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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BitBox (BitBox Enterprise - Enterprise-grade Solution for Digital Assets Custody)

Teaser

Summary

Blockchain is of one of the key breakthroughs in technology of the recent years and is considered part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. Crypto currencies are one of the main and most well-known applications of this technology. Assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum represent billions of transactions worldwide. Cryptocurrencies could become a secure, fast, convenient and decentralized way to perform small retail transactions. This would save both consumers and merchants millions of euros in commissions paid to US financial services companies such as VISA or Mastercard.
However, mainstream adoption is hindered by the lack of trust and security, as well as a structural problem of the main cryptocurrency, Bitcoin: scalability. Bitcoin can process around 7 transfers per second while payment methods like VISA claim to be able to process 24,000. The best solution to this scalability problem is the Lightning Network (LN), which creates a series of connections above the blockchain infrastructure and allows a virtually infinite amount of transactions. However, in order for this network to work, the number of nodes in the network has to be large.
BitBox Base, former BitBox Enterprise, aims to be the solution that will make LN nodes and cryptocurrency payments a mainstream option both for consumers and retailers. It will provide society with an alternate means of payment, independent from US corporate financial services. Furthermore, a built-in wallet will provide our customers with the level of security they require, and our mobile application will become the go-to solution to every crypto asset related operation, thanks to our integration with the main exchanges and payment platforms.
Our objectives are to finalize the design of our commercial product, BitBox Base and to make it available for the main consumers. Thus, we will prepare for rapid scale up and locate and secure contracts with the main partners and resellers in the different EU geographies.

Work performed

We evaluated the technical feasibility of BitBox. We selected a key provider with the capacity to scale up fast. We selected the main features (both from the hardware and software points of view) to include in our next prototype version, analyzing the risks for this implementation. We designed a final architecture and a high-level work plan to implement it.
We performed a patent analysis to determine our Freedom to Operate. We found several patents in the sector, but none including our innovative combination of LN node, HW wallet and comprehensive software application.
We studied the market for our innovation and, although initially targeted to the financial institutions, we finally detected that the best opportunity was amongst retailers and consumers. We studied our competitors and market barriers as well as the emerging regulatory framework.
Finally, we devised a Business Plan and performed a 6-year financial forecast to evaluate the economic feasibility of our innovation.
The results of all these tasks yielded a clear conclusion: the project is technically, commercially and financially sound, and we will seek further investment to carry it on, initially through the SMEi Phase 2 application (Accelerator Pilot).

Final results

BitBox Base is a revolutionary solution which provides any customer with a convenient way to setup a full LN node, enabling him/her to perform crypto payments directly from their mobile phone with hardware enabled security. We aim to change the way retailers and their customers interact, providing them a free and convenient way to connect their cryptocurrency portfolios, perceived now as just an investment, with their capacity to acquire goods and services with them.