🍾 AMA with Ilia Obrazcov, CEO of Smartlands (SLT) 🍾

On Monday 5th April 2021, the CEO of Smartlands answered questions at an AMA session on r/stellarbets.

This post collects all of the questions and answers into an easy to ready format.

Q1. Hey! Wondering if we could learn more about the expected launch date, and what to expect on that day you do launch?

We are planning to announce the launch date and the main stages of the project in a couple of days. In the same release, we will cover what to expect on the launch day, too. We have to sort the licensing first.

Q2. In 2020, researchers from Oxford University published a paper called "Tokenization: The Future of Real Estate?". The paper suggests that the future of tokenizing real estate looks "promising," though it also listed a couple of challenges:

"First, there needs to be an expressed demand for the fractionalisation of single real estate assets. Evidence of this is at best sketchy, both through history and in the current period. Second, market participants need to be comfortable with blockchain, the digital underpinning of tokenisation."

Do you view these as challenges, and if so, how is Smartlands working to overcome them in Ukraine?

Similarly, the researchers seemed very keen on the idea of tokenizing debt markets, calling it an area "of significant promise." Can you provide a rough idea of the opportunities within this space, and the hurdles that need to be overcome before Smartlands can take advantage of them?

Debt markets are certainly also interested, although in our opinion not so promising as equity. We plan to add debt opportunities on the platform after the launch, in about the 2nd half of 2021.

Regarding the challenges for the tokenization, we don't see the problems mentioned in the Oxford report in Ukraine. In our opinion, the biggest challenge is the integration of the tokenized assets into the existing capital markets ecosystem (listing on traditional stock exchanges, ability to put tokens into collateral in a bank, etc.) and that can be solved only with specific legislation, like the one that is coming in Ukraine.

Q3. After you launch in Ukraine, will you be expanding your product range eg Art or will you be targeting launching in the UK?

We're considering building several "arms" in our ecosystem - real estate, agriculture, art and collectibles, SMEs, and startups.

We will start our alternative investment platform slowly, with only real estate, but will gradually add other asset classes as the investment capacity grows.

Q4. At this point, can you give us more details about the expansion of the Agroxy platform?

After thorough planning with multiple stakeholders, we're moving towards a more close partnership with Agroxy, and building a comprehensive ecosystem for farmers, not only including trading of farm produces, but also investments, payments, etc. We can't disclose much around it, as the details are still being negotiated and we don't have approval from other stakeholders in the project, but we will update our community as soon as there will be a solid agreement.

Q5. What makes Smartlands better than any other platform trying to tokenize real-estate?

We're for a long time in this market and almost certainly have a level of expertise bigger than of any new platform. Besides that, we're uniquely positioned as not only a tech company with one of the best tokenization technology but also we're the first client of our own tech with the regulated alternative investment business.

And our business and plans are far bigger than just real assets tokenization, more towards the concept of investment banking. E.g. we not only tokenize and list, but attracting investments, and for some asset classes plan even to provide a closed comprehensive ecosystem (agriculture).

Q6. Will there be KYC requirements for staking SLT and are there going to be restrictions on who can stake as a result? (i.e New York where there are heavy financial regulations)?

I can't yet give a certain answer about NY, but our ultimate goal is to allow staking for every investor.

Investors will need to hold the staked tokens in the regulated environment (Smartlands wallet), and we plan to require KYC only for investments (however that might change as our legal team goes through all the questions).

Q7. Do you have any plans for marketing videos on YouTube that explains your product, fee structure and how the SLT utility token is used in your product for better transparency and user reach?

Smartlands Youtube channel will be active very soon, and we plan to build a solid presence here. With good quality content and speakers. Considering Russian and English-speaking audiences, and most probably will make the content for both.

Overall, video content gives a unique educational opportunity and this will be one of the most important arms in the marketing of alternative investments.

Q8. What is the status of the Smartlands Wallet? Will it be compatible with Ledger and Trezor?

Smartlands Wallet, as well as the whole platform, is currently under a major overhaul.

Although the tokenization core was built as state-of-the-art for our UK adventure, the UI/UX/visual part was under the acceptance threshold, and that's where we concentrated our efforts now. So expect to see a good-looking solid platform, combining all the components into a very sexy and convenient UI.

For the wallet part, we see the big potential in streamlining the user experience by allowing to sign in with email and password (similar to what StellarX provides), but hardware wallets will also be supported for the increased security.

Ledger wallet support should be ready immediately with the wallet launch (or a few weeks later), and Trezor support is in the backlog and will be available later, about Q3.

Q9. I heard that there are around 5-6 million tokens that are being held off from the public, is this true, and if it’s true do y’all have any plans to gradually release them into the public or do you plan on just holding them?

The stats on CoinMarketCap are in general correct. There is ~7.1 million max supply, and ~5.5 circulating (was 5.1 prior to our investment into the Ukrainian licensed company). The number of tokens in circulation will be adjusted on the public release of the news regarding the status of our license in Ukraine.

All the company tokens are unlocked from the escrow contract according to the T&C of the crowd sale (within 3 years), but we're planning to continue to hold them at least until we have a really solid natural demand for the token from multiple sources and jurisdictions.

Q10. It is well known and understood that the first iteration of Smartlands and tokenization project in the UK could be seen as a pilot project of sorts. Brexit and the ultimate bear market forced a pivoting point in Smartlands - what are your two or three most important takeaways/lessons learned from that pilot project and how do you plan to implement these lessons within the framework of the platform launch in Ukraine?

Secondly, Do you see any barriers of entry beyond the legal and regulatory frameworks or hurdles? What do you feel is your biggest hurdle/most challenging barrier of entry ?

Thanks, with much love and belief in the project. We are rooting for you guys!

Thank you for the words of support; it meant a lot for the whole team! We certainly learned from the pilot and based on that knowledge, we are designing our alternative investment project now. The main takeaways are:

- We now more focus on the secondary market and an ability to put the tokens into collateral, as these turned to be the key points for institutionals;

- The retail audience we plan to target now is not the same. Previously we targeted crypto enthusiasts worldwide, and now the focus of the main campaign for the retail stage will be different. As in general crypto audience tends to trade and get the benefits now, we need those who prefer a long-term investment;

- We focus on the jurisdiction more friendly for tokenized real assets, as this allows to cut off the unnecessary middlemen, make tokens more transparent and secure, and allows streamlined integration into a traditional finance ecosystem.

The most significant barrier so far is still the regulation and waiting for the new law on digital assets to come into full force. However, as I told in the Sam Conner AMA, the process will be "iterational", and we will gradually release all the features.

Q11. What are some major roadblocks that could potentially hurt progress on the project? I always see people singing praises of SLT, but I get skeptical when there are only pros and no cons to discuss.

i.e. with the 1000€ requirement to stake, is there something that could impact a change to this plan for holders?

We don't foresee any significant roadblocks, but until the project is a successful and profitable global enterprise, all the startup risks are applied (however, to a major extent these risks are mitigated as we already are an experienced team and understand all the needs of the market).

Regarding the staking, we don't foresee any problems in implementing this rule, and holders will always be allowed to change the desired amount through on-chain voting.

Q12. Is there any news on when the Smartlands platform will go online?

soon™
:)

Q13. What is the biggest misinformation about Smartlands that you have seen?

Stolen logo :D

Q14. Can you maybe explain, in just a few simple sentences, how you ensure consistency between on-chain tokens and off-chain assets? I am thinking about some unexpected events that can befell on advertised buildings/properties (case of fire, earthquake, ...). How is this monitored and reflected on blockchain issued tokens?

Thanks for the question, it is really an important aspect.

Naturally, the equity tokens will provide all the same rights as the "paper" equity shares. That will be governed by the regulator and big partner banks and custodians.

Thus, the ownership of the property won't change in any event. And talking about the price of the tokens, it also shouldn't drop significantly, as the building naturally should be insured.

Q15. Who do you consider is our biggest competitor in this space and why?

There are a lot of DeFi projects, but I believe that we compete with the investments in general. We are trying to solve the issues of the current system and give people a cheaper, safe and more beneficial way to invest. It’s the best way to deliver some value. And if there are some similar projects, we are more than happy that this market is becoming more prominent and popular.

Q16. Are you at all concerned about the recent news of a Russian military presence pushing closer to Ukraine's border, and if so do you feel that Ukraine getting closer to a decentralized economy has anything to do with that?

Also, if someone wanted to get involved in helping the process of expanding Smartlands tokenization to new nations, such as Mexico, how would one go about that?

Also, will the staking minimum of 1000 euro be changed or clarified into a SLT balance?

Thank for the questions!

1. The Ukraine-Russian relationship, It’s the same as global warming; we can’t change it at once, but we are taking all possible measures in order to prevent future problems. Our platform is safe and eco-friendly :)
   
2. Expansion - we're currently concentrating our own business activities around Ukraine, Liechtenstein, and to some extent - UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Baltic states. We envision as the natural way for our expansion through local JVs with financial institutions/entrepreneurs, willing to dive deep into the regulatory/licensing questions.
   
3. We envision it will be always tied to the fiat value, as this should be convenient. However, it might be changed through the voting of token holders.
   

Q17. Cruncher's prophecy is still holding up. What are your thoughts about that? 😉

Intuition is normally based on knowledge and experience :)

Q18. Honest question here - if the normal person out there sees that it runs on the Stellar platform, why not just use lumens instead of Smartlands Token?

Thanks for the question, I think that is really important to explain.

The explanation however is simple - it's not about the underlying blockchain or settlement layer (it can be Stellar, Ethereum, Cosmos, or even Bitcoin - most probably all of these blockchains will be used in our global ecosystem on the distance 5-10 years) - it is about our technology and smart contracts for meeting all the compliance and regulatory requirement, KYC, limits, settlement, utility functions, etc.

All these processes will require some fees, and according to the Smartlands Whitepaper and token sale T&C, we're bound to make the only possible way to pay fees on the platform in SLT token.

Q19. What is your teams shared drive that is making you all want to succeed?

Could you also please explain the best thing the team has done so far and one thing the team could have done slightly better?

Maybe it sounds too simple, but we really believe that we can change the current state of things, and the more we do, the more we see the support from our army of believers (our community), the easier it gets.

The best thing is that we all gathered in our effort, and everyone does his/her part properly. It’s both - the luck that it’s us - Martin Birch, me, Inna, Natalia, Danylo, Viktor, and the rest of the office, and the experience and effort of everyone. The best we could do is to find each other several months earlier.

Q20. How soon do you expect to have your Ukranian license? Has there been any challenges in the process of obtaining it?

No major challenges, only a few delays due to COVID - in Ukraine currently there is the big 2nd wave.

The license should be ready in the coming weeks.

Q21. I am very excited for this AMA! 🙈Thanks u/ilia_smartlands for accepting the invite to host an AMA for Stellar community! 🍾

I only have a simple question for you. I’ll leave the burning questions to others. What is your comfort food? ☺️

Many thanks for this event from me personally, and from all our team!

Last year I turned vegetarian (although not strict, just not eating/cooking meat at least at home and with family), and this was quite a big boost for productivity.

To mention some good example of what I eat, I'd prefer potato pancake with salted salmon and sour cream :)

Q22. What's your marketing strategy? Is it a big marketing campaign, or are you talking to specific businesses that look like they could be interested?

Thanks for the questions. Regarding the marketing campaign, as the first step we will open the platform for institutional investors, and this process is already full steam on face-to-face meetings.

Then we will open the venue for retail investors in Ukraine, and that's where the local marketing will kick in. Besides the wide campaign of digital marketing, we also rely here on the large customer support and acquisition team and call center.

Q23. Could you give us a breakdown of token distribution?

Thanks for the question!

7.1M total/max supply;
5.5M circulating.

Among the tokens not in circulation - 66% is the company treasury for long-term motivation (options) and partnerships, and 33% is the budget for direct investments.

Q24. Can you tell us why you are so passionate about smartlands, tokenization and the future of them both?

Thanks for the question!

The answer although is quite simple :) I really believe that this solution must exist, to allow all the people worldwide, no matter their net worth or income, to invest on the transparent platform, into profitable real economy assets that are just simply not available currently.

I personally find Smartlands and participated in the first token sale as an investor, for a reason - I found Smartlands and had an "aha" moment, knowing that such a platform will solve my personal problems and problems of all similar to me - IT professionals.

Q25. Do you have any news on the T1 exchange that SLT will be listed on?

Coming soon, exchange selected, and the process already ongoing.

Although please not expect before the platform and staking launch.