Blockchain, made in Goa

AEToken, a blockchain technology-based platform co-founded by Goan entrepreneur Jason Fernandes recently won the best ICO pitch competition at the Malta Blockchain Summit. Fernandes, who is also the founder of SmartKlock inc, shares thoughts on the new venture

| NOVEMBER 08, 2018, 03:41 AM IST

JAY JOSHI

Advances in technology have today made it possible for people to communicate and do business across borders and continents. The Internet has created numerous opportunities in affiliate marketing, but this sector also faces a number of problems. AEToken, A company co-founded by Goa entrepreneur Jason Fernandes promises to resolve some key issues in the area. What’s more, the firm recently won the best ICO pitch competition at the Malta Blockchain Summit.

“When you visit various websites, you see popups which ask you, for instance, to play games at a certain casino etc. When netizens click the link and go to the casino game through the website, the casino will pay the owner of the website. This is affiliate marketing.” explains Jason. 

The casino will pay the website owner depending on the number of ‘hits’ they get from the latter’s website. But in many cases, the website owners i.e. ‘affiliates’ are based in countries such as India whereas the casinos, which are ‘publishers (of popup ads)’ may be based in Cayman Islands. The deal between the two is based on trust, and there is no contract. Thus, there is no accountability. In many cases, the casino might claim that they received a less number of hits than those claimed by the affiliate, and pay him less than what was initially agreed. Similarly, in some cases, powerful affiliates who can give millions of hits to the casino ads might demand more payments at the last moment. AEToken offers solutions that could resolve such issues, says Jason. 

“AEToken offers a platform where the affiliate and publisher can create contracts using blockchain technology. We have a system where you can see all the deals that a particular company has made both on the affiliate side and on the publisher’s side, you can see how many of them are disputed, and how those disputes are resolved.” he avers. “We put everything on the blockchain, making it public information. In addition, when there is an agreement, the proof of that agreement is stored on a blockchain, and the funds to be paid according to the contract are locked by the publisher. Then, we at AEToken have access to statistics of traffic and funds, and can arrange payments according to pre-agreed contract and traffic.” Jason elaborates, underlining that in this way,  AEToken acts as the middle-man between the two to ensure fair payments. All transactions have the option for users to enable built-in mediation services to resolve disputes between the affiliates and publishers. 

“Secondly, many of the transactions between the two parties take place using platforms such as Paypal, and if the amounts to be paid are less than $100, it becomes uneconomical for publishers to pay the money because there are transaction fees. AEToken offers the participants a chance to pay in cryptocurrencies, and reduces the transaction costs. Even if the amounts are as small as 50 cents, we can make sure you get paid.” Jason states.

However, cryptocurrency is illegal in India at the moment, and this has prevented AEToken from expanding its operations to the country. AEToken is based in Malta, and its management operates out of Dubai. That said, how did the Goan entrepreneur come to be involved in founding of this company?

“Well, I lived in the US for many years, and had many former associates there. When I founded SmartKlock, besides my co-founder Aprup Shet, additional funds came from friends I’d been to college with, in the US,” says Jason. “SmartKlock later evolved into ‘FUNL, a blockchain based app that lets users block spam smartphone notifications. The venture recently won Seaside Startup award. A mutual friend I’d met in the US took note, and recommended to Gene Hoffman (Founder, eMusic.com) that we work together.  Because of my experience in the blockchain/cryptocurrency space, Gene brought me on board as COO and Co-Founder on his latest project, AEToken. 

AEToken is currently raising funds from private investors, and will be rolling out the platform in soon. Alongside, the firm plans also to do a public offering of their tokens shortly.

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