum knock-off.” They decided against it, and when “they actually release things, they are really good.” Shahaf also believes that the ecosystem of Cardano will be “super strong.”
NFTs As an Integral Part of the Metaverse
The podcast wouldn’t have been so interesting if we didn’t talk about non-fungible tokens, the metaverse, and blockchain-based gaming.
Speaking of the recent crypto trends, we also chatted about Vitalik Buterin’s inspiration to build Ethereum, part of which was the popular story of how his World of Warcraft character got nerfed, and he decided that it’s an unacceptable show of centralization.
COTI’s CEO is a proponent of play-to-earn, and he believes that this is one of the best use cases for blockchain-based technologies. He also thinks that non-fungible tokens will play an integral role in the metaverse.
$30K Before $100K
It’s worth noting that Bar-Geffen is also a partner in a company called Frequence that provides technology for algorithmic trading.
At the time when the podcast was recorded, he shared that he and the algorithm weren’t very optimistic on BTC’s short-term future and even expect Bitcoin to retest $30K before reaching the $100K milestone that will be in the next few years. Amongst all the insights he shared, the expert also revealed that they are very bullish on Bitcoin and the entire ecosystem in the long term.
To learn about where COTI’s CEO thinks the industry is headed, make sure to watch the entire podcast.
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I'm deeply engrossed in the realm of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, with a keen eye on the evolution of technologies like COTI, Cardano, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the broader market trends. To dig into the concepts mentioned in that article:
COTI (Currency of the Internet): It's a layer-1 protocol with its native chain, specialized in consumer-merchant payments. The core aim is to address issues plaguing traditional payment systems—like serving the underbanked, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing transparency.
COTI's Technical Distinctions: It's essential to note that COTI differs from other layer-1 protocols (like Ethereum) due to its emphasis on solving payment-related problems. It's optimized for scalability, aiming to provide a more efficient and cost-effective payment solution.
COTI's Treasury: This innovative aspect involves an algorithmic and decentralized pool where users can deposit COTI. Through this, they gain rewards, as the ecosystem's fees contribute to the pool, creating a compelling reason for long-term holders.
CVI (Crypto Volatility Index): This product aids in hedging against DeFi's impermanent loss. It leverages CVI tokens to provide stability in volatile crypto markets.
Cardano and DJED: Cardano's plan to release the DJED stablecoin has ties to COTI. DJED's partnerships with decentralized exchanges position it as a significant token within the Cardano ecosystem, akin to what USDC is to Ethereum's DeFi.
Bar-Geffen's Insights: Shahaf Bar-Geffen's acknowledgment of Cardano's engineering strength and their departure from replicating Ethereum's model underscores the unique value Cardano brings. His belief in Cardano's future strength indicates a promising trajectory for the ecosystem.
NFTs and the Metaverse: Bar-Geffen's advocacy for play-to-earn gaming aligns with the potential he sees in NFTs as crucial components within the emerging metaverse. He connects the importance of NFTs to blockchain-based gaming and envisions their integral role in the metaverse's development.
Bitcoin and Market Insights: Bar-Geffen's involvement with Frequence, a company in algorithmic trading, lends weight to his BTC market predictions. While short-term expectations include a retest at $30K, long-term optimism remains high, expecting BTC to hit $100K in the next few years, reflecting broader confidence in the crypto market's growth.
Future of the Industry: Bar-Geffen's perspectives on the industry's trajectory, particularly regarding the interplay between COTI, Cardano, NFTs, and Bitcoin, offer valuable insights into the evolving landscape of blockchain technology and its applications.
This landscape is exciting and constantly evolving, with innovations reshaping the way we perceive finance, technology, and digital ownership. Each of these elements plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of decentralized systems and the broader financial ecosystem.
