Ishan Pandey: Hi Bryan, welcome to our series “Behind the Startup.” Please tell us about yourself and the story behind Clever DeFi?
Bryan Legend: I am a serial entrepreneur with a plethora of experience in the digital realm of blockchain and cryptocurrency with personal strengths in the field of P2P & B2B sales, digital marketing and business.
I saw a big gap within the DeFi arena where there was nobody and no project even remotely close to solving the issue of ultra-low traditional bank account interest. This is how Clever DeFi came to be born out of the need to offer a product to suit in an absolute guaranteed way.
Ishan Pandey: Ethereum transaction costs are rising significantly, with developers in several cases spending more than + 400$ in gas fees. What are your views on increasing transaction fees and their impact on Decentralized Finance (DeFi)?
Bryan Legend: I agree that ETH transaction fees have risen dramatically, but this goes hand in hand with the increased use of the Ethereum blockchain, which I see as a positive that there are now more transactions taking place than ever before. Clever DeFi takes advantage of its unique DDM (Decentralized Distribution Mechanism), which distributes regular interest payments in an entirely gas-less way, so the increased ETH gas fees do not affect us in the same way as it does the rest.
Ishan Pandey: Smart contracts are susceptible to hacks if a proper cybersecurity framework and audit has not been conducted. According to you, what are the best industry practices that developers and founders keep in mind while developing a decentralized protocol?
Bryan Legend: Many projects for lack of understanding or perhaps due to budgetary constraints or even a careless approach do not take audits seriously. In my opinion, a complete protocol/smart contract audit is an absolute necessity BEFORE conducting any capital raise like ICO/IEO or similar. Investors need to be safe-guarded before putting their money at risk.
In the same vein choosing the right company with a trusted track record of past success and experience to conduct your audit is necessary. The latter of choosing a subpar audit from an unknown firm to save a few bucks is not in the interests of project longevity and should be seen as an immediate red flag.
Ishan Pandey: What are your views on regulations regarding Decentralized Finance (DeFi)? Recently, the FATF has tabled draft guidance that brings AML compliance to DeFi protocols. Do you think this is a step in the right direction?
Bryan Legend: I can see the regulative aspect as a good thing long-term to bring absolute validity to the general space; however, since DeFi is not centrally controlled nor had any initial capital/ICO raise and nor has any initial CLVA token supply, it brings with it a purely decentralized frequency in the eye of regulators to altogether avoid the need for AML compliance. The FATF tabled draft guidance which brings AML compliance to DeFi protocols is a step taken too fast, it is good that the regulator has invited comments from the industry but as DeFi is just a few years old max, the regulator should give more time for DeFi protocols to develop without hindering its growth.
Ishan Pandey: What are your views on NFT art? Do you think that digital artworks that are being sold for millions of dollars right now will find a buyer after the hype settles?
Bryan Legend: It is just a hysteric craze right now with ‘anything selling for everything’. Don’t get me wrong, as I believe in the technology and the fundamentals of owning something digitally unique. However, I personally do not see the value in digital art having the insane dollar figures attached to it. I do think that the NFT craze will settle and die down to a slow heartbeat by year-end.
The problem with the money being spent on NFT’s at the moment is most of it is not being spent as ‘true value’ for the purchaser. It is merely being purchased to resell at a higher price later down the road, which falls into the greater fool theory. Something is only worth as much as someone else is willing to pay for it, so when the craze ends and the dust settles, will there be a greater fool to buy your NFT for millions of dollars still?
Ishan Pandey: Yield farming is a novel concept that is now being widely used across the cryptocurrency industry. How does yield farming work on CLVA, and according to you, what are the best practices that investors should have in mind while investing in such products?
Bryan Legend: In business, I hold a philosophy which is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid), and I believe that any great invention, product or service that has entered this world has been born from this very same philosophy; Simplicity is critical. There is no reason to overcomplicate things at all and this is the exact reason why Clever DeFi works and why it presents itself as a real game-changer.
Why? There is no staking, no gas fees, no conditions, no redemption fees, no terms. Every CLVA token holder is in complete control of their holdings and can freely move, send, buy & sell whenever and however they choose. This is entirely unheard of in the DeFi arena and we are the first to do it. The world’s first fully autonomous compound interest protocol.
The ONLY thing an investor/HODLer needs to do is hold CLVA in their wallet at the time of Cycle interest payment and the protocol will do the rest automatically by distributing guaranteed set interest to every CLVA wallet address on the Ethereum Blockchain with no terms or conditions at all.
Ishan Pandey: Paypal is entering the cryptocurrency industry, intending to make digital assets more accessible to all. How will technology giants such as Paypal and Visa impact the competition in the crypto industry? Further, according to you, how will these developments affect the cryptocurrency landscape?
Bryan Legend: Mass adoption on a world scale by bringing a high percentage of independent merchants to accept Crypto as payment for their individual products or services will only come to pass by the prominent leaders in the space taking the first step in order for the little guys to follow along. Monkey see monkey do. This is why I believe Paypal entering into Crypto is indeed a giant leap in the right direction.
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Ishan Pandey: According to you, what new trends are we going to see in the DeFi market moving forward?
Bryan Legend: I see competition entering the DeFi arena with the new concept of fully decentralized smart protocols taking to market by offering a comparable interest and gas-less distribution structure just like Clever DeFi has the first-mover advantage over. Will, there be any new features added by the competition, and will they release fairly with a zero supply policy the same way? I do not know. However, only time will tell; I do genuinely believe this is a new way forward for DeFi.
The purpose of this article is to remove informational asymmetry existing today in our digital markets by performing due diligence by asking the right questions and equipping readers with better opinions to make informed decisions. The material does not constitute any investment, financial, or legal advice. Please do your research before investing in any digital assets or tokens, etc. The writer does not have any vested interest in the company. Ishan Pandey, legal researcher at Karm Legal Consultants.