Asia Blockchain Review recently spoke to Danny Baskara, Founder and CEO of Vexanium, an Indonesian firm that aims to make blockchain technology accessible and applicable to enhance various industries. Baskara talked about Vexanium’s recently-launched Genesis Block, its goal to become a trusted e-commerce voucher and loyalty program, and how it is transforming businesses in Indonesia. 

Asia Blockchain Review: Can you tell us about Vexanium’s mission and long-term goals?

Danny Baskara: Vexanium is a next-generation blockchain for mass adoption. It is born to support Decentralized Application (DApp) usability, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and focus in e-commerce retail penetration.

As the first and biggest public blockchain in Indonesia, Vexanium has worked with many industries to enhance blockchain ecosystems in the Indonesian and Southeast Asian markets.

ABR: Can you tell us about the recently launched Genesis Block? What are some of its unique features?

DB: Here are the features of Vexanium blockchain technology:

1. Scalability: Vexanium can accommodate more than 2,000 TPS (transactions per second), while most blockchain platforms can only accommodate 10 to 100 TPS.
2. DApps: Vexanium Protocol supports Dapps and will be available by mid-July 2019.
3. Free Transactions: Vexanium does not charge transaction fees like most other platforms, which usually charge fees for every transaction made by users.
4. DeFi: Vexanium Protocol supports many forms of Decentralized Finance.
5. DPoS Consensus: Vexanium will use DPoS (Delegated Proof Of Stake) consensus which means Vexanium will prioritize scalability and network performance by using block producers. Click here for the full explanation of Vexanium block producers.
6. Smart Contract: Vexanium blockchain will use the C++ programming language, so it is easy for a programmer to create a smart contract using the Vexanium blockchain.
7. Anti-theft and freezing features: By using DPoS, Vexanium blockchain will be able to update contract codes that are inappropriate or incorrect without resorting to a hard fork.

ABR: Can you tell us about VEX Wallet? How will users benefit from using this feature?

DB: VEX Wallet is a decentralized wallet, so we don’t store any private key. We have both mobile and PC versions (Mac/Windows). 

VEX Wallet can send and receive VEX Coins, buy and sell RAM, enables voting for BlockProducers (Validator), and has direct access to any DApp based on the Vexanium protocol.

ABR: How does the Genesis Block fit into your overall vision for the company?

DB: Genesis Block brings us one step closer to launching Vexanium’s own mainnet. When the first block is already created on the blockchain, the Vexanium blockchain is already running and ready to use.

ABR: What are the biggest challenges you encountered so far in developing this platform? 

DB: The biggest challenge in developing this platform is finding blockchain developers in Indonesia as well as Southeast Asia. Therefore, eight months ago, we opened a small R&D center in China, so we can learn about the latest trends and technologies in the blockchain space.

ABR: How is Vexanium working to become a trusted e-commerce voucher and loyalty program? 

DB: As most of our team has a background in e-commerce, we believe the voucher and loyalty industry is one of the keys to the mass adoption of blockchain technology.

We know all e-commerce players give discounts and freebies to new users. In Southeast Asia, about 9-10 years ago, the first phase of e-commerce began in the voucher and daily deals industry.

Therefore, we believe discounts are the key to getting new users, and as a blockchain provider, we believe this strategy applies to the crypto and blockchain ecosystem.

ABR: What is your opinion about the development of the blockchain space in Indonesia?

DB: The Indonesian regulator is known as a supportive government entity for startups. Its mindset has evolved from regulator to facilitator/incubator. 

In terms of blockchain and digital currency, the Bank Indonesia has revealed that it will complete its study of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in 2020. Five other banks in the country are investigating ways to integrate the technology as well, according to an April 9th report by the Asean Post. These include Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, Bank Mandiri, Bank Danamon, and Bank Permata.

In February, the Ministry of Trade’s Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti) issued the first regulations permitting the creation of cryptocurrency exchanges and regulating digital assets.

The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs is also in the process of developing the island of Batam into a blockchain specialty zone.

ABR: What makes Indonesia ideal for blockchain startups?

• Indonesia has a lot of potential for the blockchain space. According to a November 2018 report by Bloomberg, Indonesia’s internet economy is the largest and the fastest growing in the region, reaching US$27 billion in 2018 and is poised to grow to US$100 billion by 2025.
• Indonesia is the Asia-Pacific’s most valuable, untapped e-money market. According to Google, Indonesia is one of the most valuable untapped markets in Asia Pacific’s digital finance sector. A majority (66%) of the country’s 260 million population are ‘unbanked’ (don’t own a bank account), but 66% of the population was raised on internet access. However, fewer than 40% of Indonesian smartphone users have used financial services apps before. This is surprising, considering the number of digital finance apps in the country has grown six-fold since 2010 to a total of 140 apps. Within that category, there are already 19 apps from e-money providers that don’t require a bank account.
• Half of Southeast Asia’s unicorns are from Indonesia. Southeast Asia is a region that has the most unicorns (startups with a valuation of over US$1 billion) after China and India. According to Thesoutheastasia’s “Evolving South Asia” report, the region has eight unicorns, half of which come from Indonesia, compared to China’s 90 and India’s 10.

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