Prague Hosts Prominent Bitcoin Event with Bold Claims on Neobanks
Prague, a city renowned for its architectural beauty and rich history, was recently the stage for Europe’s largest bitcoin event, BTC Prague. The annual event, which began during bitcoin’s bear year in 2022, this year saw Blockrise CEO, Jos Lazet, delivering a bold statement regarding the nature of neobanks such as Revolut, N26, and Monzo. To him, these neobanks represent nothing more than a prettier version of traditional banks. [source]
Blockrise: An Anarchistic Neobank
Blockrise, a Bitcoin-only crypto platform founded in 2017 and based in the Netherlands, is setting out to challenge traditional banking structures. Lazet argues that blockchain-native companies like Blockrise now possess the capacity to construct something structurally different from the established banking system. He proposes an alternative he refers to as the ‘anarchistic neobank.’ This concept envisions a full-service bank account where customers maintain ownership of their assets through self-custody, rather than acting as a depositor-creditor. [source]
IBAN Bank Accounts and Blockchain Technology
To ensure that his vision was more than just an ‘innovation theatre,’ Blockrise announced the launch of IBAN bank accounts through a budding partnership with Netherlands neobank, bunq, which now offers Banking-as-a-Service. This announcement signals the possibility of a structural change in banking, with Lazet arguing that neobanks have merely changed the surface interface, whereas Blockrise aims to transform both the interface and structural ownership.[source]
The Power of Direct Ownership
The concept of ‘directness’ proposed by Lazet indicates a better scenario for the ‘claim owners’ in case of disaster, as their assets cannot be frozen due to AML/CTF investigations, hacking, or insolvency. Lazet explains that the assets are always on the balance sheet of the owner, thus avoiding entanglement in someone else’s financial crisis. He clarifies that while his statements may sound provocative, he is not advocating for lawlessness. Blockrise is fully regulated under the EU’s MiCAR framework and is registered with the Dutch central bank as an asset manager. [source]
A New Approach to Security: Multisig Structure
Lazet’s vision is based on allowing the customers to keep their keys in segregated, on-chain wallets, secured with a multi-signature (‘multisig’) structure. Multisig is a security framework that requires more than one private key to authorise a transaction, reducing the risk of internal theft or malicious hacks by requiring the consensus of multiple independent parties before moving assets.[source]
Bitcoin-Friendly Bank Accounts
Blockrise, through its partnership with bunq, will now offer bitcoin-friendly bank accounts. Bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, is providing its secure and regulated financial infrastructure directly to Blockrise. The first country to benefit from this collaboration will be the Netherlands, with all fiat deposits protected up to EUR100,000 by the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme through bunq’s European banking license. This partnership seeks to bridge bitcoin holdings with everyday banking needs, offering a single account for customers. [source]
Revolutionizing the Business Model
Blockrise is revolutionizing the business model by generating revenue based on active access and execution rather than passive holding and custody. The pricing model is evolving towards a monthly subscription, which includes tiered plans. Lazet believes that with bunq’s infrastructure, users no longer have to choose between security and convenience – they can have both. [source]
